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FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM: THE 1649 WAR BETWEEN THE AND THE POLISH- LITHUANIAN COMMONWEALT H

To most westerners, the Cossacks remain a mysterious and romanticized people. Nineteenth century writers and artists depict the Cossacks as extraordinary horsemen. This image is often reinforced by descriptions of Cossacks immune to the vigour of the Russian winter as they continued to nip at the heels of Napoleon’s Grand Army in 1812. Novels, like Gogol’s Taras Bulba, and the opera Mazepa, suggests the Cossacks were both cruel and crafty, while ‘The conflict others highlight their barbarity and backwardness. between nobles and By Dr Adrian Mandzy Cossacks would periodically boil over UCH STEREOTYPES ARE OF LIMITED VALUE, the time, as these social outcasts became ever more S term Cossack has evolved over time. Initially skilled in the military arts, Cossack year-round into outright the term was used as a verb to indicate a specific fortified camps developed. Royal officials of the part-time activity that men undertook when in Commonwealth, fearful of the gro w i n g Cossack revolt and the ‘unsettled’ or ‘wild lands’ of the steppe. In number of armed Cossacks, began recruiting these freemen as border guards. So the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth successful were the Cossacks in their rebellion, most of centuries, the Cossacks lived in independent military abilities that by the end of the which were crushed communities along the frontiers of Muscovy, sixteenth century foreign govern m e n t s the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and appealed to the Cossacks for aid. without much the . Like the courier-de- Since the Cossacks saw themselves as bois and cowboys of the Americas, defenders of the frontiers, they believed mercy.’ Cossacks hunted, fished, traded, and that they had the same rights and e x p l o red sparsely settled re g i o n s . privileges as the nobles who defended Periodically, males journeyed to the open the realm. In times of war monarchs frontier, spent their time ‘cossacking’ and reaffirmed Cossack privileges and in re t u rned home. Others joined the times of peace, nobles sought to limit Cossacks and spent their lives raiding Cossack authority. The conflict between nobles and Cossacks would settlements in search of loot. periodically boil over into outright T h roughout the sixteenth century, as Cossack revolt and rebellion, most of began to place ever- i n c re a s i n g which were crushed without much mercy. restrictions on peasants and subjugate them to Yet of all the Cossack wars for rights and ever-increasing servitude, many villagers fled freedom, ’s successful to the steppe frontier. Not all Cossacks, war against the Polish-Lithuanian however, were previously farmers - nobles, Nineteenth century Commonwealth changed the face of burghers and former priests could also be artistic depiction of a Europe forever. found amongst this social estate. Over Bohdan Zenovij Khmelnytsky (c. 1595- Cossack Officer.

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Together, these two traditional enemies faced the

largest and one of the most powerful states in Europe - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In May 1648, Khmelnytsky defeated

two Polish-Lithuanian armies, one at Zhovti

Vody and another at Korsun. Ukrainian

regiments, who served in the Polish-Lithuanian a rmies, defected to Khmelnytsky’s banner.

Invigorated by the success of the Cossacks, serfs,

peasants and urban dwellers also rebelled. In

this ‘Great Revolt’, , Catholics and Polish nobles were killed or driven out from what is today Central Ukraine. Polish nobles responded

to the massacres in kind and employed their own terror tactics. Following the destruction of

a third Polish-Lithuanian army at Pyliavtsi, Khmelnytsky re t u rned to Kiev where the Ukrainian Orthodox hierarchy treated him as a

liberator. Yet is spite of these dramatic victories, the relationship between the rebellious and the Commonwealth remained unclear. The Cossack elite and long-serving rank and file had fought to secure the rights and privileges of noblemen. Others within the Ort h o d o x

