Accession Number

1986.008.3029a

Alternate object names

Musket Rest;Fork;Yoke

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

The iron fork of a musket rest recovered from the wreck of the 1622 galleon Santa Margarita. The musket was a long and heavy weapon, and a forked rest was of assistance in firing it. The muzzle end of the musket barrel was placed in the rest, which took some of the weight of the piece and allowed the user to take a more relaxed and careful aim. The iron fork sat on the end of a wooden stake, at a height of approximately five feet. The bottom end of the stake had an iron point, and, in a pinch, the long shaft itself could have been used as a weapon. This fork has an overall length 22.6 centimeters.

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023):

Firearms

Firearms replaced crossbows by the late 1500s. They were extremely heavy and not very accurate, but they were powerful. To improve accuracy, each man carried a pole with a yoke at its top to steady the muzzle while he used both hands to aim and fire.

Arquebuses and muskets both fired lead balls but each had their own advantages. Muskets had a longer range, but arquebuses could be reloaded faster. Neither had a built-in firing mechanism, so the soldiers carried lit slow-burning cords with which to ignite the gunpowder behind the ball.
 
Object Caption (2023):

Yoke
Reconstruction (c.1615)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.3029a