"These...cavaliers...left the village of Apalache on the twentieth day of October in the year 1539 to return to the province...where Pedro Calderón remained. They...all traveled lightly, with no more than helmets and coats of mail over their clothes and lances in their hands."1
"Following these men was Nuño Tovar with his bare sword in one hand and wearing only an unbuckled coat of mail, the pressure of his enemies having given him no opportunity to obtain anything else."2
In Apalache:
"...the Campmaster Luis de Moscoso was struck in the right side by an arrow which penetrated a leather jacket and the hauberk which he wore underneath as well. This particular hauberk was so richly burnished that it had cost him one hundred a fifty ducats in Spain, and was the type which many rich men wore and highly esteemed. The arrow had continued through a quilted doublet and wounded him..."3
"...the Indian released the arrow [at a distance of fifty feet] and it penetrated both hauberk and basket...So they commanded another very valuable hauberk be placed over that which was already on the basket..[the arrow] after passing through four thickness' of mail, remained crossed therein with an equal portion of the arrow protruding on each side...The Spaniards, ...thenceforward...were quite undeceived as to how much protection... these very esteemed coats of mail could afford them. Thus those who owned them jested about them calling them Flemish linens: and to use instead, they devised quilted cloaks three or four fingers thick, with long folds that covered the chests and haunches of the horse. These cloaks, which were made of blankets resisted arrows more effectively than any other of their defensive arms;"4
"But because of the haste occasioned by his foes, he was unable to take along any defensive arms other than a helmet and a loose quilted cotton coat three fingers thick, which is looked on as armor because it is the best defense our men have found against arrows. With just this protection and with a lance he went forth alone..."5
"Now Don Carlos had taken his horse from the last retreat with an arrow wound above the breastplate on the side of the chest. Because of having to remove the arrow...he twisted his left shoulder so that his own neck was exposed at very inopportune time, for at this point a stray arrow...chanced to hit him in a small section of the throat which was exposed and unprotected even though the rest of his body was very well covered."6
This seems to imply some type of gorget is worn.
"...eighteen of whom who had been killed by arrows shot through their eyes or mouths, for the Indians, on perceiving that their bodies were protected, aimed at their faces."7
This implies an open faced style of helmet, not that this is unexpected.
.
"...and even those thick and quilted hauberks which they had held of no value, regardless of what protection they put beneath them resisted arrows better than the very fine and highly burnished ones."8
"...an Indian to the rear of him [De Soto] struck him in that little space left exposed between the saddlebow and his cuirass. Although he wore a coat of mail, the arrow broke through this protection and a sixth of it entered his left buttock."9
"...the horse was dead...the Castilians...did find a shaft ...lacking less than four fingers of flesh of having come out through the [horse's] breastplate."10
"A brave soldier Andrés de Memeses, who was a native of Almendralejo, out with ten of twelve other Spaniards to resist this attack, but the Indians charged with such savagery and ferocity that they felled this man to the water with four arrows, which drove through his thighs and genitals; for on seeing his body protected by a shield , they had aimed at his most vulnerable spot."11
"... he now strode along behind Gonzalo Silvestre, who protected him with half a shield that he had found in the water...[and] received these missiles on his shield, which being wet was able to resist their force."12
The modifiers "half”, "found in the water", and "which being wet" would certainly imply a wooden shield rather than one of metal. It might be an interesting experiment to see if a wet shield indeed does resist arrows better than a dry one.
"...and beaten him so strenuously that they had broken his shield into pieces and left him clasping no more than its handles."13
Again another implication of a shield constructed of wood rather than metal.
"So throwing himself [Captain Diego de Soto] down from his horse and taking a round shield and a sword in his hand,.."14
"Here, he says they very hastily made saddles, lances, and round shields, because the fire had burned all these things for them..."15
"His [Juan de Vega] horse wore a breast-leather half a vara wide made of three thickness' of cowhide, for the careful Spaniards made such breast-leathers from the skins of cows, lions, bear, and deer that they could obtain, for protecting their horses."16
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1Vega, Garcilasco de la. Trans. John and Jeannette Varner. The Florida of the Inca. (University of Texas Press, Austin 1988)p.196.
2Vega p.401.
3Vega p.235
4Vega pp235-236.
5Vega p.399.
6Vega p.364.
7Vega p.377.
8Vega p.236.
9Vega p.367.