hierarchy fought for parity with Catholics. Serfs, peasants and the lower urban classes struggled General Map of Central Europe. Showing the locations of the battlefield. against economic exploitation. Since neither 1657) was born on his father’s estate successor of the Polish-Lithuanian Khmelnytsky nor the monarch could propose a at , in what is today Central Commonwealth, it was in fact a multi- peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict, the Ukraine. After completing his ethnic and multi-religious state in war continued into 1649. education, Bohdan joined his father which class was more important than In preparation for the spring campaign, more in a war against the Ottoman Turks nationality or religion. During the Cossacks, peasants, townsmen, and nobles and in 1620 he was capture d mid-seventeenth century, many old joined Khmelnytsky and his Tatar ally Khan following the battle of Cecora established Ukrainian nobles held key Islam Girei. Against this force stood thre e (). After two years of offices within the Polish-Lithuanian separate Polish armies and a Lithuanian army. captivity in Istanbul, Khmelnytsky’s Commonwealth. The Polish armies struck first and consolidated A 1649 military engineering map of the 1649 Battle of ransom was paid and he returned As a Cossack, Khmelnytsky could their forces at the fortress of under home to his estate at Subotiv. In time, not attain justice in a legal system Prince Jeremi Wi [niowiecki, while the ; most likely completed by Christopher Houwaldt, a he rose to the rank of , but in c o n t rolled by nobles and in the Lithuanian army moved south to attack Saxon. Original map is in Berlin. 1638, based on a rumour of his autumn of 1647, he was placed under Khmelnytsky’s forces. In such a manner, the p a rticipation in a failed Cossack a rrest on the orders of the local Commonwealth hoped to trap Khmelnysky between the town of Zboriv, less than a day’s ride from Zbarazh, rebellion he was demoted to captain. magistrate. After escaping custody, in Polish and the Lithuanian army. Unfortunately for the Khmelnytsky ambushed the monarc h ’s army as it Over the next decade, Khmelnytsky January 1648, Khmelnytsky fled to the Commonwealth, the Cossacks were able to turn back the crossed the Strypa River. Suffering heavy losses, the offered his services to the monarchy , the Cossack armed Lithuanian army and advance on the Polish army at Polish-Lithuanian forces established a defensive and was involved in the development A 1651 engraving of the camp located south of the Dnipro Zbarazh. On 29 June, Khmelnytsky reached Zbarazh perimeter and as evening fell, the king’s arm y of his estate. In 1646, a raid by a Ukrainian Cossack leader, River rapids. Now beyond the reach of and besieged the Polish arm y. Surrounded and constructed earthworks in preparation for the coming Polish nobleman on Khmelnytsky’s Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Polish authorities, Khmelnytsky outnumbered, the only hope of salvation lay in the battle. In the morning, Cossacks and Tatars breached the property resulted in the death of his persuaded the local Cossacks that they timely arrival of a relief force. partially completed defensive works. German troops in youngest son. Khmelnytsky tried to find redress to his needed to defend their rights and rebel against their The newly elected King Jan Casimir, personally led a the service of the crown successfully counter-attacked claims in the courts of the Polish-Lithuanian injustices. Unlike other previous Cossack rebellions, second army to free the Polish troops trapped at and sealed the breaches in the line, but in doing so the Commonwealth, which then ruled Ukraine. While the which failed due to the lack of cavalry, Khmelnytsky Zbarazh. Leaving a force behind to maintain the siege, king exhausted his only remaining military reserves. modern day Polish state considers itself to be the direct created an alliance with the Muslim . Khmelnytsky moved to intercept the king. Outside the Surrounded and with no hope for rescue, the crown

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opened negotiations with the rebels. The perspective of people who are poorly archaeological record into a holistic sites such as camps, castles and resulting created an re p resented within the documentary interpretation of these events. The fortresses. The best-known exception autonomous Ukrainian Cossack state. re c o rd. This applies to non-literate first attempt to link the historical to this was Shvechnikov’s Not surprisingly, the Wars of Bohdan societies who left no historic record, those accounts of the battlefield with the excavations at the 1651 Cossack Khmelnytsky are among the most ignored in the historical record (the poor, local topography was undertaken Battle of Berestechko, where, over important events in the history of East illiterate or marginalized groups), and by the Ukrainian historian Ivan the course of multiple field seasons, Central Europe. Over the last few centuries, those whose documents were destroyed. Krypiakevych, who created a series he excavated numerous graves from a Ukrainian, Polish and Jewish scholars have As the Cossacks were both a group that of maps of the battle based on his swamp bog. The waters of the devoted a great deal of time and energy in developed on Europe’s eastern fringes and two-day visit to Zboriv in July of swamp prevented the looting of the the pursuit of this topic and the whose re c o rds were later deliberately 1929. The Soviet regime made a dead and pre s e rved significant d o c u m e n t a ry evidence was thoro u g h l y The newly elected d e s t royed by order of the Russian concerted effort to downplay the Seventeenth century engravings amounts of organic materials. These examined. While new discoveries are Polish King, Jan m o n a rc h y, to learn more about the significance of the events of 1649 of Cossack infantry and a p a rticular environmental conditions periodically made in the archives of Western Casimir. Cossacks and their wars, we need to go and Kry p i a k e v y c h ’s initial surv e y mounted officer. p re s e rved significant quantities of Europe and Turkey, those in Central and beyond just the diplomatic history of the work did not continue. While new military arms and accoutrements as East Europe have been well studied since the end of the Cossack elite. We need to look at the material culture of i n f o rmation related to the Treaty of Zboriv was well as many personal items. By focusing on the swamps nineteenth century. Thus, while perceptions of the Cossacks to understand more about the people who published in the West, it was only in the early 1990s that to the rear of the actual battlefield, Shvechnikov Khmelnytsky and the Cossack Wars periodically lived on Europe’s eastern frontier. Ukrainian and Polish scholars had the opportunity to recovered items such as stocked muskets, arrows with u n d e rgo change, these interpretations rely almost Although scholars have provided diff e r i n g turn their attention to the 1649 campaign. Perhaps the preserved shafts, belts, and leather cartridge boxes. Since exclusively on the same body of knowledge. interpretations of the events at Zboriv and Zbarazh, most important contribution of the last decade was the he found these artefacts with individual combatants, it is With the development of battlefield studies and little work has been previously attempted to incorporate publication of two engineering field military maps from possible to reconstruct how these forces were armed and battlefield archaeology, it is possible to provide a new the local topography, historical accounts and the the 1649 campaign (one from Zboriv and one from equipped. Zbarazh), which illustrates the disposition of forces and While the Berestechko excavations provide an Late twentieth century artistic depiction of the 1st day’s fighting at the . Mural on display at the extended fieldworks. unparalleled view of the peasants and Cossacks who the Zboriv Regional Museum. In Ukraine, battlefield studies have a long tradition, died while fleeing after their defeat, Shvechnikov’s but as elsewhere, it has focused almost exclusively on excavations follow the traditional archaeological field

