spanish colonial lances

[Jim McDougall]

"...the lance was the favorite weapon of the Presidial soldiers in the northerm frontiers of New Spain. The use of the lance was so thoroughly engrained into the population of this region that even as late as the Mexican War the lancers were some of the most effective troops in the service of Mexico".
("Spanish Military Weapons in Colonial America 1700-1821",
S. Brinckerhoff and Pierce Chamberlain, 1972, p.108)
This is well illustrated in particular in the case of the Battle of San Pascual, August 18,1846, at a location nortn of San Diego, California (an excellent work on this is "Lances at San Pascual", Arthur Woodward, 1948).
A contingent of insurgent 'Californios' led by Don Andres Pico, clashed with U.S. First Dragoons, and the effect of the deadly lancers is described, "...almost every dragoon in the forward party suffered from the point of the willow lances".

I recall research a number of years ago with an official of an Arizona museum who was trying to locate information of lances that were apparantly made for a unit of Californio lancers who were to join Confederate forces in Arizona during the Civil War. I cannot locate notes on this at the moment, but the object was to illustrate that the lance remained a viable weapon that late.

Returning to Spanish colonial lances of the 18th century, Brinckerhoff & Chamberlain note that most extant lance blades found in the southwest appear to be products of local smiths, and the variety in shapes and sizes is almost endless (op.cit. p.108). Many were of socketed form, while many had the tang driven into the shaft.
It should be noted that in these frontier regions, even in Santa Fe, there was typically a regimental armourer/blacksmith who had a number of ironworkers and tried to keep weapons servicable, as well as meet local demands. All manner of surplus and scrap iron was used in fashioning utility items as well as lance heads among knife blades etc. It seems most of the varying forms of these items, though sturdy and workmanlike, I dont think reach the rather exalted description noted in the book cited. Personally, I think they have a rugged charm to them, as Spanish Colonial weapons have always been a fascination to me.
Many local Indian tribesmen were trained in metalwork, and according to Marc Simmons and Frank Turley ("Southwestern Colonial Ironwork", 1980, p.31) they even produced long iron tipped lances for trade with Pueblo tribes.

Though the lance remained a regulation weapon with Presidial troops, there was little uniformity in the examples used, and not all lances were confined to military use (Simmons & Turley, p.177). For the plains, the 'cibolero' or lance for buffalo hunting had a wide blade and wide tang with holes punched in tang or rags cut in edges to secure the head.

Since the Comanches seem to have entered New Mexico mostly in the Northeastern regions, apparantly in thier quest for horses, and finding these as well as other trade with the Spanish, also adopted the lance. In "Native American Weapons" (Colin F. Taylor, 2001,p.10) there is a illustration of a George Catlin painting of a Comanche warrior, His-oo-San-Ches (Little Spaniard), holding a lance with his shield and bow and arrows. It is noted that the southern plains tribes made extensive use of the lance due to contact with Spanish-Mexican soldiers, most of whom were highly skilled lancers (p.62), and that "...only a brave man carried such a weapon as it meant hand to hand combat". Interestly it is also noted on p.122 that a favorite point for lance heads was a sword blade, procured in great numbers from Mexicans, and according to Comanche informants some could be up to 30 inches long.

Could the graceful lance heads have actually been sword blades?


As for the expertise of the Spanish Colonials with the lance, according to Simmons and Turley (p.177) ; "...owing to the scarcity of firearms and a perennial shortage of lead and gunpowder, the lance remained an important weapon in the Spanish Colonies long after it had fallen into disuse elsewhere".

For the quality, it is noted that "...there is no doubt that many ordinary lance points were forged by local smiths, while those of superior workmanship in most cases were imported from the south". This would presume workshops far south of the Santa Fe center in New Mexico, probably as far as Mexico City itself.

I hope someone out there might have some examples of Spanish colonial lances or lanceheads to post. I have as noted, seen them over the years in museums and collections and most seemed quite simple. I have not seen the tomahawks mentioned though, and would like to see more on these.

