Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692

A detailed study of the weaponry and protective gear used by early New England colonists, organized into defensive armor, edged weapons, and projectile arms. It catalogs helmet forms such as the cabasset, morion, burgonet and pikeman’s pot, and describes corselets, gorgets, breastplates, tassets and complete pikeman’s suits, including testing marks and surface finishes. The text explains how armor thickness corresponded to pike, pistol or musket threats, how firearms also supplied food and trade goods, and how practical needs and mobility led colonists to move from heavy plate toward buff leather and quilted protection over time.