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INFANTRY - TACTICS
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY.
Manner of forming Company.
419. The whole company being assembled on its ground, the sergeants, by the command fall in, will cause the rank and file (corporals and privates) to form in one rank, faced to the right, and in the order of height from right to left, the tallest man on the right, (now head of the rank,) the next tallest man immediately covering the first, and so on to the left or rear of the rank, in which position will be placed the shortest man.
420. This being promptly effected by the sergeants, the first sergeant will command:
Front- FACE.
421. The left guide (second sergeant) will now place himself on the left of the rank, and the first sergeant will promptly command:
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY
1. In three (or two) ranks, form company. 2.
By the left flank. 3. Left- FACE.
4. MARCH.
422. At the third command, the whole rank will face to the left, except the guide and the man on the left, who stand fast.
423. At the command march, the whole of the men who have faced to the left, will step off together; the second on third men, counting from the left, will place themselves in the centre and rear ranks respectively, behind the man next to the guide, and face to the front; the three following men will in like manner, on closing up, form the next file, and all the other men will come successively to form files, three deep, to the right of those already established.
424. Two ranks, from one, will be formed in like manner, and on the same principle.
425. The rank and file being formed in files, three (or two) deep, the captain will cause the files to be numbered from right to left, the platoons to be marked, and the officers, sergeants, corporals, (the latter by slight transposings, see No. 37,) pioneer, and filed music to be posted as prescribed, Title I.
To pass from three into two ranks, and reciprocally.
426. The company being formed in three ranks, and supposed to constitute a subdivision in a column, right or left in front, when the instructor
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shall wish to form it into two ranks, he will command:
1. In two ranks, form company. 2. MARCH.
427. At the first command, the left guide will face to the left.
428. At the second command, the left guide will step off, and march in the prolongation of the front rank.
429. The next file will step off at the same time with the guide; the front rank man will turn to the left at the first step, follow the guide, and himself be followed by the centre and rear rank men of his file, each of whom will turn on the spot where their file leader had turned. The second file, counting from the left, will march as has been prescribed for the first, the front rank man of each immediately following the rear rank man of the file next on the left.
430. The guide having marched a space equal to half the front of the company, will, on an intimation from the captain, halt, and face to the front.
431. The next man will halt at the same time, and, in facing to the front, will place himself on the right of the guide. The second man, counting from the left, will place himself behind the first man, to form the left file; the third man will place himself beside the first in the front rank; the fourth in the rear rank behind the third. The remaining men will come to place themselves in like manner, alternately in the front
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY
and rear ranks, and thus form files, two deep, to the right of those already established.
432. The company being in two ranks, when the instructor shall wish to from it into three, he will command:
1. In three ranks, form company. 2. MARCH.
433. At the first command, the left guide will face to the left.
434. At the second command, the left guide will march four paces, halt, and face to the front.
435. The next file will step off at the same time with the guide; the front rank man will turn to the left at the first step, follow the guide, and be himself followed by his rear rank man, who will turn on the spot where his file leader had turned. The second file, counting from the left, and successively all the other files, will march as has been prescribed for the first; the front rank man of each immediately following the rear rank man of the file next on the left.
436. The man next to the guide will halt with him, and, in facing to the front, will place himself on the right of the guide; the next two men will successively place themselves behind the first in the centre and rear ranks respectively, to form the left file.; the three following men will, in like manner, form the second file, and successively the remaining men will come to from files three deep, on the right of those already established
437. The captain will, from left to right, follow
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up the successive formation of files, both in passing from three to two, and from two to three ranks, and at the end of each, cause the platoons to be re-marked, the files to be renumbered, the officers and sergeants to be re-posted, the position of the corporals to be re-adjusted, &c.
438. In each of the foregoing formations of three and two ranks, the graduation of height is preserved- in files from right to left, and in men, in each file, from rear to front- the tallest being to the right and the rear.
439. In emergencies, the rank and file, being familiar with their respective places, will fall in in two or three ranks, as they may be commanded, and as nearly in the order of height as may be. Hence the first sergeant will always, before dismissing the company, caution the men to remember the number of their respective files, and the ranks to which they respectively belong, whether front, centre, or rear; or to remember each his right and left hand man, and his file leader or coverer.
To pass from three or two ranks, into one rank.
440. The company being in three or two ranks, when the instructor shall wish to form it into one, he will command:
1. In one rank, form company. 2. MARCH.
441. This movement will be executed according to the principles prescribed, No. 427, and
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following; but the captain will stand fast instead of following the movement, and, as the last man on the right turns into the rank, he will halt it, and face it to the front. The file closers will have extended themselves with the movement.
Remarks.
442. The formations above prescribed will be habitually executed by the left; but they may be occasionally executed by the right. In this case, the ranks (or rank) will be faced about, and the guides be posted in the rear rank, now become the front
443. The formations will then be executed by the same commands, and according to the same principles as in the former cases: the movement commencing with the right file, now become the left, and, in each file, by the rear rank man, now become the front rank man. The right guide will conform himself to what has been prescribed for the left guide.
444. At the end of each formation, the company, by an about face, will be brought to its proper front.
445. When a battalion, in line, has to execute either of the foregoing formations, the colonel will first cause it to break to the rear into column, when he will give the commands prescribed for the instructor above, preceding the command march, by the word quick.
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY
General Rules, and Division of the School of the
446. Instruction by company will always precede that by battalion, and having for object to prepare the soldiers for the higher school, the exercises of detail by company will be strictly adhered to, as well in respect to principles, as the order of progression herein prescribed.
447. There will be attached to a company undergoing elementary instruction, a captain, a covering sergeant, and a certain number of file closers, the whole posted in the manner indicated, Title I, and, according to the same Title, the officer charged with the exercise of such company will herein be denominated the instructor.
448. The school of the company will be divided into six lessons, and each lesson will comprehend five articles, as follows:
5. Alignments, and manual of arms in closed ranks.
1. To load in four times (or pauses.)
I-I
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4. The fire of two ranks (or by file.)
1. To march in line of battle.
2. To halt the company marching in line of battle, and to align it.
3. Oblique march in line of battle.
4. To mark time, to march in quick time, and the back step.
5. To march in retreat in line of battle.
2. To change direction by file.
3. To halt the company marching by the flank, and to face it to the front.
4. The company being in march by the flank, to form it on the right or left into line of battle.
1. To break into column by platoon.
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5. Being in column by platoon, to form to the left or right into line of battle.