10Vega p.258.
11Vega p.241.
12Vega p.240.
13Vega p.264.
14Vega p.370.
15Vega p.406.
16 Clayton, Lawrence A., Vernon James Knight, Jr. and Edward C. Moore ed. The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando De Soto to North America in 1539-1543. Vol. II (The University of Alabama Press: Tuscaloosa, Alabama 1993)p.470
"And of arms, there were many cuirasses, bucklers, pikes, lances and steel helmets."1
Curiously enough I do not believe the pikes are recorded as being used at all in any of the chronicles. I suspect that any pikes brought ashore would have been quickly cut down to the more practical length of a lance in the wilderness of La Florida.
"...the Spaniards commanded the men on horseback to dismount, since they were better armed. Taking shields, swords and axes, thirty of these men..."2
"In consequence they [Indians] bore in their hands many of the swords, halberds and lances that the Spaniards themselves had lost..."3
"And in these vessels he was to bring whatever was available of crossbows, arquebuses, lead and powder;...”4
"...and lances in their hands."5
“The five guards wore their halberds, Andrés Moreno carried his sword girded to his side and his lance in hand, and Francisco de Aguilar had both a sword and a shield.”6
I have to wonder about the term ‘wore’ in this context. Were halberds literally worn (presumably strapped to the back?) or more likely simply carried on the shoulder.
"This lance being thin, the arrow passed through the midst of it, close to the hand, and it shaft proved to be of such material that it did not split."7
"...the aforementioned Antón Galván. Though he had been wounded...as a good soldier he had not lost his crossbow; so putting a shaft to his weapon, he now strode along behind Gonzalo Silvestre, who protected him with half a shield that he had found in the water...[and] received these missiles on his shield, which being wet was able to resist their force."8
“So throwing himself down from his horse [Captain Diego de Soto] and taking a round shield and sword in his hand...”9
"On seeing the infidels enclosed, the Governor commanded all the men on horseback, since they were better armed than the footsoldiers, to dismount and, with shields for their defense and axes for destroying the gates (most of them having brought axes with them), to attack the town like valiant Spaniards and do all their power to gain it."10
"He [Juan de Carranza] carried in his hands a battle-ax that had fallen to his lot from the spoils and booty that the Indians had taken that morning from the crossbowmen. The ax belonged to Captain Juan Páez, and being the weapon of a captain of crossbowmen the blades (Note the plural ‘blades') were well sharpened and it had a haft more than half a fathom long (over three feet), very smooth and polished."11
One archer was a Spaniard who from childhood to the age of twenty had been reared in England, and another was an Englishman by birth; therefore as men experienced in the arms of England and skillful with the bow and arrow, they would use no weapons but these throughout the whole expedition...”12
“...there being in each brigantine only a single crossbow much out of order.”13
“they never remain quiet, but are continually running, traversing from place to place, so that neither crossbow nor arquebuse can be aimed at them.”14
“His men being placed in full concert, he ordered an arquebuse to be shot off:” 15
“
“...and attacked with their crossbows since they had used the arquebuses to make nails...these weapons had been of little effect... [on the]... expedition since because of the scant practice and experience our men had had...a circumstance not greatly ameliorated by the poor provision they found for the making of powder...”16
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1 Vega, Garcilasco de la. Trans. John and Jeannette Varner. The Florida of the Inca. (University of Texas Press, Austin 1988 pp.227-228.
2Varner p.243.
3Varner p.369.
4Varner p.249.
5Varner p.196.
6Varner p.265.
7Varner p.368.
8Varner p.240.
9Varner p.370.
10Varner p.365.
11Clayton, Lawrence A., Vernon James Knight, Jr. and Edward C. Moore ed. The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando De Soto to North America in 1539-1543. Vol. II (The University of Alabama Press: Tuscaloosa, Alabama p.418.
12Varner p.596.
13Lewis, Theodore H. trans., “The Narrative of the Expedition of Hernando De Soto by the Gentleman of Elvas”, Spanish Explorers in the Southern United States 1528-1543. (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1974)p.257.
14Lewis p.148
15Lewis. p.192.
16Varner p.579.
