King Henry VIII’s Army, Part II: Munitions

It was physically possible for a sixteenth-century army to carry with it most of the ordnance stores it needed for a six-months’ campaign. There were some exceptions, however. Reserve stocks of bow-strings, which were made from silk or hemp, might rot if they were stored in damp conditions for any length of time, especially if they were imperfectly waxed. Gunpowder would also deteriorate if it were not packed in sound waterproof casks. Although bills, pikes and swords were often found to be ruined after years in store, they could easily survive a normal campaign; but the new ‘weapons of fire’ with their precision mechanisms were vulnerable both to damp and to rough handling.

If the chests in which they were carried were knocked about, which was inevitable—given bad roads or no roads at all—they were bound to suffer damage. Even the most careful private must have found it difficult to maintain properly the hand-gun issued to him. It was better, however, for the army to carry with it all the munitions it was likely to need and to take the chance of damage or deterioration than to rely on supplementary consignments from its base.