1. To diminish and increase front in marching by platoon.
2. To diminish and increase front of column in marching by file and files.
3. To march in column in route, and to execute the movements incident thereto.
5. Being in column by platoon, to form on the right or left in the order of battle.
449. No matter what the number of files, the company will be first taught the first and second lessons, formed into three ranks, because instruction in three, with few exceptions, includes instruction in two ranks: but if the number of files of that depth be less than sixteen, the company will be formed into two ranks, for instruction in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth lessons, because, in these, with a front of less than sixteen files, the principles could not be well exemplified.
450. Whatever the formation, the instructor will ascertain whether the files be numbered, the platoons marked, &c, as prescribed, Nos. 425 and 437.
451. The instructor will be as clear and concise as possible in his explanations; he will cause faults of detail to be rectified by the captain, to whom he will indicate them, if the captain should
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not have himself observed them; and the instructor will not otherwise interfere, unless the captain should not well comprehend, or should badly execute his intentions.
452. Composure, or presence of mind, in him who commands, and in those who obey, being the first means of order in a body of troops, the instructor will labour to habituate the company to this essential quality, and will, himself, give the example.
To open ranks.
453. The company being at ordered arms, the ranks and file closers well aligned, when the instructor shall wish to cause the ranks to be opened, he will direct that the left guide be placed on the left of the front rank, and that the next sergeant towards that flank be posted on the left of the rear rank; which being executed, he will command:
1. Attention. 2. COMPANY. 3. Shoulder- ARMS.
4. To the rear, open order.
454. At the fourth command, the captain, the covering sergeant, and the two sergeants on the
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON I.
left flank, will step off smartly to the rear, in the back step, in order to mark the alignments or the centre and rear ranks.
455. The captain and the left guide will place themselves, accurately, on the alignment of the file closers.
456. The covering sergeant, and the sergeant posted on the left of the rear rank, will place themselves at the distance of four full paces, judging by eye, from the rank of file closers.
457. The instructor will throw himself at the same time on the right flank, in order to observe, in succession, and, if necessary, to correct the positions of the four markers, so that the captain and the left guide shall be on one line, and the covering sergeant and the fourth marker on another, and each line parallel to the front rank. This being promptly seen or done, he will command:
5. MARCH.
458. At this, the front rank will stand fast.
459. the two other ranks will step off to the rear, in the back step in common time, without counting steps, and place themselves on the alignment marked for each rank, in conformity to what is prescribed, No. 323.
460. The captain will align the centre, and the covering sergeant the rear rank, each by the right of the rank on the sergeant who closes its left.
461. The file closers will march to the rear at the same moment, and place themselves at the
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON I.
distance of two paces from the rear rank, as soon as the latter shall be aligned.
462. The captain and the covering sergeant having aligned, respectively, the centre and rear ranks, the instructor will command:
8. FRONT.
463. At this the captain and the left guide will return to their places in the front rank, and the sergeant on the left of the rear rank, to his place as a file closer.
464. The instructor, seeing the ranks aligned, will examine the positions of persons and arms in the front rank, and direct the captain and covering sergeant to do the same in respect to the centre and rear ranks.
465. If there be no centre rank, the foregoing movement be executed by the same commands, and on the same principles, the captain standing fast, and the right and left guides placing themselves four paces in rear of the front ranks, to mark the new alignment of the rear rank.
Alignments in open order.
466. The ranks being open, the instructor will in the first exercises, align the ranks man by man, the better to inculcate the principles.
467. To effect this, he will cause the three men on the right or left of each rank to march
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON I.
two or three paces forward, and, after having aligned them, command:
By file right (or left)- DRESS.
468. At this, the men of each rank will move up successively on the alignment, each man being preceded by his neighbour in the same rank, towards the basis, by two paces.
469. Successive alignments having habituated the soldiers to dress correctly, the instructor will cause the ranks to align themselves at once, forward and backward, sometimes in a direction parallel, and sometimes in one oblique, to the original direction, giving, in each case, three men to serve as a basis of alignment to each rank. To effect which, he will command:
Right (or left)- DRESS.
or
Right (or left) backward- DRESS.
470. In oblique alignments, in opened ranks, the men of the centre and rear ranks will not seek to cover their file leaders, as the sole object of the exercise is to teach them to align themselves correctly in their respective ranks, in the different directions.
471. In the several alignments, the instructor will superintend the front rank, the captain the next, and, with three, the covering sergeant the last. For this purpose, they will place themselves
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON I.
on the side by which the ranks are dressed.
472. In oblique alignments, the men will conform the line of their shoulders to the new direction of their rank, and will place themselves on the alignment as has been prescribed, No. 314, or No. 323, according as the new direction shall be in front or rear of the original one.
473. At the end of each alignment, the instructor, the captain, and, with three ranks, the covering sergeant, will pass along the front of the ranks to inspect the positions of persons and arms, in order that the men may not acquire the habit of neglecting either.
Manual of Arms.
474. The ranks being open, the instructor will put himself in a position to see the several ranks, and will command the manual of arms in the following order.
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1. Present arms. |
2. Shoulder arms. |
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3. Order arms. |
4. Shoulder arms. |
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5. Support arms. |
6. Carry arms. |
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7. Unfix bayonet. |
8. Shoulder arms. |
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9. Secure arms. |
10. Shoulder arms. |
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11. Fix bayonet. |
12. Shoulder arms. |
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13. Charge bayonet. |
14. Shoulder arms. |
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15. Trail arms. |
16. Shoulder arms. |
17. Load in twelve times.
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON I.
475 The instructor will take care that the position of the body, of the feet, and of the piece, be always exact, and that the times be briskly executed, and close to the person. The ranks during these exercises will be superintended as before prescribed.
To close ranks.
476. The manual of arms being ended, the instructor will command:
1. Close order. 2. MARCH.
477. At the command march, the front rank will stand fast; the other ranks (or rank) will close to the front, halting at the habitual distance from the rank preceding, and each man directing himself on his file leader.
Alignments, and manual of arms in closed ranks.
478. The ranks being closed, the instructor will cause to be executed parallel and oblique alignments by the right and left, forward and backward, observing to place always three files to serve as a basis of alignment. He will give the commands prescribed, No. 469.