Cartridge box and its contents, recovered from the Berestechko Battlefield. Item on display at the Berestechko Battlefield Museum.

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methods of digging in a very about the Cossacks and their wars small area. Since battles occurred for freedom by studying the over a wide area, sometimes battlefields of these wars. encompassing hundreds of square In 2001, the author, working with kilometres, an excavation method scholars in both Poland and Ukraine, that relies on the analysis of a few initiated the Cossack Battlefield square metres produces, in most Commission to explore and study instances, very few results. At Cossack battlefields. Beginning in B e restechko, re s e a rchers did not 2002, the author, working in subject the rest of the battlefield to conjunction with the L’ v i v significant testing. Even with the Institute of Ukrainian Studies identification of individual artefacts, and Bohdan Strotsen, the no re s e a rch methodology existed at regional director in charge of that time which could document the p re s e rvation of historical and distribution of artefacts over many square cultural monuments for the kilometres. Not surprisingly, when in the oblast, began a joint Volunteers and mid-1990s, archaeologists employed survey, the purpose of which students working traditional testing methods at the Cossack 1649 was to identify any possible together in Zboriv. Zboriv battlefield, they failed to find any material remaining cultural re s o u rc e s from the seventeenth century battle. associated with the military The study of open warfare, besides a few well- events of 1649. After integrating publicized successes such as Berestechko or Wisby, the primary accounts of the began in earnest only after the work on the battle with the historical and Equipment and weapons of a Little Bighorn battlefield was published. The geographic topography of the battlefield, where both Native Americans and White to twenty centimetres. However, since the cone of the use of metal detectors at the Little Bighorn Polish Hussar from the mid- area, we conducted a visual Americans worked together to gain a better detector produced an egg shaped ellipse, the are a provided a way for archaeologists to deal with seventeenth century, inspection of the terr i t o ry. understanding of their shared past, both Polish and scanned at the apex of the cone was very small - only the the limitations of identifying the distribution of Military Museum. Based on this pre l i m i n a ry Ukrainian students laboured jointly in the fields of size of a coin. Along the ground surface the instrument 1 battlefield artefacts over great distances. This analysis, areas that appear to Zboriv and Zbarazh. Once a possible area was surveyed an area directly proportional to the 8 /2” data, coupled with extensive primary historical research have been least impacted by modern development were identified, students swept the fields using metal diameter of the detector’s sensing coil. As water, rain, and topographic information, allowed scholars to deal selected in Zboriv and Zbarazh. detectors. The types of metal detectors used locate small atmospheric pressure and a host of other factors affect with the conditions specific in the study of battlefields. The methodology employed was a variation on the artefacts on the surface and reach an optimal depth of up the detectors, many scholars return to the same fields Using a similar approach, it was hoped to learn more one initially employed by Scott. As at the Little Bighorn year after year and continue to retrieve artefacts. Once a detector registered an object, the artefact was The terrain surrounding the town of Zboriv. retrieved from the disturbed soil. Since the areas around Zboriv and Zbarazh have been subject to repetitive ploughing for generations, all the artefacts are lacking stratigraphic provenience and were treated as coming from the surface. Each recovered artefact was placed in a separate plastic bag and the find spot was marked with a wooden stake. For easier recognition, the stake had a red strip of cloth tied to it and the artefact in its bag was attached to this stake. Following the students with the metal detectors was a person responsible for recording the co- ordinates of each artefact. Using a hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) unit, we re c o rded the co-ordinates of each find and collected the artefacts from the field. Given the scale of the battlefield and number of square kilometres associated with it, an accuracy of +5m

Taking a GPS reading for a recovered artifact.

