As my moccasins pound down the warpath in the Mohawk Valley c. 1775-1782, I continually cut sign of a medieval implement that remained an effective weapon through the era of the muzzleloading musket and rifle.
Talking about the Spontoon. That’s a fancy term for a military spear. Officially, it’s a half-pike. The pike — a spear ranging anywhere from 10 to 25 feet long — has an ancient pedigree, being a simple and inexpensive weapon to make, and one that considerably extended the reach of an infantryman. In the 17th century, pikemen were used to defend musketeers, and the pike/musketeer formation and its tactical use was so prevalent that the era became known as the era of Pike & Shotte.
After the advent of first the plug bayonet and then the socket bayonet in the early 18th Century, the pike fell away from general use — and the Spontoon became a vestigial weapon. It was often issued to noncommissioned officers and sometimes junior grade officers as a symbol of rank and could be used for signaling, for dressing the ranks and as a rally-point on the smoky battlefield.
It remained, however, a real-deal weapon.
The head of the Spontoon often resembled the blade of a boar spear, with a crosspiece designed to prevent overpenetration.
Unlike the boar spear, though, the Spontoon was usually taller than a man. In instances of hand-to-hand combat, it offered reach and mobility superior to the bayonet-tipped musket.
There are multiple references to Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) warriors armed with Spontoons, including Seneca thus equipped at the bloody Battle of Oriskany in western New York in 1777.
Barbara Graymont, “The Iroquois in the American Revolution.”
In that ambush, which featured hand-to-hand combat of the most intimate and savage nature, a warrior armed with a Spontoon or homemade spear was better equipped than one with a musket or rifle, especially if he had no bayonet.
Don Troiani’s epic painting of the Battle of Wyoming depicts a Seneca warrior deploying a spear to devastating effect.
We don’t generally think of the spear as a Frontier Partisan weapon unless we’re evoking the assegai of southern Africa — or unless we are Lane Batot (hat tip). But it seems clear that the Spontoon was a common and effective weapon on the Revolutionary War frontier.
Craig Rullman says
Tannhauser does some excellent work with a Spontoon in Paris, as I recall.
JimC says
Ah, right — so he does.
deuce says
Cool post! Never count out the lowly spear. A deadly weapon that ruled battlefields for millennia.
Aaron says
Donald Sutherland in “Revolution” used one playing a Redcoat sergeant. Horrible film.
lane batot says
I thought “Revolution” was rather dark and depressing(for the most part), but I LOVED the portrayal of the Iroquois trackers–one of the only(from that era) ACCURATE portrayals of such…..
C.Costa says
You can see Donald Sutherland wielding it as a British colour Sergeant in the 1985 movie “Revolution” with Al Pacino.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vouz1ljiLs
Keep up your excellent work Jim, i thoroughly enjoy this site.
JimC says
Thank you sir!
John M Roberts says
I recall reading a Continental Army regulation stating that it was desirable that officers be provided with a weapon because being armed would greatly improve their morale, but that the intricacies of operating a flintlock would be too distracting from their primary duty – to direct the fire and movement of their men. The spontoon or halberd were deemed ideal, on the old principle of, “an officer who is doing a sergeant’s job is not doing his own.”
lane batot says
Hat tip acknowledged! Yup, nuthin’ more practical(to me) than a-knife-on-a-stik! I feel rather nekkid going on a ramble in the woods without one! And I DO prefer a shaft longer than I’m tall–a lot of the fancy store-bought survival spears(which ARE neato–and I’ve purchased a couple…) tend to have rather short shafts. I use mine as a walking stick, and to flip stuff in my established trails out of the way as I stride, and the shorties just don’t get it for that. I know a TRUE assegai has a short shaft(for close infighting)–and I ALSO have one of those(which I think would function very well and be easier to manipulate in skewering a house intruder–any that get past the dog pack, that is…), but I like the length and the reach of a 7 foot/plus shaft when out and abroad. I mean, if you had to impale some rabid critter, you really want to keep that distance! One day,Jim, yer gonna havta do a post on that spear hunter of jaguars, Sasha Siemel! Or have you done that already? Seems like we’ve at least mentioned him in commentary before….
JimC says
The Jaguar Hunter
lane batot says
Of course! How soon we forget!
RLT says
Can’t beat a pointy stick, eh?
In other news, watched “Triple Frontier” tonight with my wife. You fellas may want to check it out. But I gotta say, for a movie that looked up my alley, it left me disappointed. Seemed like a lot of missed opportunity for plot and drama.
And for a movie about SF vets pulling a heist over on a cartel, the characters sure didn’t act like seasoned asymmetrical warfighters. Poor planning, terrible unit cohesion, bad decisions at every turn. Their blunders drive the tension, but I’d much rather have watched a team of guys making all the right calls even as the situation goes pear-shaped around them.
The acting wasn’t that great, either, which is funny considering how good all of the lead actors are in other films.
Anybody else seen this one?
JimC says
Saw it. It’s effectively Treasure of the Sierra Madre for the 21st Century. I’d give it a “B.”
Paul McNamee says
Nothin’ like a good ol’ pig sticker.
Tangential and not explicitly frontier but of possible interest;
Author Myke Cole has a new non-fiction book out. It’s an examination of the ancient world phalanxes vs the evolution to the Roman legions. Sound interesting.
Legion versus Phalanx
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FXNNWBT/
Here’s an interview, too;
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2019/03/interview-with-myke-cole-legion-versus-phalanx/
deuce says
The Cisalpine Gauls taught the Romans that the phalanx was obsolete. Then, the Romans taught the Gauls that the legion is very hard to beat.
JimC says
The Hardcore History podcast on The Celtic holocaust is excellent, BTW.