479. In alignments in closed ranks, the captain will superintend the front ranks, and the covering
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON I.
sergeant the two others, or the rear, if there be no centre rank. They will habituate themselves to judge the alignment by the lines of the eyes and shoulders, in casting a glance of the eye (coup d'oeil) along the front and rear of the rank.
480. The moment the captain perceives the greater number of the front rank aligned, he will command FRONT, and rectify, afterwards, if necessary, the alignment of the other men by the means prescribed, No. 322. The other ranks (or rank) will conform to the alignment of the front rank, superintended by the covering sergeant.
481. The ranks being steady, the instructor will place himself on the flank to verify their alignment. he will also see that each file leader be accurately covered by the men (or man) in the same file.
482.In oblique alignments, the instructor will observe what is prescribed, No. 472.
483. In all alignments, the file closers will preserve the distance of two paces from the rear rank.
484. The alignments being ended, the instructor will cause to be executed the manual of arms.
485. The instructor, wishing to give relaxation to the men, without deranging the alignment, will first cause arms to be supported, or ordered, and then command:
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON I.
In place- REST.
486. At this, the men will no longer be constrained to preserve silence or steadiness of position; but they will always keep one heel or the other on the alignment.
487. If, on the contrary, the instructor wish to give a greater latitude, by dispensing with the last mentioned restriction, he will simply command: REST. (See Nos. 168, 182.)
488. To resume the fixed position, the commands will be: 1. Attention. 2. COMPANY, executed as in No. 170 or 184.
489. The instructor, may, also, when he shall judge proper, cause arms to be stacked, which will be executed as prescribed, School of the Soldier.
490. The instructor, wishing to pass to the second lesson, will cause the company to take arms, if stacks have been formed, and command:
1. Attention. 2. COMPANY. 3. Shoulder-
ARMS.
491. The instructor will then cause loadings and firings to be executed in the following order:
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON II.
To load in four times.
492. Loading in four times, will be commanded and executed as prescribed, No. 266, and following. The instructor will cause the exercise to be often repeated, in succession, before passing to loading at will.
To load at will.
493. Loading at will, will be commanded and executed as prescribed, No. 271.
494. In the first time of loading in four times, and also, at will, the captain and covering sergeant will half face to the right with the men, and face to the front when the man next to them, respectively, casts about.
495. The instructor will labour to the utmost to cause the men, in the different loadings, to execute what has been prescribed, No. 272, and following.
496. Loading at will, being that of battle, and consequently the one with which it is most important to render the men familiar, it will claim preference in the exercises the moment the men be well established in the principles. To these they will brought by degree. so that every man may to load with real cartridges,
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON II.
and to fire at least three rounds in a minute with ease and regularity.
To fire by company.
497. The instructor, wishing to cause the fire by company to be executed, will command:
1. Fire by company. 2. Commence firing.
498. At the first command, the captain will promptly place himself opposite to the centre of his company, four paces in rear of the line of file closers: the covering sergeant will retire to that line, and place himself opposite to his interval. This rule is general for the captain and covering sergeant in all the different firings.
499. At the second command, the captain will add: 1. Company; 2 READY; 3. AIM; 4. FIRE: 5. LOAD.
500. At the command load, each man will bring back his piece, load and shoulder. The captain will immediately recommence the fire by the same commands, and thus continue it till the roll.
501. The captain will sometimes cause aim to be taken to the right and left, simply observing to pronounce right (or left) oblique, after the command ready, and before that of aim. He will also sometimes give the command recover arms, after that of aim, in order to habituate
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON II.
the men to composure of mind and attention to commands.
Remark.
502. The several commands in this article will be executed as prescribed for the squad, under corresponding commands, Nos. 276 and 290, inclusive, observing also the remarks Nos. 301, 303, and 304.
The fire of two ranks (or by file.)
503. The instructor wishing to cause the fire of two ranks (or by file) to be executed, (See No. 302) will command:
1. Fire by two ranks (or by file) 2. Company 3. READY. 4. Commence firing.
504. The third and fourth commands will be executed as prescribed, No. 293 and following.
505. The fire will be commenced by the right file of the company; the next file will take aim at the instant the first draws back pieces to reload, and so on to the left; but this progression will only be observed in the first discharge, when each man will reload and fire without regulating himself by others, conforming himself to what is prescribed, Nos. 297-8.
506. The instructor will cause the firing to cease, whether by company or by two ranks (or file) by a roll of the drum; and at the instant
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON II.
the roll commences, the men will cease firing. If they have fired, they will reload and shoulder; if they are in the position of ready, they will front, half-cock, and shoulder; if in the position of aim, they will, of themselves, recover arms, front, half-cock, and shoulder. In the fire by company (if in three ranks) the front ranks will rise in order to half-cock; in the "fire of two ranks" (which always means firing by the front and centre ranks only in the three ranks formation) the men of the centre and rear ranks will, after half-cocking, always take back, by exchanging, their own pieces, if they have not previously done so.
507. The roll will always be followed by a tap on the drum; at this signal the captain and the covering sergeant will promptly resume their places in line, and rectify, if necessary, the alignment of the ranks.
Remarks.
508. In this school, except when powder is used, the roll of the drum will be indicated by the command roll, pronounced by the instructor when he wishes to stop the semblance of firing; and in actual firing, at the roll of the drum itself, to stop the fire, the captain and all the file closers will repeat cease firing, and enforce the command. This is of great importance with troops, not veteran, in the face of an enemy.
509. In the same case above, where the command roll is substituted for the actual roll of the drum, the instructor will add the command tap
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as the signal for the captain and covering sergeant to return to their places in line, as soon as he sees arms shouldered.
510. The fire of two ranks, or by file, as it will be called, according as the formation may be in three or two ranks, (See No. 302) being that which is most frequently used against an enemy, it is of the utmost importance that it be rendered perfectly familiar to the troops. The instructor will, therefore, give it the preference; he will labour to cause it to be executed with the greatest regularity- regularity being the most certain means of bringing the men to load and fire with the precision and swiftness so desirable in battle.
To fire by the rear rank.