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portion of a battle line at Zboriv in an area not it is possible to demonstrate a direct re l a t i o n s h i p Dutch models which divided regiments into six yet subject to residential or industrial between the military and non-military artefacts, no companies. As the Polish army at Zboriv also included development. At Zbarazh, we have identified all correlation may be postulated. However, since many of various ‘German’ mercenary troops, the relationship three siege lines, but because of urban growth, the objects were found along the same line as the between pike and shot may have varied even between only the most outward siege line has been dropped bullets, the likelihood of direct correlation regiments. preserved. between these artefacts is quite high. Throughout the seventeenth century, there was a In both instances, when we take this According to a contemporary account of the battle, growing tendency to reduce the depth of infantry units. distribution of military artefacts and compare written shortly after the end of hostilities, the crown Rather than have units of ten or eight ranks deep, these them with the local topography, we see that all of forces built earthen fortifications to strengthen their were continuously reduced until reaching a rank or three these items are found along the military crest of battle lines. Although the eastern line of these earthen or four ranks deep by the early eighteenth century. small hills at both Zboriv and Zbarazh. Since the fortifications witnessed no major military engagements, During this evolution, regiments began increasingly to ‘choice of ground on which to fight and the exact the documentary record is quite clear that Tatar troops occupy a larger frontage but retained the same number deployment of troops in battalia were based on demonstrated in this area to draw the attention of the of men. Thus, an infantry battle line from the 1630s may sound military principles’, it is clear that the enemy. The recovery of buttons and metal buckles have occupied a much small area of frontage than an topographic environment pre d e t e rmined the among dropped musket balls, which we believe troops infantry battle line of the 1660s. Since most military establishment of the firing line in this particular location. dropped when they prepared for battle, confirms the units were rarely at full strength, the distribution of If we add to our datasets the existing contemporary location of the eastern section of the Polish defensive o rdinance will not necessarily coincide with the maps of the 1649 campaign, we clearly can identify earthworks at Zboriv. theoretical dimensions of a combat unit. Another artifact comes to light. component parts of the battle. The construction of the earthen walls on the night Trying to link this material with particular Cossack ‘If we add to our In addition to the re c o v e re d between the first and second day of the regiments is even more difficult since o rdinance, we also examined battle, while undertaken primarily by the relationship between pike and shot provided by the GPS was considered to be datasets the existing a rtefacts such as buttons, melted attached servants, required the assistance within the regiments present at Zboriv acceptable. Following the cleaning of the ‘...an infantry battle contemporary maps of pieces of lead and quantities of hand of combat troops. The dire situation in remains unclear. Contemporary finds, members of the project weighed, wrought iron, which may relate to which the Crown army found itself, line from the 1630s descriptions of the Cossack regiments measured, drew and photographed each the 1649 campaign, military wagons or weapons. Since it required haste and they would have used suggest that many of the peasant artefact. At the end of the field season, all may have occupied a we clearly can identify is unlikely that peasants could afford any item to build up a barricade. The troops were inadequately armed, with the artefacts were presented to the local such items, there is a tendency to Commonwealth commonly used heavy much small area of a third of the troops lacking firearms. regional museum in Zboriv and Zbarazh. component parts of associate these items with the battle. military wagons; similar to the fifteenth However, since Khmelnytsky brought A wide variety of artefacts, many which frontage than an the battle.’ As has previously been noted, unless century wagenburg initially developed by only his best troops to Zboriv while the date to the seventeenth century, were Jan Ziska, the commander of the Hussite infantry battle line of rest of the Cossack army, including the recovered during the course of the A rmies of Bohemia, as mobile field newly raised peasant armies remained survey. However, since these areas the 1660s.’ defenses. The recovery of so many metal at Zbarazh, the majority of these have been in agriculture for GIS map showing a hardware wagon parts found alongside t roops were believed to have been centuries, our initial analysis was section of the seventeenth century military ordinance suggests that the armed with projectile weapons. restricted to distinctly seventeenth eastern defensive army added wagons to the defensive barriers. Our work at Zbarazh focused on the terr i t o ry century military artefacts. Unlike line of the Polish To recognize the implications of the distribution immediately surrounding the sixteenth century castle medieval battlefields where very p a t t e rns of the re c o v e red military ordinance, it is and its earthworks, as well as trying to establish the area little datable military material camp, as essential to understand how military units functioned of the 1649 siege. A comparison of the re c e n t l y exists, by the seventeenth century reconstructed by and the role that firearms played in particular regiments uncovered 1649 military engineering map with more firearms were widely used, which using seventeenth as any gaps between groups of lead balls may indicate m o d e rn topographic maps indicated that the most allows scholars to re c o v e r century ordinance. the space between musketeers occupied by pikemen, intensely defended area was to the northeast of the quantities of lead balls and iron rather than two separate units. In the 1640s, musketeers castle. An examination of the territory directly adjacent shot. As expected, we recovered generally represented only 2/3 of a European infantry to the castle produced few surface finds from the quantities of musket balls and iron regiment, as the remaining 1/3 were pikemen. Among seventeenth century, but we did encounter a large calibre shot during our survey. When we infantry regiments, the general military practice of the ball lying directly on top of an earthen bank. This ball, plotted out the distribution of the period placed pike armed troops in the centre with which had a diameter of almost 40mm, was mostly seventeenth century military musketeers on each flank. Within each army this likely from a small cannon, a tarashnytsia, but it remains ordinance along an X and Y grid, a rrangement may have been slightly diff e rent. The unclear if it relates to the 1649 siege. at both sites we identified a line of Swedish armies of King Gustavus Adolphus maintained While housing has destroyed the area of the last two d ropped and impacted balls. a theoretical proportion of 216 pikes to 192 musketeers, siege lines, that of the first line has remained in crop. Based on this pre l i m i n a ry while slightly larger Dutch battalions strived to maintain Recently the area belonged to a collective farm, but now information, we believe that we a ratio of 250 to 240. In the 1630s, the Polish infantry small parcels of land have been given to individual have discovered the eastern was reorganized and followed both the Swedish and residents to use as gardens. Conducting our survey along