A little later [late June 1539] Añasco discovered that a large body of Indians had assembled at a point some distance away near the shore and he was sent in ships' boats with foot soldiers (De Soto says 80) to disperse them "or see and hear what was up." He found them upon an island and killed nine or ten with small cannons (artilleria), but they in turn destroyed as many of the Spaniards and he was unable to dislodge them.1
We have not mentioned previously a piece of ordnance which the governor carried in his army, and the reason for our omission is that this is the first occasion in the whole of the expedition that has been offered us to do so. Having observed that this weapon served only as a burden and an affliction, and that both men and mules had to be employed for its care and transportation, the Adelantado decided to let it remain in the protection of the Curaca Cofa. And in order to demonstrate just what he was leaving him, he ordered the piece to aimed from the Cacique's very house toward a large and exceeding beautiful liveoak growing outside the town. Then much to the surprise of both the chieftain and his people, the whole tree was destroyed with two shots.2
"We made bellows from two bearskins and we set up a forge with two cannons that we had brought along, tempering our weapons and preparing as best we could. - Alonso de Carmona"3
Inventory of the assets left by the Adelantado Hernando de Soto following his death, 1543...
-three versos [light artillery] with their iron chambers
-two bronze versos, one with its loading apparatus [sevidor] and the other is fired without it
-twelve iron versos without their loading apparatus4
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1Swanton, John R. The Final Report of the United States De Soto Expedition Commission (Smithsonian Institution: Washington 1985) p.141.
2 Vega, Garcilasco de la. Trans. John and Jeannette Varner. The Florida of the Inca. (University of Texas Press, Austin 1988 p.273.
3Clayton, Lawrence A., Vernon James Knight, Jr. and Edward C. Moore ed. The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando De Soto to North America in 1539-1543. Vol. II (The University of Alabama Press: Tuscaloosa, Alabama p.373.
4Clayton p.497.
“He commanded a muster to be made, to which the Portuguese turned out in polished armor, and the Castilians very showily, in silk over silk, pinked and slashed...the next day...The greater number of Castillians were in very sorry and rusty shirts of mail; all wore steel caps and helmets, but had very poor lances.”1
“The Governor of the Island [Canaries] was appareled all in white, cloak, jerkin, hose, shoes, and cap, so that he looked like a governor of Gypsies.”2
“...besides a large number of cloaks, loose coats, doublets, hose and all kinds and weights of footwear such as shoes, buskins and sandals.”3
“And in these vessels he was to bring...quantities of sandals and all kinds of articles to cover the legs and feet; and other supplies needed by the army.”4
“...taking with him a scarlet cloak and other articles of the Christian’s clothing...”5
“...the Governor gave him [the Cacique Ocute] a hat of yellow satin, and a shirt, and a feather...”6
“...and some took the shirts from their deceased companions as well as from their own selves to make bandages and lints. The dressings were...for those only of the most dangerous character; for the wounds that were less dangerous, they used less luxurious lints and bandages made of coarse cloth or the lining of breeches and similar things they happened to have.”7
“If perchance, any one still had clothing left from the fire at Malvilla, it was now all burned up in that place; and many were naked, as they had no time to snatch their jerkins.”8
“The Governor, who always slept in his breeches and doublet in order to be prepared at all times...”9
“...some being without doublets and others without breeches.”10
In Pánuco, Mexico, “Moreover, they gave them everything else they needed, such as pleated shirts, doublets, caps, hats, knives, scissors, hair ribbons, bonnets, and even combs with which to dress their hair.”11
“...Friar Hernando de Mesa, a Dominican...came near to being drowned on disembarking, for when his Lordship sprang for the landing boat, the ship moved back a little, and he, being unable to reach the second vessel because of his long robes, fell between the two. On emerging from the sea he struck his head against the ship and in consequence judged himself to have reached the end of his days. But the sailors jumped in and saved him.”12
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1 Lewis, Theodore H. “The Narrative of the Expedition of Hernando de Soto by the Gentlemen of Elvas," Spanish Explorers in the Southern United States 1528-1543 (Barnes and Noble, New York: 1974) p.139
2Lewis p.140
3Vega, Garcilasco de la. Trans. John and Jeannette Varner. The Florida of the Inca. (University of Texas Press, Austin 1988) p.227.
4Varner p.249.
5Hodge p.192.
6Clayton, Lawrence A., Vernon James Knight Jr. and Edward C. More. The De Soto Chronicles Vol. I (The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa: 1993) p.272.
7Varner p.376.