All best regards,
Jim

[Jim McDougall]

Found the Civil War info:
Apparantly it was not for the Confederate forces, but the Union, and
the unit was the 'First Battalion of Native California Cavalry', California Volunteers.
Ironically, the first choice to command the unit was to be none other than Don Andres Pico, who had led the Californios at the Battle of San Pascual.
He was unfortunately of ill health and unable to take the command.

These were Mexican/Californio vaqueros recruited in Los Angeles area, and mustered in 1863-64, and though intended to serve in Texas, they were assigned to locations in California, with some going to the Arizona/Sonora frontier. The troopers equipment was a Colt Army revolver, sabre, and a lance manufactured at the Benicia Arsenal (near San Francisco) which had a red pennon.
* I believe the red pennon may have had traditional associations to the 'deguello' or 'no quarter' familiarized in the Battle of the Alamo.

That was what the research was, trying to find one of these 'Benicia' lances. I didn't find one, but am not sure if he did or not.

[chevalier]

ive reread the passage in "the comanchero frontier" dealing with the lances and it refers to the new mexican lances and tomahawks being "lighter and more graceful" than the british or american trade weapons of the day.

[chevalier]

on another point, i find it extremely interesting that the comanches where able during the period between 1800 - 1860 to raid as far south as guatemala and honduras and made almost regular forays as deep into mexico as san luis potosi and tampico.

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you Chevalier for the extra detail on the wording in the book, which makes a great deal of sense. It seems that the British and American weapons were probably relatively heavier, especially in the polearms, as I have not seen the Spanish 'tomahawks' to guage. The British polearms were typically spontoons and some halberds I believe, which of course would not have been traded, and I dont believe either British or Americans used lances here in those times.

As has been discussed, the Spanish Colonial use of the lance was in many if not most cases a primary weapon, rather than a secondary or ancillary weapon. Its manner of use was probably much in the way used by the American Indians of southern plains, as a shorter spear or stabbing weapon. I would imagine the shafts of the Spanish lances must have been shorter than the typical lances of Europe, which were around 8 feet long or so. These were tremendously awkward in the melee, and used as a primary weapon in shock action, with movement to secondary weapons after contact. The Spaniards kept stabbing with them, in one instance narrating the Battle of San Pascual, it notes that one American dragoon was stabbed sixteen times by lance before falling.

In the Brinckerhoff & Chamberlain reference, there is no mention of tomahawks among the weapons described, which of course does not mean they did not exist in these Spanish Colonial regions, but it seems as comprehensive as the book is that they should be mentioned if of any significance. There are of course halberds and spontoons shown, and Taylor (op.cit.) notes that early 'tomahawks' were often comprised of heads of these weapons among tribes in Iroquois regions as the familiar pipe tomahawk developed. I found no specific mention of tomahawks in the Simmons and Turley reference, though one spontoon is shown and the head is more like a very large lance head, ornate, and probably from regions to the south.

You're right on the Comanches, it is truly amazing what amazing distances they travelled in thier raiding. The intensity of thier raids for horses seems to be often the key subject on them in regions all over Texas, which in my own travels across the state has come up many times. One small city has its town square and virtually the entire town history focused on a monumental Comanche horse raid there in about the 1870's if I recall.

Thank you bringing up this topic....you always bring in good ones!!!
It was great revisiting old notes and remembering how fascinating the weapons of New Spain really were!!!

[Gonzalo G]

The lance and the spontoon were typical weapons and tool in the colonial and post-colonial periods in Mexico. The lance was a weapon used mainly, but not exclusively, by the cavalry since the conquest. Lancers charges were common from the troops from Cortéz. Latter, the lance was used, not only by the presidio troops, but also by the cowboys to manage the catttle. There were cavalry lancers along all the 19th Century in Mexico, including California, Arizona, Texas and New México. Those lances were long poled weapons, not as the indian ones, and not to be used as the indian´s, or thrown. As Jim says, the lance was the primary wepon of the cavalry, and not the sword, the sabre or the machete. I think the lance was much more common in México than is the USA, but I can be mistaken. We have many examples on the museums.

