USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Danvers > Centennial celebration at Danvers, Mass., June 16, 1852 > Part 21
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agement in their enterprise, his capital was ready for the emergency. Maryland, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Georgia, Delaware, cach in its turn, was indebted to his sagacity. When the products of American industry, unprovided for by any congressional appropriation, were jeopardized for lack of funds to carry out the purposes of the contrib- utors, he was the one to step forward and advance the necessary loan. Perhaps in no former instance has Mr. Peabody's love of country been exhibited in stronger relief. Every other nation had made provision for the expenses of its contributors. While the first opinion of the English public placed the productions of the United States in the rear of all others, he had the foresight to perceive that time only was need- ed to do us justice. He furnished the money, counselled courage, urged energy, conciliated difficulties, and gave his whole influence towards what he assured all his countrymen would be the result. The event has proved that he was not mistaken, and to him more than to any other man out of the crystal palace is it due, that the honor of re- . ceiving the GREAT MEDAL of the exhibition, not for mere handicraft, but for the only introduction of a new principle into the useful arts, has fallen upon the United States.
Few men in London, whose attention has been exclusively devoted to commercial pursuits, have ever enjoyed a higher reputation than Mr. Peabody. No other man could have assembled on the Fourth of July, with the stars and stripes decorating the hall, the aristocracy of Great Britain, to commemorate with Americans the birth-day of republican institutions. Honor to him who loves to honor his country ! It is his intention, ere long, to return to the United States and spend the rest of his life. When he does so, while he will leave behind him an unsullied reputation, better than gold, he will find in his own country a welcome "which no common desert would gain.
THE HALBARD OF LIEUT. FRANCIS PABODY.
The committee have received from C. M. Endicott, Esq., of Salem, whose historical and antiquarian researches are already well known to the public, the following account of this interesting relic. It was communicated in reply to their application for a drawing of it for an engraving, and will be found to contain much curious information in relation to the rude instruments of war- fare used by our ancestors, and which are now wholly superseded by modern inventions.
If space could be spared for the purpose, the committee would be glad to extract largely from the Account of the Peabody Family by the same hand, but can only refer the reader to the Genealogical Register of 1848 and 1849, where it may be found. From this account it appears, by authentic records, that the name had its origin as far back as the time of Nero, in the 61st year of our era !
FITCH POOLE, EsQ.,
SALEM, November 22, 1852.
My Dear Sir,-I send you a drawing of the " halbard" once borne by Lieut. Francis Pabody, who emigrated from St. Albans, England, to this country, in 1635, -- the year in which so large a number of the friends of religious liberty, by a simultaneous movement, determined to seek a refuge from civil and ecclesi- astical oppression on the bleak and inhospitable shores of New England, how- ever 'fiercely the wide ocean might open its mouth to swallow them, or with what terrors the wintry wilderness might threaten them.' This movement re-
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sulted, before the close of that year, in the emigration of some three thousand persons, and among this great number was Francis Pabody of St. Albans, the first American ancestor of Geo. Peabody, now of London, the liberal benefactor to your town, and also of all others in America who spell the name in this man- ner. I have no doubt whatever of the authenticity of this ancient relic, having in the course of my labors in 'digging out the roots, and following out the branches of the old Peabody tree,' traced the possession of it, as an heir-loom in the family, directly from Lieut. Francis down through the descendants of his fourth son Isaac to its present owner, Col. Francis Peabody, of this city .*
Our ancestors, when they left their native shores, brought away with them all such weapons as were in most general use in England at that period; and among others was the halbard or halbert, which must have been a formidable instrument when wielded by a skilful hand. It was in common use in the ar- my during the reign of Charles Ist, and consisted of a staff about five feet long, with a steel head partly in the form of a crescent. The word, according to Vossius, is derived from the German hallebaert, signifying an axe. It is said to have been first introduced into Scotland by the Danes, and carried by them upon the left shoulder ; from whence it found its way into England, and finally into France during the reign of Louis 11th. The halbard, however, of the Danes was no doubt very different from the representation in the accompany- ing plate. From the period when first introduced by them to the time of Hen- ry 8th, and Louis 11th, it no doubt underwent many changes. The present crescent form is said to have been first introduced by Henry 2d of France, in compliment to Dianne of Poictiers, who chose the crescent for her device.
In connection with the halbard it may not be amiss to speak of other imple- ments of war used during the 17th century. A foot soldier, at the time our ancestors left England, was equipped with a clumsy arquebuss, or match-lock mus- ket, supported on a forked staff, to enable him to point it at an enemy ; his body hung round with bandiliers, or little cylindrical wooden boxes, covered with leath- er, each containing one charge of powder for a musket. Twelve of these were suspended to a belt worn over the left shoulder; and at the bottom of the belt, at the right hip, were hung the bullet bag and priming box ; he was likewise encumbered with the match-line lighted at both ends ; and also begirt with a long sword. The sergeants of foot and artillery carried halbards. The mus- ket-rests, after being used. for upwards of a century in England, were finally laid aside during the civil wars which preceded the Protectorate. The long fowling-pieces, with " bastard musket bore," of five and half feet length, were also used at that period, and were sent over to this country by the advice of Endicott, who was a military man, immediately upon his arrival here, as ap- pears by his letter to the company of 13th September, 1628. Pikes and half pikes were also used in this country at that time ; but the English long-bow does not appear to have been introduced here by our ancestors, although used in the artillery companies in England as late as 1643; and the exact time it was dispensed with cannot be accurately ascertained.
