|
Divers Facts |
| An Officer from an
engraving on one of the brass clasps of The Great Vellum Book of The Honourable Artillery Company, c.1635 |
by David Green |
|
Divers Facts |
| An Officer from an
engraving on one of the brass clasps of The Great Vellum Book of The Honourable Artillery Company, c.1635 |
by David Green |
| Commander in Chief: | The Lord Mayor of the cittie of London. | |
| Second in Command: | An appointed professional, usually with
experience of the Dutch Wars. e.g. Sir Philip Skippon. |
|
| Regimental Commanders: | Colonels drawn from the city aldermen. | |
| Lieutenant Colonels: | Usually soldiers of professional experience
or members of the Voluntary Associations, they were appointed by the common council of the city. |
Year |
Regimental Size |
No of Regiments |
| 1640 | 5 coys. of 300 men each | 4 totalling 6,000 men |
| 1642 | 6 or 7 coys. of 200 men each | 6 totalling 8,000 men |
| 1643 | 6 - 10 coys. variable strengths | 13 totalling 18,000 men |
Ratio of pike to shotte |
Ratio of officers* to men |
|
| 1640 | 1 : 1 |
|
1643 |
1 : 2 |
1 : 18 |
*Note : the term "officers"
refers to commissioned & non-commissioned
officers, as well as clerks, musicians, chaplains and surgeons.
Typical Company Structure
Position |
Details |
| Captayne (commissioned) | company commander (nob) |
| Lieutenant (commissioned) | his deputy (professional) |
| Ensign (commissioned) | trophy (colour) bearer |
| Two sergeants | drill instruction/discipline |
| Three corporals | drill instruction/ divisional leaders |
| Two drummers | musicians |
| One clerk | company books/paymaster |
| One gentleman-at-arms | weapons inspection & maintenance |
| 100 - 200 soldiers | in 3 divisions - 2 shotte, one pike |
Weapons & Armour
were meant to conform to statute but did not, trayned bandes
having batches of arms bought over many years with pikes and
muskets of several lengths & styles. With the exception of
gentlemen who kept their own, arms and armour were kept in
company or guild halls or churches or municipal buildings
throughout the city & suburbs.
Service
in the trayned bandes was determined by wealth assessment &
was an obligation to such as were "men sufficient (of means)
of able & active bodies; none of the meaner sort, nor
servants, but only such as be of the gentrie, freeholders and
good farmers or their sons, that are like to be resident".
In London these criteria translated into city gents, merchants,
tradesmen, their apprentices and shopkeepers. The bands were
intended for defence against foreign attack and for enforcing law
& order in their localities if required. During the civil war
the London bands regarded defence of the capitol & its
immediate environs as their first responsibility & could only
with reluctance be persuaded to serve outside the home counties.
The Green Bande
was formed out of the 4 original regiments - North, South, East
& West - in 1642 when the bandes were re-organised from 20
companies divided amongst 4 regiments to 40 companies amongst 6
regiments. At a muster held in 1643, the Green bande turned out
the smallest number of men; 863 comprising 63 officers,
297pikemen & 503 musketeers.
As yet I have encountered no references to suggest the Green
Bande served outside London, except once, at Turham Green in
November 1642. Being fairly small, it may be that the Green
Bande, along with others, spent the war manning the "Lines
of Communication" - the 11 mile network of forts &
trenches thrown up in 1643 to protect the Citties of London,
Westminster & the borough of Southwark. It does seem that it
was the bigger regiments - the Red, Blue, Southwark, Tower
Hamlets, Westminster - who did the most field service with the
"marching armies", which makes sense on a purely
tactical level even if unfair in terms of who was shot at &
who wasn't.
