Halberd for an officer of the Trained Band
Date1678
Mediumsteel, wood (probably maple)
Dimensions22 × 213 × 44 cm (8 11/16 × 83 7/8 × 17 5/16 in.), 3 lb,12 oz (weight)
ClassificationsArms and Armor
MarkingsWhat are presumed to be the owner's initials, "EC" are pierced into the apical blade. (Cf. the example cited by Dean, which is dated 1679 and also has the owners initials).
Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection
Object number2014.69
DescriptionThin polished sheet iron crescentic axe head opposed by a large fluke, both pierced with heart-shaped, geometric, floral motifs and date "16 (on axe) 78 (on fluke)". Short conical socket with turned moldings above & below, with tall leaf-shaped apical blade with triangular point and rounded shoulders at tall shank. Blade axially pierced with 2 rows of 4 slots each, above the pierced initials of owner, "EC". Socket with traces of gilding & retains one of original, tapered langets, copper-braised at top; other langet modern except for short section. Wood circular section staff, perhaps original. Blackened iron butt-cap ferrule with quadrangular spike.The blade may once have been blued. The staff and butt-cap both look likely to be original. The socket is formed of 2 halves, each of which is integral with one of the langets. The older of the two langets may be a working-life replacement.
Label TextOriginally a footsoldier's weapon, the halberd was useful in fighting mounted knights. The long shaft improved the soldier's reach while the tip could penetrate between the plates of armor. The axeblade was useful against horses, and the beak at the back could pierce plate armor. By the 1600s, the halberd served more as a marker of rank than as a weapon. In this function, it was used in America as late as the Revolution. This example belonged to a sergeant in the Trained Band, the militia of citizen-soldiers maintained by every New England community.ProvenancePurchased by Museum from Mrs. O.P. Tyler (Worcester, MA) on October 20, 1938. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, January 2014.
On View
Not on view
1625–1650