The dress of a common soldier, in 1630, consisted of Monmouth caps, stiff ruffs of Queen Elizabeth's time, called bands,-round-a-bout coats, reaching a little below the hips, and small clothes, gartered at the knee, and fastened in
* Lieut. Francis Pabody at his death left his homestead, with all the goods and chattels it contained, to his fourth son Isaac, and among them was this halbard. Isaac's son Isaac inherited the same after him. The last Isaac never married, and at his death his effects were divided among his brothers and sisters, and this halbard fell to his brother Matthew's portion. From Matthew it descended to his son John, and from John again to his son John ; from the latter it descended to his son Joel R. Peabody, of Topsfield, of whom it was ob- tained by its present owner, who is also a descendant of Isaac. A wooden leg, said by tradition to have belonged to the first Isaac, was also handed down in the family of Matthew with this halbard, until the generation preceding Joel, when by some means the leg was lost. This tradition I have since found to be confirmed by the following clause in his father's will : " And this I would have noted, that I have left the more to my son Isaak, in consideration of the providence of God disinabling him by the loss of one of his legs."
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a large bow, or rosette, on one side; they also wore girdles, which performed the office of our modern suspenders. Over this dress, in cold weather, was sometimes thrown a loose sack, lined with cotton, and called mandilions, which covered the whole body, and was usually worn without sleeves. This gar- ment, mentioned among the articles to be sent over to New England 16th March, 1620, is thus described in the History of British Costume, p. 267 :
" Thus put he on his arming truss, fair shoes upon his feet, About him a mundilion, that did with buttons meet, Of purple, large and full of folds, curl'd with a warmful nap, A garment that 'gainst cold in nights, did soldiers use to wrap."
A kind of armor called corsletts, which consisted of back and breast pieces,- tasses for the thighs,-gorgets for the neck,-and head pieces were also used by our ancestors in New England in their first encounters with the Indians ; but such armor, in England, was almost exclusively worn by the cavalry. The musketeer scarcely wore any other armor than morians to defend the legs.
The introduction and use of artificial weapons is a very curious and at- tractive study ; and were the subject in place here, which may be doubted, it would be impossible to do it justice in a short article like the present. Suffice it therefore to say, when first used they were supposed to be made of wood, and employed only against wild beasts. Arms of stone, and brass were next introduced, and these finally gave place to those of iron and steel. Bellus, the son of Nimrod, is imagined to have been the first to engage in wars with his kind, and used arms in battle; hence the appellation bellum. Josephus informs us that the patriarch Joseph first taught the use of arms in the Egyptian armies. The success of the Romans, in making themselves masters of the world, was supposed in a great measure to be owing to the superiority of their arms. When they first visited Britain the principal warlike weapons found among the aborigines were the dart, or javelin,-short spear with a ball at the end filled with brass, to the upper end of which was fixed a thong, that when used as a missile weapon it might be recovered and again used in a close encounter ;- long and broad swords without points, designed only for cutting, and were swung by a chain over the left shoulder,-occasionally a short dirk fixed in the girdle,-scythes, which were sometimes fastened to their chariot wheels. The Saxons, previously to their arrival in Britain, beside the buckler and dag- ger, used a sword bent in the form of a scythe, which their descendants soon
changed for one that was long, straight and broad, double edged and pointed. Beside these the Saxon arms consisted of spears, axes and clubs. They fought with their swords and shields, similar to the Roman gladiators. Some altera- tion in the national arms of Great Britain took place on the arrival of the Danes; they appear to have brought the battle axe into more general use. The arms of the Norman foot soldiery at the time of the conquest were a spear, or a bow and arrow, or a sling, with a sword. From this time to the reign of Edward 2nd, the military weapons were but little altered. About this time we date the introduction of the English cross-bow, which rendered that nation, in one instance, superior to all the world. A great revolution took place in military weapons upon the discovery of gunpowder. The exact time gunpowder and fire arms were first used in war by the British nation is diffi- cult to be discovered. Fire arms of a portable construction were certainly not invented till the beginning of the 16th century. In 1521 the musket mounted on a stock was used in the siege of Parma, and probably soon adopted in England. From this period to the time our ancestors left their native country, improvements in fire arms appear to have been very slow and gradual, and we have seen what clumsy instruments they were at that period. But it is time to close this very imperfect article. It is a common failing with all antiqua- rians to be both prolix and tedious, when they get a fair subject to operate upon. Hoping you will, however, exercise towards me a charity which endureth,
I subscribe myself, yours, very truly, C. M. ENDICOTT.
