"the king's Musketeers, where did they carry Matchlock Musket" Topic

When in the field the Kings Musketeers where mounted how did they carry musket and did they use it on horse back or only pistols and swords

Lord Ghee

The Prince of Conde would dismount his gendarmes and use them to assault entrenchments. They were armed with pistols and swords, or halberds I don't know which. The Kings musketeers I believe started as an infantry unit (but I could be wrong). When they became mounted they would have rearmed with pistols and swords. Except for Porthos. I believed he used two swords or a sword and long loaf of French bread I can't tell from the picture.

Rich

LORDGHEE,

Here is an image from the Vinhuijzen Collection online at the NYPL of a mounted Musketeer. We can't see the full detail, but the musket is depicted hanging at the side butt-down, barrel up. This would usually indicate suspension from a shoulder belt and probably a "boot" for the butt attached to his saddle or harness.

link

Also, Le Cimier in France sell an excellent plate by mssr. Eugene Leliepvre on the Musketeers that shows a similar carrying arrangement.

link

I hate to correct Rich, but the Musketeers were always a mounted unit. They started as the "junior unit" of the Maison de Roi in 1622, and were the only one that did not require noble birth as a qualification. The Musketeers actually continued a tradition started by Henry IV, who first formed units of mounted arquebusiers (the Arquebusiers a Cheval) that Henry later called "Carabins" to accompany the Gendarmes (often in the manner of a sub-unit). Henry loved the idea and the functionality so much that he formed a unit of Royal Carabins as part of the Maison. Under Henry and Louis XIII they operated mounted as a "fire-support" unit that could also charge home if required. By Louis XIV's and Louis XV's time, they had become regular battle cavalry. Here is an illustrated article that I wrote on the evolution of the mounted Arquebusiers in French service.

link

Bill
Sir William the Aged
warsoflouisxiv.blogspot.com

Thanks Bill for Your wonderful answer, the NYPL seems to have some wonderful stuff.

so the Musketeers acted as skermishers to the Garde de Corp.

The Musketeers used those long Muskets from hosrse back! woe

Lord Ghee

By the 1600s, and given their status, might they not have had firelocks instead of matchlocks?

IN my reading for my Musketeer game it seems that the flintlock was inservice with the Garde around the 1670 the 1660 seen the introdution of the dogleg lock.

The King Louis the XIII was given a flintlock pistol in 1630 as a gift.

The wheel lock was very common among the Garde in pistol form so the flint lock might have had been delayed as infantry was not expected to fire many rounds.

Lord Ghee

Hi

I have a friend who has an extensive collection of wheel locks that he recently pulled out of the safe for me to examine.

Gaming in this period is complex from a rules standpoint because of the unkowns with match,fire,flint and wheel all overlapping. Along with the dramatic changes in deapths of formation and the like.

Rocky