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An ancient engraving of a Tatar warrior holding their traditional style bow. The Cossacks were employed such weapons due to the fact they wer e quicker to fire and were not affected by cold and wet weather conditions. Examples of balls recovered from Zboriv during the 2002 and 2004 survey . ZBORIV REGIONAL MUSEUM

Iron arrowhead recovered from the Zboriv Battlefield.

ZBORIV REGIONAL MUSEUM.

public footpaths and on those parcels which were arrowhead from Zbarazh along side of The most dominant firearm of the time, the matchlock. Such weapons not in crop, we encountered a significant amount ‘...lead balls a rrows found in the L’viv History were used in the English Civil War and were cheap and easy to use. of varied military ordinance. Lead balls were the outnumber Museum). Clearly, fire a rms were the most common item encountered, but iro n primary weapons in use. the dominant fire a rm during the a rmies standardized their weapon arrowheads, axe heads, gun-flints, and sword arrowheads In Ukraine, modern flintlocks had, for English Civil War (1642-48) a n d systems. Muskets, usually of Western fragments were also encountered. on these the most part, replaced hazard o u s remained in use by Austrian military European design, were predominantly By correlating the area where the most matchlocks by the middle of the units at least until the 1683 Siege of l a rge calibre weapons with a bore significant finds were encountered with the battlefields at seventeenth century. Excavations at the Vi e n n a . F rench and English arm i e s diameter between 24 and 18 mm, with military map, we realized that the material was a ration of 1651 Berestechko battlefield indicated the retained matchlocks until the turn of 20 mm being the most common. In coming directly from a siege line. To test our overall dominance of flintlock weapons, the century. Yet among the ‘poorly 1649 and at the beginning of 1650 the hypothesis, Bohdan Strotsen excavated a test 16 balls for while the recovery of large quantities of a rmed Cossacks,’ matchlocks were arsenal in Warsaw acquired 1,300 trench. This 1 x 4 metre trench exposed the every one iron spanners suggests the use of expensive obsolete by the middle of the muskets from Holland and 210 Dutch remains of a ditch. The lack of any datable wheel locks. The lack of matchlock seventeenth century. m u s k e t s . Most oriental ‘Tu r k i s h ’ materials from the ditch prevents us definitively arrowhead’. weapons, however, is surprising. Cheap Another common assumption is the weapons in the museums of Poland linking this feature with the military events from and somewhat reliable, matchlocks were lack of firearm standardization. Rebel and Ukraine have a much smaller bore, the mid-seventeenth century, but the recovery of Seventeenth century cannon balls recovered in the area armies often have logistical nightmares while mid-seventeenth century Dutch significant amounts of military ordinance from and given the significant variations in muskets have a barrel bore that around the modern town of Zboriv. ZBORIV REGIONAL MUSEUM. the immediate area clearly supports the idea that the firearm calibres, one would expect approaches 21 mm. Given latitude for we had indeed encountered part of the initial to find a wide range of musket ball Close view of extended sprue windage - that is, the diff e re n c e siege line. calibres. Since all seventeenth century ordinance. ZBORIV REGIONAL MUSEUM between the actual barrel diameter In the middle of the seventeenth century there gunpowder left a residue of unburned and the size of the ball, the large was a great variation in the types of projectile soot after only a few shots, the barrel quickly became calibre musket balls recovered from Zboriv may have weapons in use. In addition to firearms, Cossacks clogged and increasingly difficult to load. Conventional come from the Dutch guns imported by the Polish often made use of Tatar style bows, which, wisdom is that soldiers usually carried a variety of C rown. The battlefield museum at Bere s t e c h k o a c c o rding to a seventeenth century Fre n c h smaller balls to use as the battle progressed. Yet the identified similar large size musket balls as ‘bullets that military engineer who had spent many years in recovery of complete bullet pouches and cartridge cases killed Cossacks.’ the Commonwealth, had a faster rate of fire, from Berestechko indicates no significant variations of Most musket balls recovered from this area of the could be used in adverse weather and did not give ammunition calibres carried by each combatant. From battlefield of Zboriv are between 11 and 16 mm. Given away the position of the bowman. Although the this information we can make a much stronger argument the close proximity of these finds along a line of battle, re c o v e ry of seventeenth-century Tatar style that the calibre of ball corresponds closely to the it is possible that these rounds all belonged to a arrowheads from the area of the siege of Zbarazh weapons used. particular military unit. In the seventeenth century, and at Berestechko confirms their continued use A study of collections of seventeenth century military dragoons carried a specific type of firearm, called a by the Cossacks, lead balls outnumber arms in both the National Army Museum in Warsaw bandolet. This weapon was of a smaller calibre and arrowheads on these battlefields at a ration of 16 (Poland) and the Historical Arsenal Museum in L’viv preserved examples in the museums of Poland and balls for every one arrowhead (Figure XXX - (Ukraine) clearly illustrates that seventeenth century Ukraine have a bore diameter of between 18 and 11 mm,

