#sealedknot

“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

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

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

"His defensive arms are only an open Caske or Head-peece, a back and brest with a buff coat under his armes [armour]; his offensive Armed are a good Harquebusse, or a Carbine hanging on his right side in a belt by a sweble [swivel], a flask and Carthareg [cartridge] case, spanner, and two good firelock pistols" - John Vernon, describing the equipment for cavalrymen in 1644. . A cavalryman brandishes their 'firelock' pistol, known also as a 'flintlock'. Around half of such pistols used by cavalry during the English Civil War were 'wheel-lock' pistols which spun a spring-loaded steel wheel against a piece of pyrite to generate sparks, which then ignited gunpowder in a pan. The other half were early forms of 'flintlock', which used a piece of flint striking against a steel plate to produce the sparks for ignition. . At the beginning of the first civil war, Parliament's cavalry abided by the old Dutch-style tactics of using cavalry defensively and as a support for infantry. Cavalrymen would advance towards the enemy and discharge their pistols before retiring to reload. This tactic was painfully inadequate to the more aggressive Swedish system, favoured by the Royalists, of charging at the enemy and firing their pistols at the last second before smashing into the enemy and fighting in melee with swords to drive them off. It took time for Parliament to adjust to this new tactic, resulting in several stunning Royalist victories, but once they combined it with strong training and discipline it proved to be one of the keys to total victory. . #gun #guns #flintlock #weapons #photoreenactment #reenactment #reenactors #reenacting #reenactorstyle #reenactorslife #reenactinglife #reenactorsofinstagram #reenactmentphotography #livinghistory #history #photohistory #historicalreenactment #historicalcostume #17thcentury #sealedknot #dailyphoto #photoaday #photooftheday #photoadaychallenge #historyhit #englishcivilwar #instadaily #englishheritage #nationaltrust . 📷 Chris Sutton https://www.instagram.com/p/B-0d-BuHCz3/?igshid=11hq5inkg6mif

"It is a great art to die well" - Jeremy Taylor, English clergyman 1613-1667 . One in every ten men in the British Isles was killed in the English Civil Wars - a higher percentage than the two World Wars combined. Whether in battle or, more likely, from disease, the death toll of the 1640s and '50s left an indelible mark on the psyche of the population. Civilian casualties were similarly high - 7% of the population perished from war, disease and famine, nearly five times that during the First World War. Victorian stereotypes would have us believe that the Civil Wars were a dignified, even romantic conflict - but there is a reason why contemporary writers referred to the wars as a "plague". . 📷 @reizlly . #war #casualty #dead #bodies #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-niVGPnayj/?igshid=11ejm3dyxuen