511. The instructor will cause the several fires to be executed to the rear, that is, by the rear rank. To effect this, he will command:
1. Face by the rear rank.* 2. Company. 3. About- FACE.
512. At the first command, the captain will step out and place himself near to, and facing the
* The student will here fix in his mind at once, that the cautionary commands, face by the rear rank, and face by the front rank, always indicate more than that the company or battalion shall simply (as in Nos. 563, 1359, &c.) face about. The difference alluded to begins to show itself in
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON II.
right file of his company; the covering sergeant, and file closers, will pass quickly through the captain's interval, and place themselves faced to the rear, the covering sergeant a pace behind the captain, and the file closers two paces behind from the front rank opposite to their places in line, each passing behind the covering sergeant.
513. At the third command, which will be given at the instant the last file closer shall have passed through the interval, the company will face about; the captain will place himself in the rear rank, now become the front, and the covering sergeant will cover him in the front rank, now become the rear.
514. The company having faced by the rear rank, the instructor will cause it to execute the fire by company, both direct and oblique, and the fire of two ranks, (or by file) by the commands prescribed in the two preceding articles: the captain, covering sergeant, and men will conform themselves, in like manner to what is therein prescribed.
515. In the fire by company, the rear rank, become the front, will, in the three rank formation, kneel. The fire of two ranks, in the same formation, or the fire by file, (if there be no centre rank)
this article, Nos. 512, 513, and Nos. 516, 518. In the subsequent titles, those reciprocal cautions will frequently recur, not only before and after firing by the rear rank, but also before and after manoeuvering by the same rank, and always to indicate that the file closers are to shift to is about to become the rear of their company, no matter which rank may be in front.
I--K
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will commence on the left, become the right flank.
516. To resume the proper front, (front rank leading) the instructor will command:
1. Face by the front rank. 2. Company.
3. About- FACE
517. At the first command, the captain, covering sergeant, and the file closers, will conform themselves to what is prescribed, Nos. 512-13.
518. At the third command, the company having faced about, the captain and covering sergeant will retake their places in line.
Remarks on the firings.
519. In this lesson, the instructor will habituate the ranks to aim horizontally.
520. He will recommend to the captain to make a short pause between the commands, aim and fire, to give the men time to adjust the sight well.
521. The instructor will place himself in positions to see the several ranks, in order to detect faults; he will charge the captain and file closers to be equally watchful, and to report to him when the ranks are at rest. He will remand for individual instruction, the men who may be observed to load badly, or who are found habitually the last in the fire by company.
522. The instructor will recommend to the soldiers, in the firings, the highest degree of composure or presence of mind, which may be
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consistent with a due vivacity of execution; he will neglect nothing that may contribute to this end.
523. He will give to the men, as a general principle, to maintain, in the direct fire, the left heel in its place, in order that the alignment of the ranks and files may not be deranged; and he will verify, by examination, after each exercise in firing, the observance of this principle.
524. The instructor will observe, in addition to these remarks, all those which have been prescribed, No. 301, and following.
525. When the fires are executed with cartridges, the instructor will occasionally cause arms to be ordered, and rammers to be sprung,without opening ranks, in order to ascertain if the fault has been committed of putting three cartridges, without a discharge, in the same piece; and, in that case, he will cause the ball screw to be applied.
To advance in line of battle.
526. The company being in line of battle, and correctly aligned, when the instructor shall wish to exercise it in marching by the front, he will assure himself that the shoulders of the captain and covering sergeant are perfectly in the direction or their respective ranks, and that the sergeant
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON III.
accurately covers the captain; the instructor will then throw himself twenty or thirty paces in front of them, face to the rear, and place himself exactly on the prolongation of the line passing between their heels.
527.The instructor, being aligned on the directing file, will command:
1. Company, forward.
528. At this, a sergeant, previously designated, will move six paces in advance of the captain: the instructor, from the position prescribed, will correctly align this sergeant on the prolongation of the directing file.
529. This advanced sergeant, who is to be charged with the direction, will, the moment his position is assured, take two points on the ground in the straight line which would pass between his own and the heels of the instructor.
530. These dispositions being made, the instructor will step aside, and command:
2. MARCH.
531. At this, the company will step off with life. The directing sergeant will observe, with the greatest precision, the length and cadence of the step, marching on the two points he has chosen; he will take in succession, and always a little before arriving at the point nearest to him, new points in advance, exactly in the same line with the first two, and at the distance of some fifteen or twenty paces from each other.
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON III.
The captain will march steadily in the trace of the directing sergeant, keeping always six paces from him; the men will feel lightly the elbow of his neighbour on the side of direction, and conform himself to the principles prescribed, School of the Soldier, for the march by the front.
532. The man, next to the captain, will take special care not to pass him; to this end, he will keep the line of his shoulders a little in the rear, but in the same direction with those of the captain.
533. The file closers will march at the habitual distance of two paces behind the rear rank.
534. If the men lose the step, the instructor will command:
To the- STEP.
535. At this, the men will cast an eye on the directing sergeant, retake the step from him, and again direct eyes to the front.
Remarks on marching in line of battle.
536. The instructor will cause the captain and covering sergeant to be posted sometimes on the right, and sometimes on the left of the company.
537. The directing sergeant, in advance, having the greatest influence on the march of the company, he will be selected for the precision of his step, his habit of maintaining his shoulders in
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON III.
a square with the given line of direction, and of prolonging that line without variation.
538. If this sergeant fail to observe those principles, undulations in the front of the company must necessarily follow; the men will be unable to contract the habit of taking steps equal in length and swiftness, and of maintaining their shoulders in a square with the line of direction- the only means of attaining perfection in the march in line.
539. The instructor, with a view the better to establish the men in the length and cadence (time) of the step, and in the principles of the march in line, will cause the company to advance three or four hundred paces, at once, without halting, if the ground will permit, and, in the first exercises, in open ranks- the better to observe the centre and rear ranks, or it may be the rear rank only. In this case, if in three ranks, he will cause a sergeant to placed on the flank of the centre rank, covering the captain.
540. The instructor will see, with care, that all the principles of the march in line are strictly observed; he will generally be on the directing flank, in a position to observe the several ranks, and the faults they may commit; he will sometimes halt behind the direction file during some thirty successive steps, in order to judge whether the directing sergeant, or the directing file, deviate from the perpendicular.
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON III.
To halt the company, marching in line of battle, and to align it.
541. The instructor, wishing to halt the company, will command:
1. Company. 2. HALT.
542. At the second command, the company will halt; the directing sergeant will remain in advance, unless ordered to return to the line of file closers. The same of the sergeant on the flank of the centre rank, if there be one.