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with diameters of 15 to 16 mm most common. At of carrying more rounds over a reduced muzzle velocity the same time, however, other cavalry units used had been recognized by military forces around the world smaller calibre weapons. In addition, eastern for more than a century and the history of small arms firearms tended to be of a smaller calibre. While development over the last hundred years reflects this some have suggested that it may be possible in tendency. the future to identify certain types of units by the The recovery of glass beads from an ammunition calibre of the shot, the use of small calibre pouch at Berestchko also suggests that glass bullets, weapons on both sides of the conflict precludes commonly used in the Commonwealth at the end of the such an analysis. Nevertheless, the recovery of sixteenth and at the beginning of the seventeenth numerous large calibre balls may serve as an century, may have also be used during the time of the indicator for infantry in the service of the Polish Cossack wars (Figure XXX - Berestechko glass beads crown. found in an ammunition pouch). To date no such bullets During our survey we discovered a gre a t have yet been recovered from either Zboriv or Zbarazh, variation in the actual musket balls. Unlike most but it is possible that such balls, like this one recovered projectiles that are round or exhibit uncut sprue Seventeenth century paper cartridges with ball attached by the from Putsk in northern Poland, were used (Figure XXX- from their casting, many of those recovered at sprue. TAKEN FROM HAROLD L. PETERSON, ARMS AND ARMOR IN COLONIAL AMERICA. Putsk glass balls). Zboriv had an added or modified tail along the The recovered military ordinance challenges many of sprue, which is far more elaborate than a simple by- XXX - Berestechko mold). the commonly held assumptions of the Cossack armies product of the casting process (Figure XXX - ordinance The production of cartridges simplified the loading of the mid-seventeenth century. Most scholars agree that from 1649). Such additions are unusual, and besides process. Previously, musketeers relied upon bandoliers of the Cossack rebels wanted to create a new political being re c o v e red at Berestechko and Zbarazh, have p re - m e a s u red powder charges. Lord Orre ry, a system that would replace the religious, economic and p reviously been rarely recognized as such in the seventeenth century military writer noted that cultural elite in the southeastern territories of the archaeological record. A sprue is normally created as ‘bandeleers are often apt to take fire, especially if the Commonwealth, but few also note that the military Flag allegedly carried at the Battle of Zboriv by part of the casting process, but usually it matchlock musket be used’. The results of such innovations employed by Cossacks were just as is removed before the ball is fired. As accidents could be quite lethal. revolutionary. Not only were the rebel armies under the Crown forces. WARSAW MILITARY MUSEUM. Although mounted units used small such, unless a scholar is specifically ‘Lord Orrery, a d i rection of innovative leaders who had significant terrain that contemporary military commanders would looking for such sprues, they would metal cartridge boxes as early as the military talent and expertise in engineering but also the seventeenth century second half of the sixteenth century, the have exploited to their advantage, it is possible to most likely conclude that these were weapons systems used by the rebels were the most correlate the terrain with the features noted on the unfinished balls. military writer noted o v e rwhelming majority of Euro p e a n modern and technically developed in both Europe and i n f a n t ry continued to rely upon the preserved 1649 maps. Using this information, it becomes Yet these are not simply unfinished Asia. Clearly, these armies may have looked rather much easier to see how the actual battle developed. As balls. As can be seen in this photograph, that ‘bandeleers are dangerous bandoliers. The leather and ragged, especially when compared to the silver and gold wood cartridge boxes re c o v e red at the 1649 siege map of Zboriv also shows the disposition there exists a recess cavity on the top of often apt to take fire, encrusted troops of the Commonwealth, but the Cossack of particular units in the Crown’s camp, with further the sprue (Figure XXX - ball with sprue). Berestechko are thought to be among army was a professional force equal to any on two especially if the the earliest known examples of infantry work it may be possible to link the discovered ordinance When compared with a regular ball that continents. with a particular military unit. Additional analysis will has not had its sprue trimmed off, one matchlock musket be cartridge boxes used in Europe but it is Without doubt, the Cossack army was a professional more than likely that the Swedes first not only allow us to identify sections of the battlefield can clearly see that these sprue tails were fighting force. The image of a rag-tag mob, although where cultural resources may be present, but also it will intentionally created. Unlike eighteenth used’. The results of developed infantry cartridge boxes. burned in the collective memory, is a stereotype of Cartridge boxes quickly became popular allow us to reconstruct the location of the earthworks century cartridges, where both the ball such accidents could limited value. Rather, while often clothed in non- even in areas significantly impacted by modern and powder were inside a paper tube, and in 1656, for example, seventy-five regulated clothing and perhaps intermittently fed, these be quite lethal.’ cartridge boxes were included in an development. makers of these earlier cart r i d g e s rebels, including long-serving Cossacks, former serfs, When compared with other battlefield survey projects, attached the paper tube to the sprue. inventory list of munitions sent to the nobles and Orthodox clergy adopted and adapted new South River of New Netherlands. our results at Zboriv were not unusual. For ten years Sometimes a special flange was added to the ball to help military tactics and weapon systems. This may not be all Dan Sivilich and his group of excavators have been tie the paper cartridge. While such cartridges may have A second advantage of the sprue, especially in small that unusual, since these same revolutionaries were, by calibre bullets that are fired at a low muzzle velocity, is re t u rning to the same areas of the American been in use by the mid-sixteenth century, in 1697, Saint their very nature, vying to bring about a new social R e v o l u t i o n a ry War battlefield of Monmouth (New Remy, a French scholar, ‘illustrated a cartridge with a that the bullet tumbles - that is it does not fly reality. Although existing military establishments are symmetrically, but rather wobbles through the air. While Jersey) and continue to flesh out the original model. ball attached by its sprue as the latest type’ (Figure XXX often among the most conservative segments of society, After a decade’s worth of research, they are now able to - St Reme). such a weapon system may not have the range of a more the results of the research from this programme suggests powerful large calibre ball, the wounds inflicted in such show how and why the battle developed in the way it It is more than likely that the musket balls recovered that this rebel arm y, much like earlier and later did. Clearly, the results achieved at Zboriv and Zbarazh at Zboriv were modified in such a manner to allow for a manner can be horrific. Such small calibre weapons, revolutionary armies, adapted and incorporated the especially with tumbling munitions, use less gunpowder reflect the possibilities offered in studying battlefields the production of semi-fixed ammunition. An most recent and successful of the new technologies. and need to be continued. By using new technologies, examination of the Cossack bullet moulds recovered at and are just as effective as large calibre weapons. The The identified sections of the battle lines serve as a immediate benefit of such system is that it allows troops coupling them with local topography and comparing this Berestechko indicates that at least some of them were point of reference for further research. By taking into information with the available documentary evidence, it modified to create extended sprues ordinance (Figure to carry more rounds on the battlefield. The advantage consideration any minute topographic features in the

