This is an armor of an English harquebusier, a cavalryman who may have been equipped with a carbine, but overwhelmingly, fought with a sword. They specifically engaged in a type of warfare which involved movements designed to capitalize on surprise and the unexpected such as flank attacks. It surely fought through the English Civil Wars. The breastplate is shot proof, dented with an oversize charged musket shot, which assured both the wearer and an aggressor of its defensive capability. The backplate bears the crowned IR mark of James II, illustrated, The London Armourers of the 17th Century, page 19 which was applied in the Tower, retrospectively by a workman who became very bored with the process, on pieces already in the arsenal at the tower. The characteristic of this boredom was whacking of the mark as hard as possible so that it often passes right through the armour, leaving a small, keyhole shaped hole and it is usually quite illegible. The breastplate bears the Cross of Saint George mark, ibid. page 20, identified as a government control mark of the Commonwealth, and may have been applied when the armor was inventoried, following the execution of Charles I and establishment of the Commonwealth government. Height: 16".