543. The company being at a halt, the instructor may renew the march; he may close the ranks, if they be open, he may advance the first three files on the side of direction, and align the company on that basis, or he may confine himself to causing the alignment to be rectified. In that case, he will command: Captain, rectify the alignment. The captain will direct the covering sergeant to attend to the rear rank, when each, glancing his eyes along his rank, will promptly rectify it, in conformity with what is prescribed, No. 322.
Oblique march in line of battle.
544. The company being in the direct march,
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when the instructor shall wish to cause it to march obliquely, he will command:
1. Right (or left) oblique. 2. MARCH.
545. At the command march, which will be given as prescribed, No. 138, the company will take the oblique step. The directing sergeant, in advance, will give the greatest attention to the squareness of the shoulders to the perpendicular, and take care to oblique by an equal movement; the captain will conform his march to that of the sergeant; the men will preserve the touch of the elbow towards the side of direction, observing exactly the principles prescribed, No. 343, and following: the man next to the captain will take special care not to pass him.
546. When the instructor shall wish the direct march to be resumed, he will command:
1. Forward. 2. MARCH.
547. At the command march, pronounced at the instant a foot is coming to the ground, the company will take the direct march. The instructor, having thrown himself twenty paces in front of the captain, and facing to the rear, will place himself correctly on the straight line passing between the heels of the covering sergeant and captain, and then, by signal of the sword, adjust the sergeant on the same line, if he be not on it: this sergeant will immediately take points, and progressively, other points, as prescribed, No. 531.
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Remarks on the Oblique March.
548. If the captain be not attentive to the keeping of his shoulders in a square with the perpendicular, he will give a false direction to the company, contrary to the essential object of the oblique march, which is to gain ground to the right or left, without losing the primitive direction of the front of the line.
549. If the directing sergeant oblique unequally, sometimes gaining more, and sometimes less ground to the side; and if the captain conform himself to the sergeant's march, alternate openings and crowdings of files cannot fail to result.
550. The utmost attention of the instructor will be necessary to prevent, or, if they occur, promptly to correct these faults. Accordingly, he will, pending the oblique the oblique march, hold himself in front and faced to the company, so as to see and regulate the march of the directing sergeant, and also to enforce an observance of the principles. He will see that the man on the flank, to which the company may be obliquing, gains sufficient ground to that side, in order not to crowd the company, and yet not too much, which would cause openings between files. Hence the importance, that the captain and the man on the opposite flank, in the same rank, should be well regulated in their steps in the oblique march. As to the men in a centre or rear rank (ranks closed) in the oblique march, each has, as a regulator, his immediate file leader, just as in the direct march, with ranks open or closed.
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551. Finally, the instructor ought to cause the oblique march to be continued for a hundred or more successive steps, in order to render its practice easy to the soldiers, which is of great importance in the Evolutions of the Line.
To mark time, to march in quick time, and the
back step.
552. The company being in the direct march and in common time, the instructor, to cause to mark time, will command:
1. Mark time. 2. MARCH.
553. To resume the march, he will command:
1. Forward. 2. MARCH.
554. To cause the march in quick time, the instructor will command:
1. Quick time. 2. MARCH.
555. The command march, will be pronounced at the instant either foot is coming to the ground.
556. To resume common time, the instructor will command:
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1. Common time. 2. MARCH.
557. The command march, will be pronounced at the instant either foot is coming to the ground.
558. The company being at a halt, the instructor may cause it march in the back step; to effect this, he will command:
1. Company, backward. 2. MARCH.
559. The back step will be executed according to the principles to the prescribed, Nos. 357-8: but the use of it being rare, except in alignments and opening ranks, the instructor will not cause more than fifteen or twenty such steps to be taken in succession, and, to that extent, but seldom.
Remarks on the march in quick time.
560. The instructor ought not to exercise the company in marching in quick time, till the men are well established in the length and swiftness of the pace in common time; he will then endeavor to render the march of one hundred and ten paces in the minute equally easy and familiar to them, and also to cause them to observe the same erectness of body and composure of mind, as if marching in common time.
561. When the company shall be well established in the cadence of the direct quick step, the instructor will cause it to march in the oblique
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quick step, to the right and left, some few paces at a time, which will be executed as is prescribed, No. 545, and following.
562. When marching in quick time, if a subdivision (in a column) has to change direction by turning, or has to form line by successive files, the men will quicken the march to one hundred and forty steps in a minute; or it may be (with a wide front) to a run; so, also, in the last eight or ten paces preceding the shock of a charge, and, in general, in other circumstances, requiring very great celerity; but as ranks of men cannot march any length of time at so swift a rate, without breaking or confusion, this measure of acceleration will not be considered as a prescribed exercise, except in turning, forming line by successive files, and at the close of a charge. Accordingly, companies or battalions will only be exercised in the quick time of one hundred and ten steps in a minute.
To march in retreat.
563. The company being halted and correctly aligned, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to march in retreat, he will command:
1. Company. 2. About- FACE.
564. The company having faced to the rear, the instructor will throw himself in front of the
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directing file, in conformity with what is prescribed, No. 526.
565. The instructor, being correctly established on the prolongation of the directing file, will command:
3. Company, forward.
566. At this, the directing sergeant will conform himself to what is prescribed, Nos. 528-29, with this difference- he will place himself six paces in front of the line of file closers, now leading.
567. The covering sergeant will step into the line of file closers, opposite to his interval, and the captain will place himself in the rear rank, now become the front.
568. This disposition being promptly made, the instructor will command:
4. MARCH.
569. At this, the directing sergeant, the captain, and the men, will conform themselves to what is prescribed, No. 531, and following.
570. The instructor will cause to be executed, marching in retreat, all that is prescribed for marching in advance; the commands and the means of execution will be the same.
571. The instructor having halted the company, will, when he may wish, cause it to face to the front by the commands prescribed, No. 563. The captain, the covering sergeant, and the directing sergeant, will resume their habitual
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places in line, the moment they shall have faced about.
To march by the flank.
572. The company being in line of battle, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to march by the right flank, he will command:
1. Company, by the right flank. 2. Right-
FACE. 3. Company, forward.
4. MARCH
573. (Pl. XI, fig. 1.) At the second command, the company will face to the right; the covering sergeant will place himself at the head of the front rank, the captain having stepped out for the purpose, so far as to find himself by the side of the sergeant, and on his left.