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is possible to gain further insights into one of the most Zboriv Agreement as ‘hopeless’ (, the battle of Zboriv, among the earliest and most For more information about the Commission and to studied and important events in the History of Ukraine-Rus’, vol. 8, Canadian Institute of influential studies remain L. Kubala, Oblzenie Zbaraza i view the results of the first years programme, please go and East Central Europe. Perhaps, and most Ukrainian Studies Press, Toronto, 2002, pp 575-654) or pokÛj pod Zborowem, Szkice historyczne, Krakow, to the following web site: www..ua/cossacks importantly, it allows us to give a voice to a people who ‘compromised’ (I. Krypiakevych, Bohdan Khmelnyts’kyj, 1896 and Ludwik Frs, Bitwa pod Zborovem w r. 1649 At Zboriv, and to a lesser degree at Zbarazh, the most previously have not had the opportunity to speak for Kiev, 1954, pp 165-172). More recently, the Canadian , Kwartalnik Historzcynz, XLVI, 1932. common artefacts recovered from the survey data are themselves. Ukrainian historian Frank Sysyn has indicated that ‘the I. Krypiakevych published five separate accounts of from later battles in this area. Shrapnel balls, rifle guarantee of a forty-thousand-man Cossack arm y the battle of Zboriv, but the most detailed description cartridges, bullets and artillery shell fragments from the Dr Adrian Mandzy is an Associate Professor ensured Hetman Khmel’nyts’kyj his place as an almost appears in Zhyttia i Znannia, no. 10-11, L’viv, 1929. A First World War and the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1919 at Morehead University, Kentucky USA. independent ruler of the Ukraine’ (Frank Sysyn, Between later account published by the same author in the litter the areas of both 1649 battlefields, while other Poland and Ukraine: The Dilemma of Adam Kysil 1600- Litopys Chervonoi Kalyny, no. 10, L’viv, 1931, includes military equipment, such as the early nineteenth century Cossacks who chose to live in the Sich did so in stern 1653, Cambridge, MA, 1985, p. 173). two maps, one which showed the disposition of forces at Russian button found at Zbarazh, which may relate to simplicity without wives or families. The men were While many scholars have devoted their attention to the time of the initial ambush, and second illustrated the the military events of 1809, were also periodically organized into military units and worked together for a attacks of the second day. These two maps were later encountered. common good. reprinted (Ivan Tyktor, Istoriia Ukrains’koho Vijs’ka, Glenn Foard, ‘The archaeology of attack: battles and Although most people think of Cossacks as horse Winnipeg, 1953). sieges of the English Civil War’, in Fields of Conflict: mounted troops, their earliest renown was as sailors who Teodir Matskiv, ‘Zborivs’kyj Dohovir u svitli Progress and Prospect in Battlefield Archaeology, P.W.M. raided the Ottoman settlements along the Black Sea nimets’koi j anhlijs’koi presy z 1649 r’, Zborivshchyna, Freeman and A. Pollard, eds., BAR International Series coast. During the middle of the seventeenth century, Naukove To v a rystvo im Shevchenka, Ukrains’kyj 958, 2001, p. 89. most Cossacks fought on foot or served as artillerymen. Arkhiv, vol. 38, Toronto, 1985. Valerij Smolij and Valerij Stepankov, Bohdan Originally from the German word Hauptmann. Stanislaw Alexandrowicz, ‘Plany Obro n n y c h Khmelnytskyj, Kiev, 2003, p. 200. Among the Ukrainian Cossacks, the Hetman was the ObozÛw wojsk Polskich pod Zbara¥zem i Zborowem z , ‘Z Istorii Zborova’, p. 25. highest military, administrative and judicial