STALBANS
April 2ª 1635.
·
THE HALBARD.
INDEX.
MR. PROCTOR'S ADDRESS, -
- pages 4 to 57
Specification of topics discussed, -
-
-
58
DANVERS, a Poem, by Dr. Nichols,
-
-
59
Apostrophe to Danvers, - 59 - -
Description of Danvers as it is, -
-
-
61
Danvers before its settlement by Europeans,
62
The Pilgrims, their cause and motives, Their arrival and settlement,
-
-
63
A sketch of our Puritan ancestors, - Their occupations, &c., -
69
Sketches of life in Danvers 100 years ago,
-
72
The Eppes Family, 73
76
Raisings,
-
78
Huskings, -
-
-
79
Spinning Bees, - -
-
80
Biographical Sketches, - - -
-
-
95
Daniel P. King, - -
-
-
96
Danvers next Century, -
-
-
-
96
Order of Arrangement of Procession, -
97 to 112
Order of Exercises at the Church, - -
112 to 114
Remarks at the table, by Rev. M. P. Braman,
115 to 119
66 by his Excellency Gov. Boutwell,
66 by Mr. W. C. Endicott, of Salem,
121 to 124
by Hon. C. W. Upham, of Salem,
- 124 to 126
by Mr. A. Putnam, of Roxbury,
- 126 to 130
66 by Hon. J. G. Palfrey, of Cambridge, - 130 to 132
- 132 to 136
by Mr. A. A. Abbott, of Danvers, by Mr. G. G. Smith, of Boston, 136 to 140
- 141 to 143
Letter from George Peabody, Esq., of London, Remarks by Mr. J. W. Proctor,
- 143 to 144
66 by Mr. P. R. Southwick, of Boston,
- 144 to 146
by Hon. Judge White,
- 146 to 148
by Hon. R. S. Daniels, -
-
- 148 to 150
-
64
-
65
Village Church, Worship, Pastor, and People, -
George Peabody, of London,
-
-
81 to 94 94
Fathers of Danvers-port, -
-
- -
-
- 119 to 121
208
Remarks by Hon. A. Walker, of Boston, -
pages 150 to 151
- 151 to 154
.
66 by Rev. Mr. Stone, of Providence, - 154 to 159
66 by Mr. W. D. Northend, of Salem, -
- 160 to 161
66 by Rev. C. C. Sewall, of Medfield, -
161 to 164
by Rev. J. W. Putnam, of Middleborough,
165 to 167
66 by Rev. J. B. Felt, of Boston,
167 to 171
by Mr. S. P. Fowler, of Danvers,
171 to 172
by Hon. L. Eaton, of South Reading, -
172
by Mr. J. Webster, of New Market, -
173 to 176
by Rev. F. P. Appleton, of Danvers, -
176 to 177
by Dr. E. Hunt, of Danvers,
177 to 178
Letter of Hon. R. C. Winthrop, -
- 178 to 179
of Hon. J. H. Duncan,
-
179
of Rev. T. P. Field, -
179 to 180
of Hon. R. Choate,
180
66 of Hon. R. Rantoul, Jr., -
180 to 181
66 of Hon. Daniel Webster,
-
181
of Hon. James Savage, -
182
of Hon. Edward Everett, 182
Giles Corey's Dream,
183 to 185
A Visit from Parson Parris,
185 to 186
Original Songs and Hymns,
186 to 188
Exercises at the School Pavilion,
- 188 to 190
Action of the Town on the Peabody Donation,
191 to 192
Notice of Mr. Peabody,
- 193 to 204
Halbard of Lieut. Francis Pabody,
204 to 206
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by Rev. Mr. Thayer, of Beverly,
ERRATA.
In preparing the materials of this work some omissions have been made, owing to want of information at the time ; and several mistakes of fact, as well as typographical errors, escaped attention. Among them are the following :-
To the List of College Graduates, the Note to Mr. Proctor's Address, page 34, should be added the following names :-
Moses Putnam, *
Harvard, 1759.
* William Clark, 66 1759.
* James Putnam, Moses H. Cross, Amherst.
66 1774. Kendall Flint, M. D., 66
It is believed there are several others whose names should be in this list, but the fact of their being graduates has not come to the knowledge of the Com- mittee, with sufficient evidence to warrant their insertion.
By a slip of the types the name of Thomas Stimpson, in the Note above referred to, is marked with an Asterisk. This mark was intended for the name of the late Rev. Ezekiel Marsh, and not for Mr. Stimpson who is now living.
On page 105 the surname of Miss LYDIA A. FELTON is printed, by a typo- graphical mistake, Tilton.
In the List of Marshals of the Young Men's Cavalcade, on page 111, ought to be inserted the name of Mr. ThoMAS W. OSBORNE.
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