Arms : The Trained Band

The Trained Band

In England, citizens were trained to serve as a reserve army in case of invasion. Each family, was expected to provide certain weapons, dependent on their status. Men between the ages of 16 and 60 gathered at a muster about four times each year, where military leaders check their equipment to see if it "passed muster." Military training exercises followed the inspection.

The New England colonists followed the same tradition. Without an English military presence, the colonists needed to be prepared to defend themselves, from threats from the French, the Dutch or Natives. The Plymouth colonists elected a military leader to train them at musters. After 1636, as the colony grew, a captain was appointed for each town. Captain Myles Standish was elected as the colony's military leader until 1636 and, after that, appointed military captain for the town of Plymouth. The military leaders trained the bands of men to use pikes and muskets.

By the 1640s, musters were held at least six times per year. Men brought their weapons to the muster. They were fined if their equipment was defective. Each town provided pikes, as well as flags (colors) and a drum for training.

While they were leading the men in training, sergeants carried halberds as a sign of their rank. Halberds were originally used for cutting and stabbing. By the 1600s, they were mainly ceremonial.
		Tin-glazed earthenware tile of soldier with halberd. Made in The Netherlands, 1625-1675.

		This thin-bladed decoratively-pierced halberd would not have been very useful as a weapon. Documents show that in Plymouth halberds were used largely as a sign of rank. This iron halberd head, with a restored wooden staff, was made in either England or New England between 1600 and 1650. It was found in the cellar of the c1653 John Alden House in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Alden served several terms as an assistant governor.