8 Swanton, John R. Final Report of the De Soto Expedition Commission. (Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington: 1985) p.227.
9Varner p.399.
10Varner p.406.
11Varner p.623.
12Varner p.39.
Navigation:
Alonso de Carmona, ‘Thus we navigated, following the Coast more or less closely, for the Indians had burned our instruments of navigation, or we ourselves had done so, when we set fire to Maubila. Captain Juan de Añasco was a very careful man and he had recovered the astrolabe and kept it. As it was of metal it had not been much damaged. He made a sailing chart on a piece of deerskin and fashioned a forestaff from a ruler, and we set course by it.”1
From the declarations of Juan de Añasco:
“After the death of Commander de Soto, he managed to construct a compass from an old clock, which proved indispensable in finding the Pánuco River in Mexico.”2
I have to wonder about this quotation. I have previously read where Cortez took hourglass type clocks with him into the interior of Mexico, but I am unaware of any mechanical type clockwork being used aboard ship until the eighteenth century. Even if they had brought along a mechanical clock, I still don’t see how you construct a compass out of it; although some sort of astrolabe or sextant might be possible.
Musical Instruments:
“While this obstinate battle lasted, the trumpets, fifes and drums never ceased to sound the call to arms with great insistence so that those Spaniards who had remained in the regard would make haste to come to the aid of their people.”3
Interestingly enough Rodrigo Corona, a Trumpeter, is listed among those accompanying the expedition.
General Equipment:
“Further Ships stores finally were brought on board along with a great quantity of crude iron, steel, iron for saddlebows, spades, pickaxes, crates, ropes and baskets, all of which were necessary for colonization.”4
“...to take some axes and cut some branches to be placed crosswise on the bridge...”5
“A Portuguese, of Ceuta, had learned to saw lumber while a captive in Fez; and saws had been brought for that purpose...”6
“Since the Governor was a man of wealth, he had brought a great abundance of these things in addition to such necessary ships supplies such as sails, tackle, pitch, oakum, tallow, ropes, panniers, hampers, anchors, cables, and quantities of iron and steel.”7
“And they took the chains in which they brought the Indians, strongly joined with some S hooks of iron...”8
“On their saddles were great saddlebags in which they took some nails, horseshoes, and whatever food supplies they could fit in them for both the men and horses.”9
“In four other voyages [across the river] they took over the saddles, bridles, and knapsacks...”10
“In this manner they were conducted within the tents; and when near his marquee the Governor....”11
“The clothing the Christians carried with them, the ornaments for saying mass...”12
Cards:
“Because we have said that these Spaniards gambled, and have not told what they played, it should be said that after the cards they had with them were burned in the battle of Mauvila, along with all the other things they lost there, they made cards of parchment and painted them remarkably well, ... they made enough to be used among the players by turns for a limited time, from which...may have arisen that saying current among gamblers when they are playing: 'Let us hurry, gentlemen, they are coming for the cards.' Since those that our men made were of leather, they lasted a long time.”13
Beads:
“The govorner recieved and dismissed him graciously, giving him some beads (which were not much regarded among them) and other pieces of cloth to take to his lord.”14
“The governor gave him some margaridetas -- a kind of bead much esteemed in Peru--and some other trifles with which he was much pleased.” 15
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1Clayton, Lawrence A., Vernon James Knight Jr. and Edward C. More. The De Soto Chronicles Vol. II (The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa: 1993) p527.
2Avellaneda, Ignacio. Los Sobreviventes de la Florida: The Survivors of the De Soto Expedition. (Research Publications of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History, University of Florida Libasries, Gainesville, Florida: 1990) p.13.
3Vega, Garcilasco de la. Trans. John and Jeannette Varner. The Florida of the Inca. (University of Texas Press, Austin 1988) p.369.
4Varner p.20.
5Clayton. Vol.II. pp.134-135.
6Lewis, Theodore H. “The Narrative of the Expedition of Hernando de Soto by the Gentlemen of Elvas," Spanish Explorers in the Southern United States 1528-1543 (Barnes and Noble, New York: 1974) p.250.
7Varner p.228.
8 Clayton. Vol. I. p.269.
9Varner p.196.
10Clayton. Vol.II. p.217.
11Lewis p.182.
12Lewis p.193
13Clayton. Vol.II. p.431.
14Clayton. Vol. I. p.95.
15Clayton. Vol. I. p.131.
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