One issue facing re-enactors of any period is how to introduce oneself to the public. How would a rank-and-file soldier of the Civil War title himself? Private? Musketeer? Pikeman? Or would he have any title at all?
Foot soldiers of the English Civil War (as we all know) were divided into two sorts: those armed with pikes and those with muskets. It is tempting to think that these distinctions were used as a way of identifying individuals, that such soldiers would be addressed as “Pikeman Jones” or “Musketeer Smith”, similarly to how such distinctions exist in the modern British army: private, fusilier, guardsman and rifleman all apply to soldiers of the lowest rank. Sadly for the Civil War re-enactor, no such titles or terms of address seem to have been used for foot soldiers in 17th century armies.
Army pay records of the Civil War make no distinction between those who carried a pike and those armed with a musket. Payments made to individuals such as “Rob. Harrison, private souldr” or “Simon Waterson, souldr” are typical examples [1]. None are referred to by the arm they bore. As foot soldiers were paid the same rate, irrespective of whether they carried pike or musket, there was little need to distinguish individuals by reference to which weapon they fought.
As there is no evidence of 'musketeer' or 'pikeman' being used as titles for soldiers, and private or common soldier only used collectively, what titles were used? Put simply, they had none. University of Cambridge academic Dr. Amy Louise Erickson writes of women in the early modern period:
Until the 19th century, most women did not have any prefix before their name. Mrs and, later, Miss were both restricted to those of higher social standing. Women on the bottom rungs of the social scale were addressed simply by their names. Thus, in a large household the housekeeper might be Mrs Green, while the scullery maid was simply Molly and the woman who came in to do the laundry was Tom Black's wife or Betty Black. [2]
A similar distinction applied to men of the period. 'Master' (contracted to 'Mr') was the equivalent of Mistress, and applied to those who governed servants or apprentices – master of his house, master of his trade. Men from the lower ranks of society possessed no title to their name, and this included the common soldiery. Thus a soldier discharged from prison in November 1642 was described as “Henry Younger, a common Soldier”, whereas in later period he would have been titled “Private Younger” [3].
Where does this leave the Civil War re-enactor? From the above evidence, calling individuals 'Musketeer Smith' or 'Pikeman Jones' is inaccurate for the mid-17th century. More properly, the rank and file soldier should be described as being a 'common soldier' or 'private soldier'. As for a term of address, the rank and file 'squaddie' of the Civil War period should simply be called by their given name.
Robert Hodkinson, July 2018
References:
1. Exchequer Papers, 121/4/8 part 106, ff.72, 82. The National Archives.
2. Erickson, A. “Mistress, Miss, Mrs or Ms: untangling the shifting history of titles”, University of Cambridge [online] [accessed 14 July 2018]
available: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/mistress-miss-mrs-or-ms-untangling-the-shifting-history-of-titles
3. entry for 28 November 1642, in Journal of the House of Commons: Volume 2, 1640-1643 (London, 1802), pp. 866-868. British History Online [online] [accessed 14 July 2018]
available: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/commonsjrnl/vol2/pp866-868
1. Exchequer Papers, 121/4/8 part 106, ff.72, 82. The National Archives.
2. Erickson, A. “Mistress, Miss, Mrs or Ms: untangling the shifting history of titles”, University of Cambridge [online] [accessed 14 July 2018]
available: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/mistress-miss-mrs-or-ms-untangling-the-shifting-history-of-titles
3. entry for 28 November 1642, in Journal of the House of Commons: Volume 2, 1640-1643 (London, 1802), pp. 866-868. British History Online [online] [accessed 14 July 2018]
available: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/commonsjrnl/vol2/pp866-868