#reenactorslife

“it is a wonder that men selected and packed off to war in this way . . . should ever have stood their ground at first musket fire.” - Stephen J. Stearns, 'Conscription and English Society in the 1620s' . The historical record focuses much more on men who were forced to fight in the wars of the 17th Century than those who volunteered willingly, and so the view of military service in the Civil Wars is usually a negative one. This seems obvious in view of the account of the desperation that could drive one man to cut his own throat or another to cut off his own toe to avoid service. Men seized by recruiting partiesn for both sides were herded together and imprisoned before being marched off for minimal basic training and almost certain injury or death — the time-lapse between recruitment and action could be as little as three days. Desertion was a constant problem for armies relying on impressment, particularly Parliament's "newly modelled" army, which was perennially short of both men and pay. Stories of almost half the impressed men who fought at Naseby fleeing the field or deserting soon after paint a vivid picture of unwilling recruits, unprepared for action. This image is sharply contradicted by reports from European sources, who noted English hardiness in war, and praises English and Scottish armies for their courage and resilience. As always, every soldier had his own story and this moment in history between the 'patronage' armies of the medieval period and the professional armies of the late 17th Century onwards reveals so much about the many and varied reasons why men would march to war. . 📷 ABN Photography . #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #englishcivilwar #instadaily #musketeers #musket #recruitment #recruiting #recruit https://www.instagram.com/p/CAL5vc2HXhQ/?igshid=1vf1ku7x6nmuh

Two Parliamentarian soldiers duke it out on the parade ground while their comrades look on - who knows what spark lit this particular fire? Gambling? An insult? A WOMAN??? . Duelling had become fashionable in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, but the notion of an honourable duel was for the upper classes - for common soldiers a brawl may erupt over any small matter, from drink to gambling, from the favours of a woman to a perceived sleight. . However, the punishment for such behaviour in the Parliamentarian army could be severe, as commanders tried to keep their volunteer and impressed men under control - a fight might lead to a spell on The Horse, a triangular wooden frame astride which an offender would be forced to sit with comrades pulling on their legs, or if a sword fight led to a fatality the offender would find themselves on the end of a rope. Military discipline was notoriously bad during the English Civil War, with civilian populations enduring looting, rape, and murder committed by both sides. The Royalist army, with its looser command structure and reliance on honour and cooperation, suffered particularly badly, but both sides were forced to issue Articles of War in an attempt to regulate soldiers' behaviour, with mixed success. . #fight #fighting #swordfight #swords #duel #brawl #soldiers #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #englishcivilwar #instadaily https://www.instagram.com/p/B-b5TAAnw5G/?igshid=ojq0s5j70mx2

Wow betide anyone behind the walls of a besieged castle if their enemy brings up its 'siege trayne'! Thick castle walls may have been safe against bow and arrow, but against the pulverising power of gunpowder cannons they're more of a big target! Gunpowder fundamentally altered the way fortifications were built from the 16th century: gone were massive walls and towers in favour of low walls that were hard to hit, sloped embankments that absorbed the power of cannonballs, and defence-in-depth that created interlocking fields of fire for defenders. Yet even medieval fortifications could hold out by taking advantage of the cannon's weakness - often they were difficult to manoeuvre, needed plenty of gunpowder and projectiles, and were vulnerable to counter-attack. At the siege of Lathom House in Lancashire, the defenders waited until the besiegers had finished their gun platform then sneaked out at night, wrecked the platform and damaged the gun! . #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactinglife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #reenacting #historicalreenactment #history #historicalcostume #historyofparliament #livinghistory #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #historyhit #englishcivilwar #instadaily . 📷 by Levitt Parkes https://www.instagram.com/p/B-TF0TlHkIR/?igshid=my3285htoo6e

"...after they have given their first thrust with their pikes and being come to join with their enemies front to front and face to face, and therefore the use and execution of the pikes of the foremost ranks being past, they must presently betake themselves to the use of their swords and daggers …the nearness and press being so great." - Sir John Smythe, Certain Discourses Military, 1590 . In a 'push of pike', pike divisions could be up to six deep and each man pressed on the one in front, so sometimes the formations would crush against each other and many pikemen would have to fight in close melee combat. The Italians referred to this as 'Bad War' but, by the time of the English Civil Wars, pike pushes were relatively rare as the musket came to dominate the battlefield. . 📷 @johnbeardy . #pike #pikemen #battle #war #combat #pushofpike #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #englishcivilwar #instadaily https://www.instagram.com/p/B_TXDNDn-EB/?igshid=srethyqxiov