574. At the command march, the company will step off smartly in common time; the covering sergeant, at the head of the front rank, and the captain on his left, will direct their march straight forward. The men of the centre and rear ranks will march abreast with their respective front rank men, now on their left, heads direct to the front; the file closers will march opposite to their places in line of battle.
575. The instructor will cause the
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principles of the march by the flank to be observed, in placing himself pending the march, as prescribed, No. 369.
576. The instructor will cause the march by the left flank to be executed by the same commands, substituting left for right.
577. At the instant the company faces to the left, the left guide will place himself at the head of the front rank; the captain will pass rapidly to the left, and place himself by the right side of this guide; the covering sergeant will replace the captain in the front rank, the moment the captain quits it to go to the left.
To change direction by file.
578. The company being faced to a flank, and either in march, or at a halt, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to wheel by file, he will command:
1. By file, left (or right.) 2. MARCH.
579. (Pl. XI, figs. 2 and 3.) AT the command march, the first file will wheel; if to the side of the front rank man, the latter will take care not to turn at once, but to describe a short arc of a circle, shortening a little the first three or four steps, according as there may or may not be a centre rank, in order to give time to the rear rank man to conform himself to the movement
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If the wheel be to the side of the rear rank, the front rank man will wheel in the step of twenty-eight inches, and the rear rank man will conform himself to the movement by describing the short arc of a circle, as has just been explained. Each file will come to wheel on the same spot where that which preceded it wheeled. 580. The instructor will see that the wheel be executed according to those principles, in order that the distance between the files may always be preserved, and that there be no check or hindrance at the wheeling point.
To halt the company marching by the flank, and to face it to the front.
581. To effect these objects, the instructor will command:
1. Company. 2. HALT. 3. Front- FACE.
582. The second and third commands will be executed as prescribed, Nos. 371-2. The captain and covering sergeant, as well as the left guide, if the march be by the left flank, will return to their habitual places in line, at the instant the company faces to the front.
583. The instructor may then align the company by one of the means indicated, No. 543.
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The company being in march by the flank, to form it on the right (or left) into line of battle.
584. To effect this, if the march be by the right flank, the instructor will command:
1. On the right, by file into line. 2. MARCH.
585. (Pl. XI, fig. 4.) At the command march, the rear and center ranks (if there be a centre rank) will mark time; the captain and covering sergeant will turn to the right, then march straight forward, and will be halted by the instructor when they shall have passed at least six paces beyond the rear rank now marking time; the captain will place himself correctly on the line of battle, and will direct the alignment as the men of the front rank successively arrive; the covering sergeant will place himself behind the captain at the distance of the rear rank; the first man of the front rank will continue to march, pass behind the covering sergeant, turn to the right, and as soon as he shall have passed, place himself by the left side of the captain; the second man of the same rank will pass behind the first, then turn to the right, and place himself by the left side of the first, and thus, in succession, to the last man of the rank; the centre rank (if there be one) and the rear rank will execute the movement in like manner,
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON IV.
but neither will cease to mark time till there be two men of the preceding rank already formed on the line of battle; the men of the centre and rear ranks will accurately cover their file leaders as the successively arrive on that line.
586. If the company be marching by the left flank, the instructor will cause it to form on the left into line of battle by file, according to the same principles and by the commands last prescribed, substituting the indication left for right.
587. To enable the men the better to comprehend the mechanism of this movement, the instructor will, at first, cause it to be executed separately by each rank, and afterwards by the three or two ranks, at once, as above.
588. The instructor will follow up the movement, to assure himself that each man conforms himself to what is prescribed, No. 585.
The company being in march by the flank, to form it by company, or by platoon, into line, and to cause it to face to the right and left in marching.
589. The company being in march by the right flank, the instructor will order the captain to cause it to form line; the captain
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will immediately command: 1. By company, into line; 2. MARCH.
590. (Pl. XI, fig. 5.) At the command march, the covering sergeant will continue straight forward; the men will advance the right shoulder, take the quick step and march diagonally into line with the covering sergeant, taking care to enter one after the other, and if that sergeant be marching in common time, without running.
See No. 562.
591. As the front rank men successively arrive in line with the covering sergeant, they will take from him the step, and then turn eyes to the front.
592. The men of the other ranks or rank will conform themselves to the movement of their respective file leaders, but without endeavoring to arrive in line at the same time with the latter.
593. At the instant the movement begins, the captain will face to his company in order to follow up the execution; and, as soon as the company is formed, he will command, guide left, place himself two paces before the centre, face to the front, and take the step of the company.
594. At the command guide left, the second sergeant will promptly place himself in the front rank, on the left, to serve as guide, and the covering sergeant who is on the opposite flank will remain there.
595. When the company marches by the left flank, this movement will be executed by the same commands and according to the same principles; the company being formed, the captain will command, guide right, and place
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himself in front of his company as above; the covering sergeant who is on the right of the front rank will serve as guide, and the second sergeant placed on the left flank will remain there.
596. Thus, in a column by company (or, in this case, in a company supposed to form a subdivision of a column) right or left in front, the covering sergeant and second sergeant of each company will always be placed on the right and left, respectively, of the front rank; they will be denominated right guide and left guide, and the one or the other will be charged with the direction, as above. See Nos. 22 and 28.
597. The company being in march by the flank, if it be the wish of the instructor to form platoons, he will give an order to that effect to the captain, who will command: 1. By platoon into line; 2. MARCH.
598. The movement will be executed by each platoon according to the above principles. The captain will place himself before the centre of the first platoon, and the first lieutenant before the centre of the second, passing through the opening made in the centre of the company, if the march be by the right flank, and around the left of his platoon, if the march be by the left: in this last case, the captain will also pass around the left of the second platoon in order to place himself in front of the first. Both the captain and lieutenant, without waiting for each other, will command guide left (or right) at the instant their respective platoons are formed.
599. At the command guide left (or right,) the guide of each platoon will pass rapidly to
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON IV.
the indicated flank of the platoon, if not already there.
600. The right guide of the company will always serve as the guide of the right or left of the first platoon, and the left guide of the company will serve, in like manner, as the guide of the second platoon.
601. Thus in a column, by platoon, there will be but one guide to each platoon; he will be always be placed on its left flank, if the right be in front, and on the right flank, if the left be in front.
602. In those several movements, the file closers will follow the platoons to which they are attached.
603. The instructor may cause the company, marching by the flank, to form by company, or by platoon, by his own direct commands, using those prescribed for the captain, No. 589 or 597.
