[David Evans]

Just found this interesting short List

Abbreviate of Flushing musters. April 12th 1589
Sir William Russell. 6 officers, 4 targeteers, 4 halberds, 43 pikes (armed except for pouldrons and taches), 12 musketeers, 47 calivers (of whom 30 have morions), 1 preacher, 1 sergeant-major, 2 cannoneers, = 120. Absent, 60. Strangers, 12.

Sir Thomas Sherley. 5 officers, 26 pikes as above, 9 musketeers (6 with morions), 50 calivers (no morions), 1 preacher, 1 sergeant-major, 1 cannoneer, = 93. Absent, 42. Strangers, 8.

Sir William Drury. 6 officers, 3 halberdiers, 30 pikes (15 with morions, 3 no armour), 8 musketeers, 45 calivers (no morions), 1 preacher, 1 sergeant-major, 1 cannoneer, 1 fife, = 96. Absent, 39. Strangers, 6.

William Browne. 8 officers, 5 targeteers, 38 pikes (armed except for pouldrons and taches), 12 musketeers (no morions), 48 calivers (no morions), 1 preacher, 1 sergeant-major, 1 cannoneer, = 114. Absent, 21. Strangers, 7.

Morrys Denys. 6 officers, 4 targeteers, 4 halberds, 38 pikes (no burgonettes), 13 musketeers (no morions), 56 calivers (no morions), preacher, sergeant-major, cannoneer, = 124. Absent, 11. Strangers, 10.

Francis Darcye. 7 officers, 6 halberds, 36 pikes (no burgonettes), 15 musketeers (no morions), 58 calivers (no morions), preacher, sergeant-major, cannoneer, = 125. Absent, 10. Strangers, 5.

Richard Harte. 4 officers, 3 targeteers, 44 pikes (10 morions, 5 with taches and pouldrons), 19 musketeers (3 morions), 52 calivers (no morions), preacher, sergeant-major, cannoneer, = 125. Absent, 10. Strangers, 10.

Allphrey Randolph. 7 officers, 35 pikes (17 burgonettes), 14 musketeers (no morions), 66 calivers (no morions), preacher, sergeant-major, cannoneer, = 125. Absent, 10. Strangers, 8.

Francis Litleton. 4 officers, 3 targeteers, 8 musketeers (no morions), 38 pikes (no morions), 62 calivers (no morions), preacher, sergeant-major, cannoneer, = 118. Absent, 17. Strangers, 16.

Total, 1,040 present, 220 absent, 82 strangers.

Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth: January-July 1589, Volume 23 (1950), pp. 211-224

An interesting mix.

[Gordon Frye]

David;

Very cool! I find the heavy mix of almost equal numbers of Pikes and Shotte to be interesting, especially compared to Spanish practice of the day, which was much heavier in Pikes than in Shotte (only two companies of Arquebusiers to ten companies of Pikes). The numbers of Targeteers is of note as well, which coincides with regards to Targeteers being quite strongly recommended for service in Virginia a generation later. Also interesting that each company was "complete" in its "table of organization and equipment" as it were, and needed to be broken up into it's components and reorganized to form a field army. Much easier to send a company off to do garrison duty this way, though!

Cheers!

Gordon

[Greg Coffman]

Where does this list come from? Is it a book or online?

[David Evans]

The source is Calendar of State Papers Foreign, Elizabeth: January-July 1589, Volume 23 (1950), pp. 211-224 Dated April 12th 1589

There's also another little chunk beneath that

At Ramykens.
Nicholas Erington. 7 officers, 6 targeteers, 4 halberdiers, 8 musketeers, 28 pikes, 57 calivers, = 110. Absent, 5. Strangers, 1. All very serviceably furnished of weapons, “as well armed men as musketeers and harquebusiers.”

Same date. Notice the targeteers, these seem more common than I expected, I'm uncovering orders from the Privy Council to levy troops that call for 6 targeteers in 100 men, with wooden targets and close hilted swords.

It's interesting to note the arms that a pikeman should have.

From HMC Rutland IV page 209

1594 [-5], March 13.—" Captayne Maunsell is contented to arm 40 pjkes and 50 musketts.
"The pykes to have his coller, headpiece, backe and brest, vant-brases, poldrons and tases, with their swords and daggers, gyrdles and hangers, their pykes well armed. "The muskitiers to have their musketts with their restes, bandeliers, morreans, swords and daggers with girdles and hangers.

Forgot to say the the first reference can be found on British History online, but it's in the subscribers section. HMC Rutland can also be found online

[Ken Berry]

This is a nice piece of documentation. Amazing what you can learn from muster roles like this.

I am not familiar with "targeteers" can anyone explain that a little more to me. Was this simply a soldier armed with a targe and sword, with no pike or musket?

[Daniel Rosen]

Targeteers or rondassiers were considered shock troops. They carried (often shot-proof) targets, a sword, dagger, and perhaps a pistol. They were regarded as being lethal against pikemen (particularly the Spanish rondeleros), often led assaults in sieges, and have been depicted skirmishing with enemy pike blocks alongside men armed with calivers in some Dutch artwork.

They do not seem to have been terribly common in England, though the illustrations of the funeral procession of Sir Philip Sidney (ca. 1587) shows a couple, and I'm pretty certain that the Earl of Leicester took several with him to the Low Countries. The Dutch became pretty enthusiastic about them later in the 16th century, as the life of Prince Maurice of Nassau had been saved by a bullet proof shield (1594). Maurice wished that there were 100 targeteers to every 200 pikemen in his foot companies. England found good use for them in the New World, where they found them handier for close combat than a pike.

In the early part of the Jacobean era, Mars, His Feild, or the Exercise of Arms shows pikemen carrying targets upon their back and dropping their pikes to fight with them. I've never read anything of pikeman/targeteer hybrids being used in actual battle though.

[Fred Scholpp]

I just found this info, I wanted to thank you for posting and for citing your source. I'm writing a paper for our staff at Jamestown Settlement to use on Targeteers, use in Virginia and Europe. That is exactly the kind of info I need!

Any interest in reading it when I'm done?

[David Evans]

[Michael Curl]

I would be very interested.

[Mark Millman]

Dear Mr. Scholpp,

Yes, please; I'd be very interested. Please send me a PM when you're ready.

Many thanks.

Best,

Mark Millman

[Lafayette C Curtis]

I'd also be interested.