"Wet weather and want of provisions will make Captain Cold and Captain Hunger much injure the army" - A Perfect Diurnal, 1650 . Life as an English Civil War soldier could be pretty miserable. Lack of provisions constantly affected armies and if they couldn't live off the land or steal from local people then they could face a sorry situation. Some could merely look forward to meals of turntip tops while those caught up in devastating sieges such as Colchester in 1648 were forced to eat horses, dogs, and even rats. Analysis of diaries of the time suggests that most soldiers during the first civil were in some form of constant starvation, as they could not fulful their dietary needs. They, in turn, led to unrest and mutiny, with several officers suddenly finding their men unwilling to follow orders until their bellies or their purses were filled. . 📷 DMC08 on Flickr . #food #diet #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #englishcivilwar #instadaily https://www.instagram.com/p/B_FT17_nx9W/?igshid=1hs5loqctqslf

"My own regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Goffe and my Major, White, did come seasonably in and at the push of pike did repel the stoutest regiment the enemy had there merely with the courage the Lord was pleased to give; which proved a great amazement to the residue of their foot" - Oliver Cromwell, account of the Battle of Dunbar sent to William Lenthal, Speaker of the House of Commons, 1650. . Pikemen of the Earl of Manchester’s Regiment of Foote demonstrate ‘charging’ pikes at Temple Newsam House, near Leeds. How regularly pikemen might be called into 'push of pike' during battle is often a controversial one, especially in light of the popularity of interpretations of such engagements in reenactment over the last 50 years. Regardless, rows of advancing pikemen with their pikes at 'charge' - levelled around shoulder height, with the right hand bracing the pike's butt and the left hand providing a pivot - could be a formidable opponent, especially if a pike division was up to six men deep. As described by Cromwell, his own regiment was one of three which pushed back the Scottish Engager army across a bridge dividing the armies at the Battle of Dunbar. Many of the men in Cromwell's regiment were those who had fought in the Earl of Manchester's Regiment in the first civil war and would have been highly experienced by Dunbar. The pressure such pike divisions could provide, fixing the enemy in place while more flexible units such as cavalry or musketeers shot at or outflanked them, could prove still decisive. . 📷 David Gee . #pike #pikemen #battle #war #leeds #yorkshire #dunbar #scotland #scottish #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #englishcivilwar #instadaily https://www.instagram.com/p/B-ieHamnv9W/?igshid=x9qj81dpk554

We've talked a lot recently about the 'push of pike' and this is as close as we get to the press of pike divisions in the midst of battle - it can be quite intense in the middle of all that, let us tell you! . 📷 @photosm_stephen_moss . #pike #pikemen #battle #war #fight #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #englishcivilwar #instadaily https://www.instagram.com/p/B_gKB31HUQT/?igshid=91uxql0wtvnx

"The ingenuity and candor of London preachers is famous throughout the whole Kingdom, doth not it further appear, by setting the people at first against the King and his party — and now having raised men's spirits to a resolution of requiring just and scriptural satisfaction that blood may be avenged, in cry out in your pulpits, of staining the Protestant Religion with the blood of the King." - Christopher Love . Christopher Love was a controversial Welsh Presbyterian preacher during the English Civil War. Not only was he one of the first Puritans to oppose the reforms of Archbishop of Canterbury William Laud but his preaching was so inflammatory that during negotiations with the Royalists in early 1645 Love was locked up by the Commons. In late 1645 he offended the Independents, who on gaining power in the Commons confined him again. He vehemently opposed the execution of King Charles and claimed that it "stained" the Protestant religion. In 1651, he was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. Oliver Cromwell gave Love reprieves of one-month and then one-week but the courts wanted to make an example of him to quash any further trouble from the Presbyterians. On 23 August 1651, he was executed on Tower Hill in London. He would become a martyr to the Presbyterians, who had been defeated by the Independents in the struggle for control of Parliament and were then persecuted after the Restoration. . 📷 David Swift . #sunday #sundayservice #preacher #preaching #religion #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #englishcivilwar #instadaily https://www.instagram.com/p/B_tHUncnUXB/?igshid=1jbhh30pej0im