604. The instructor will exercise the company in passing, without a halt, from the march by the front, to the march by the flank, and reciprocally. In either case, he will employ the commands prescribed, No. 375 substituting company for squad. The company will face to the right or left, in marching, and the captain, the guides, and file closers will conform themselves to what is prescribed for each in the march by the flank, or in the march by the front of a company supposed to be a subdivision of a column.
605. If, after facing to the right or left, in marching, the company find itself faced by the rear rank, the captain will place
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON IV.
himself two paces behind the centre of the front rank, now in the rear, the guides will pass to the rear rank, now leading, and the file closers will march in front of this rank.
The company being in column, by platoon, and in march, to cause it to march by the flank in the same direction.
606. The column, by platoon, and in march, right or left in front, to prolong it in the same direction by the flank, the instructor will command:
1. Company, by the right (or left) flank. 2. By file left (or right.) 3. MARCH.
607. At the second command, each chief of subdivision and its guide will pass rapidly to the designated flank, in order to conduct it.
608. At the command march, each subdivision will face to the right in marching, wheel by file to the left, in order to prolong the previous direction of the column, and then march straight forward.
609. The leading file of the second subdivision will unite with the rear file of the first subdivision; the chief and the guide of the second, a pace before the union, will pass through the interval to their places as file closers.
610. With the left in front, the movement will be executed in like manner: a pace before the union of the subdivisions, the covering sergeant
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will return to his place on the right flank, now in the rear.
611. The captain, to conduct the left flank, if a halt be not immediately commanded, will replace the first lieutenant on that flank, who will pass to his place as a file closer.
To break into column by platoon.
612. The company, being at a halt, in line of battle, the instructor, wishing to break it into column, by platoon, will command:
1.By platoon, right (or left) wheel. 2. MARCH.
613. (Pl. XII, fig. 1.) At the first command, the chiefs of platoon will throw themselves two paces before the centres of their respective platoons, the lieutenant passing around the left of the company. They need not occupy themselves with dressing, one upon the other. The covering sergeant will replace the captain in the front rank.
614. At the command march, the right front rank man of each platoon will face to the right, the covering sergeant standing fast; the chief of each platoon will move quickly by the shortest line, a little beyond the point at which the marching flank will rest when the
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wheel shall be completed, face to the late rear, and place himself so that the line which he forms with the man on the right (who had faced) shall be perpendicular to that occupied by the company in line of battle; each platoon will wheel according to the principles prescribed for the wheel on a fixed pivot, and the man who conducts the marching flank shall approach near the perpendicular, its chief will command: 1. Platoon; 2. HALT.
615. At the command halt, which will be given at the instant the man who conducts the marching flank shall have arrived at three paces from the perpendicular, the platoon will halt, the covering sergeant will move to the point where the left of the first platoon is to rest, passing by the front rank; the second sergeant will place himself, in like manner, in respect to the second platoon. Each will take care to leave between himself and the man on the right of his platoon, a space equal to the front of the platoon; the captain and first lieutenant will look to this, and each take care to align the sergeant between himself and the man of the platoon who had faced to the right.
616. The guide of each platoon being thus established on the perpendicular, each chief will place himself two paces outside of his guide, and command: 1. Left (or right)- DRESS.
617. The alignment being ended, each chief will command, FRONT, and place himself two paces before the centre of his platoon.
618. The file closers will conform themselves to the movement of their respective
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platoons, preserving always the distance of two paces from the rear rank.
619. The company will break by platoon to the left, according to the same principles, and by inverse means.
Remarks.
620. The instructor, placed in front of the company, will observe whether the movement be executed according to the principles prescribed above; whether the platoons, after the command front, are perpendicular to the line of battle just occupied; and whether the guide who placed himself where the marching flank of his platoon had to rest, has left, between himself and the front rank man on the right (or left) the space necessary to contain the front of the platoon.
621. After the command front, if the rearmost guide should not accurately cover the headmost one, he will not seek to correct his position till the column be put in march, unless the instructor, wishing to wheel immediately into line, should think it necessary to rectify the direction of the guides, which would be executed as explained, No. 661-3.
622. The instructor will observe, that the man on the right (or left) of each platoon, who, at the command march, faces to the right (or left) being the true pivot of the wheel, the front rank man next to him ought to gain a little ground to the front in wheeling, so as to clear the pivot-man.
I-M
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To march in column.
623. (Pl. XII, fig. 2.) The company having broken by platoon, right (or left) in front, the instructor, wishing to cause the column to march, will throw himself twenty-five or thirty paces in front, face to the guides, place himself correctly on their direction, and caution the leading guide to take points on the ground.
624. The instructor being thus placed, the guide of the leading platoon will take two points on the ground in the straight line passing between his own and the heels of the instructor.
625. These dispositions being made, the instructor will step aside, and command:
1. Column, forward. 2. Guide Left (or right.)
3. MARCH.
626. At the command march, promptly repeated by the chiefs of platoon, they, as well as the guides, will lead off, by a decisive step, their respective platoons, in order that the whole may move smartly, and at the same moment.
627. The men will each feel lightly the elbow of his neighbour towards the guide, and conform himself, in marching, to the principles prescribed, Nos. 336-42. The man next to the guide, in each platoon, will take care never to pass him, and also to march always about six
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inches to the right (or left) from him, in order not to push him out of the direction.
628. The leading guide will observe, with the greatest precision, the length and cadence of the step, and maintain the direction of his march by the means prescribed, No. 531.
629. The following guide will march exactly in the trace of the leading one, preserving between the latter and himself a distance precisely equal to the front of his platoon, and marching in the same step with the leading guide.
630. If the following guide lose his distance from the one leading, (which can only happen by his own fault,) he will correct himself by slightly lengthening or shortening a few steps, in order that there may not be sudden quickenings or slackenings in the march of his platoon.
631. If the same guide, having neglected to march exactly in the trace of the preceding one, find himself sensibly out of the direction, he will remedy this fault by advancing more or less the shoulder opposite to the true direction, and thus, in a few steps, insensibly regain it, without the inconvenience of the oblique step, which would cause a loss of distance. In all the cases, each chief of platoon will cause it to conform to the movements of its guide.
Remarks on the march in column.