office. This Roku 1649’, Fortyfikacja, vol. 1, 1995, pp 15-23. Thomas E. Griess, senior editor, The Dawn of Modern is not to be confused with the use of the title in the I. K. Sveshnikov, Bytva pid Berestechkom, L’viv, 1993. Warfare, The West Point Military History Series, Wayne, Commonwealth, where the term of hetman simple Aleksej Vasyl’ev and Igor Dzys, ‘Bytva pod 1984, p. 48. meant commander-in-chief and the highest military Berestechkom’, Zeughaus, Moscow, No. 8, (2/1988), pp B. S. Strotsen’, Zvit pro arkheolohichni rozvidky v authority in the realm. 2-6. okolytsiakh m. Zbarazha (Ternopil’s’ka obl.) u 2003 r., Although the text of the Treaty of Zboriv has survived Such a result is not unexpected, since archaeologists Ternopil, 2004. and the register of Cossacks has been pre v i o u s l y who have relied on traditional testing methods of Guillaume Le Va s s e u r, le Sieur de Beauplan, published, Ukrainian scholars such as the eminent digging in depth rarely have been successful in Description D’Ukranie [1660], L’viv, 1998. historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky has interpreted the identifying resources related to military engagements. Tony Pollard and Neil Oliver, Two Men in a Trench: Using traditional archaeological field methods at the Battlefield Archaeology - The Key to Unlocking the Past, American Civil War First Manassas (Bull Run) London, 2002, p. 211. battlefield, for example, ‘only one artefact was found by Das Heeresgeschichtliche Museum (Museum of Burial mound traditionally attributed shovel testing, while several hundred were found using Military History), Vienna, Austria. to the Battle of Zboriv. Surface testing metal detectors’ (Lawrence E. Babits, ‘Book Archaeology Konstanty GÛrski, Historya Art y l e ryi Polskiej, in the area around the mound of the Cowpens battlefield’, Fields of Conflict: Progress Warszawa, 1902, p. 121. uncovered seventeenth century balls and Prospect in Battlefield Arc h a e o l o g y, P.W. M . For a discussion of exported arms from Holland, see Above: Monument to the Battle of Zboriv that and large quantities of twentieth Freeman and A. Pollard, eds., BAR International Series Jan Piet Puype, ‘Dutch and Other Flintlocks fro m was put up on site in the 1990s. 958, 2001, p. 118). Seventeenth Century Iroquois Sites’, in Proceedings of century ordinance. Artefacts from these excavations are on display at the the 1984 Trade Gun Conference, Research Records, local museum in Zboriv. No.18, Vol. 1, Rochester Museum and Science Center, Excavations of a burial pit from the Battle of Wisby, Rochester, 1985. for example, provided a good indication of medieval Museum of the ‘Cossack Mounds’, National warfare (Bengt Thordeman, Poul Noˆrlund and Bo E. Historical Memorial Preserve ‘Field of the Berestechko Ingelmark, Armour from the Battle of Wisby, 1361, vol. Battle’, Pliasheva Village, Radyvylivs’kyj Region, 1, Kungl. Vi t t e rhets Historie OCH Antikvitets Rivnens’ka oblast, Ukraine. Akademien, Stockholm, 1939). Pierre Surirey de Saint Remy, Memoires d’Artillerie, Douglas D. Scott and Richard A. Fox, Jr. , second edition, 2 vol, Paris, 1707. A rchaeological insights into the Custer battle: an Harold L. Peterson, Arms and Armor in Colonial assessment of the 1984 field season, Norman, 1987; and America 1526-1783, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1956, p. D. D. Scott, R. A. Fox, Jr., M. A. Connor and D. 63. Harmon, Archaeological perspectives on the Battle of Courtesy of Professor Jerzy KruppÈ, University of the Little Bighorn, Norman, 1989. Warsaw, Poland.

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