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Burgonet

Lobstertail burgonet.

Most modern Americans tend to think of armor in terms of brightly polished steel. Sometimes it was finished bright, but by the 17th century it was more often black, brown, or dark blue. This was especially true of those suits destined for active service in the field. A brightly polished piece of armor needed constant care to guard it from rust and maintain a good appearance. Blacking, russeting or bluing it helped protect it and made it easier to maintain. The black finishes were sometimes obtained through the use of soot and oil, sometimes by paint. The russet and blue finishes were produced by artificial oxidation.

English pikeman’s armor bearing the cypher of James I (1603-1625). The waist belt is now missing.

Simple corselet with a bullet proof breastplate.

This defensive armor, though popular at first, was soon discarded by the Pilgrims. The men who set out on the first exploring expedition when the Mayflower touched at Cape Cod were all armed with corselets. They found them efficient protection against the arrows of the Indians, but when they at length discovered a quantity of Indian corn, they were so encumbered and weary from the weight of their arms that they could not carry back as much of the booty as they desired. Soon they found that they could usually dodge arrows unless taken by surprise, and so gradually they began to decide in favor of freer movement and less weight. The corselet retained its popularity for the first ten years, but a compromise in the form of a heavy buff leather or quilted coat began to make its appearance. By the time of the Pequot War in 1637, the presence of “unarmed” men, as those without armor were called, became more and more frequent. The helmet was the last piece of plate armor to be discarded, but following King Philip’s War (1675-1678) that too was abandoned, and plate armor disappeared from the scene except for ceremonial occasions.