Tomahawks I only have seen them in the most "european" style, the hatchet used by the colonizers, not the classical "indian" used by the USA indians. The comanches never went more to the south than the north side of the State of San Luis Potosí, not even to central México. I find greatly inacurate that statement. But they were already in all the northeast Mexico, as the apache in the central north and also in the northeast, mainly the mezcaleros.
Regards

Gonzalo

[Jim McDougall]

Its good to hear from you Gonzalo, and I have been compelled to look more into resources dealing with the lance in the Americas. It is as I have noted, a fascinating topic, and I discovered a bit more on them.

I am inclined to agree, that movements or raids of the Comanches that far into Latin America seems somewhat questionable. There was of course trade between many American Indian tribes well into Mexico, but it would seem more a case of interface between tribal groups at the perimeters of thier territories. In degree this is the exception with Comanches, who do not seem to have had specifically defined territories, but I would need more support to show them as far as Central America.

I agree that the nature of the lances used did have variation, and seem to have become longer in time from the earliest record of them in the Americas.
I found some material in "Leather Jacket Soldiers: The Cuera Cavalry of the American Southwest" by Rene Chartrand. "Military Illustrated" Part I, #53, October,1992 and Part II, #54, Nov.1992.

From this and other sources, I have found the following, so hope it will be of interest to everyone in the history of the lance in the America's.

"...the Presidial soldier had thier lances and shield from the 16th to the middle of the 19th centuries". (p.36).

During inspection of Spanish troopers at El Paso in October, 1684, it is noted that lances "...were not counted, but it was obvious they had them".
A traveller in 1697 mentions that these soldiers were armed with a shield , musket and a 'half pike'. (ibid.)
The inspection of the first Cuera soldiers by Juan de Onate in 1597, in New Mexico shows a lance with a triple blade head termed a 'runka'. (op.cit.p.25)

Through the 18th century, Michael Hardwicke ("Soldados de Cuera") describes the cavalry lances components : the iron head (moharra) seems to have determined various classes of this weapon; some heads of olive leaf shape (hoja de olivo), some diamond shape (punta de diamente) and some that adopted a cross bar (cruceta) just under the head. These were termed a 'reins cutter' (corta riendas), but the bars ended up being removed when the purpose proved impractical.

In 1807, then Lt. Zebulon of U.S. 1st Cavalry encountered Presidial cavalry and noted, "...the appearance of the Spanish troops is certainly a la militaire; thier lances are fixed to the side of thier saddle under the left thigh and slant about five feet above the horse". It is suggested these lances probably had the 'cruceta' bars on them in the accompanying illustration.

Surprisingly, there were native irregular cavalry in Colombia in the war between Simon Bolivar and the Spanish, and on the Plain of Apure, these forces "...showed remarkable skill in the use of a long light lance" and became the dread and terror of the Spanish troops.
("Travels Through the Interior of Colombia", Col. John H.Potter, London, 1827,p.168).

In 1828, Mexican dragoons carried the long lance with red, white and green pennons. Later, as earlier noted, the Californios distinguished themselves at the famed Battle of San Pascual in California in 1846 ("Lances at San Pascual", Arthur Woodward, 1948) and in the Garra Uprising in 1851, lances were made in Los Angeles to equip lanceros.
By the time of the Civil War, units of Mexican lancers were established for the Union Army, but remained in Arizona regions.

The powerful influence of Mexican lancers found its way further east during this time as well, and in 1861, a regiment of lancers was formed in the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, known as "Rush's Lancers" and were involved in many campaigns in the war, though the degree the lance was actually used is uncertain. They used a 9 foot long lance with 11" blade based on Austrian pattern, weighing about 8 lbs. with a scarlet pennon (Rush had been active in the Mexican American War, and wonder if the red pennon might have recalled those on the Californio lances ).
( for more see "American Polearms 1526-1865" Rodney Hilton Brown, 1967)

Clearly Mexican forces had profoundly influenced the American forces in the 'Mexican American War' with the proficient use of the lance being one of the notable factors, as units of lancers were formed with Mexicans in the west, and the unit in Pennsylvania.

All best regards,
Jim