632. If the chiefs and guides of subdivisions neglect to lead off and to decide the march from the first step, the march will be begun in
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uncertainty, which will caused waverings, a loss of step, and a loss of distance.
633.If the leading guide take unequal steps, the march of his subdivision, and that which follows, will be uncertain; there will be undulations, quickenings, and slackenings in the march.
634. If the same guide be not habituated to prolong a given direction, without deviation, he will describe a crooked line, and the column must wind to conform itself to such line.
635. If the following guide be not habituated to march in the trace of the preceding one, he will lose his distance at every moment in endeavors to regain the trace, the preservation of which is the most important principle in the march in column.
636. The guide of each subdivision in column will be responsible for the direction, distance, and step; the chief of the subdivision, for the order and conformity of his subdivision with the movements of the guide. Accordingly, the chief will frequently turn, in the march, to observe his subdivision.
637. The instructor, placed on the flank of the guides, will watch over the execution of all the principles prescribed; he will, also, sometimes place himself in the rear, align himself on the guides, and halt, pending some thirty paces together, to verify the accuracy of the guides.
638. In column, chiefs of subdivisions will always repeat, with the greatest promptitude, the commands march and halt, no chief waiting for another, but each repeating the command the moment he catches it from the instructor. They will repeat no other command
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given by him: but will explain, if necessary, to their subdivisions, in an under tone of voice, what they will have to execute, as indicated by the commands of caution.
To change direction.
639. (Pl. XII, fig. 3.) The column being in march, right in front, if it be the wish of the instructor to change direction to the left, he will give the order to the chief of the first platoon, and immediately go himself, or send a marker to the point at which the change of direction is to be made; the instructor, or marker, will place himself on the direction of the guides, so as to present the breast to that flank of the column.
640.The leading guide will direct his march on that person, so that, in passing, his left arm may just graze his breast. When the leading guide shall have approached near to the marker, the chief of his platoon will command: 1. Left turn; 2. MARCH.
641. The first command will be given when the platoon is at the distance of four paces from the marker.
642. At the command march, which will be pronounced at the instant the guide shall have arrived opposite to the marker, the guide and the platoon will turn to the left, conforming themselves to what is prescribed, No. 407.
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643. The guide of the first platoon having turned, will take points on the ground in the new direction, to assure his march.
644. The second platoon will continue to march straight forward till up with the marker, when it will turn by the same commands, and according to the same principles, which governed the first platoon.
645. (Pl. XII, fig. 4.) When the instructor shall wish to cause a change of direction to the side opposite to the guide, he will give the order to the chief of the first platoon, and proceed to mark the point of change as just explained.
646. The guide of the first platoon will direct his march as prescribed, No. 640, and then he shall arrive at four paces from the wheeling point, the chief of platoon will command: 1. Right wheel; 2. MARCH.
647. At the command march, which will be pronounced at the instant the guide is opposite to the marker, or wheeling point, the platoon will wheel to the right, in conformity with the principles prescribed, No. 401.
648. The wheel being ended, the chief of platoon will command: 3. Forward; 4. MARCH.
649. These commands will be pronounced and executed as prescribed, Nos. 403-4.
650. The second platoon will continue to march straight forward, its guide directing himself on the marker: it will wheel to the right at the same place, by the same commands and the same means, and then resume the direct march as in the case of the first platoon.
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651. Changes of the direction in a column, left in front, will be executed according to the same principles, and by inverse means.
Remarks on changes of direction in column.
652. It is highly important, in order to preserve distances and the direction, that all the subdivisions of the column should change direction precisely at the point where the leading subdivision changed; it is for this reason that the point ought to be marked in advance, and that it is prescribed that the guides direct their march on the marker, also that each chief of subdivision shall not cause the change to commence till the guide of his subdivision has grazed the breast pf this marker.
653. Each chief will take care that his subdivision arrives at the point of change in a square with the line of direction; with this view, he will face to his subdivision when at the distance from its front from that point.
654. If, in changes of direction to the side opposite the guide, the pivot of the subdivision (say the first) which wheels, should not clear the wheeling point, the next subdivision, say the second, would be arrested in its march, and distances lost; for, the guide who conducts the marching flank having to describe an arc, in length about a third greater than the front of the subdivision, the second subdivision would be already up to the wheeling point, whilst the first has yet a third of a its wheel to execute, and hence would be obliged to mark time till that third
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accomplished. The first subdivision then marching forward a space one half more than its front, whilst the second, in its turn, is executing its wheel, and so on of the following subdivisions , it results, if the wheel be made on a fixed pivot, that there would be, in a column of many subdivisions, as many successive arrests of the march (halts, or markings of time) as there are subdivisions in the column, less one, and that the last subdivision would find itself at the moment of finishing its wheel too far from the one at the head of the column by half the extent the column occupies in line of battle, less the front of a subdivision. It is to avoid these inconveniences that it has been prescribed that the pivot of each subdivision should take steps full nine (that is nine 1/3) inches in length, in order not to arrest the march of the next subdivision. (See No.401.) The chiefs of subdivision will, therefore, look well to the step of the pivot, in wheeling on a moveable pivot, and cause his step to be lengthened or shortened, as may be judged necessary. By the nature of this movement, the centre of each subdivision will bend a little to the rear.
655. The guide will never alter the length or the cadence of the step, whether the change of direction be to his or to the opposite side; but the change being to the former, and the column marching in quick time, it will be necessary, when the guide turns, that the men of the subdivision, in order to come up with him promptly, should quicken their pace to one hundred and forty steps a minute, or even to a run. (See No. 562.)
656. The marker, placed at the wheeling point, will always present his breast to the left flank of the column, if the right be in front, and to the right flank, if the left be in front. The instructor will take the greatest pains in causing the prescribed principles to be observed; he will see that each subdivision only commences the change of direction when the guide, grazing the breast of the marker, has nearly passed him, and, if the movement be to the side opposite to the guide, that the marching flank does not describe the arc of too large a circle, in order that it may not be thrown beyond the new direction.
To halt the column.
657. The column being in march, when the instructor shall wish to halt it, he will command:
1. Column. 2. HALT.
658. At the second command, promptly repeated by the chiefs of platoons. the column will halt; the guides also will stand fast, although they may have lost both distance and direction.
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Remarks.
659. If the command halt, be not repeated with the greatest vivacity, and executed at the same instant, distances will be lost.
660. If a guide. having lost his distance, seek to recover it after that command, he will only throw his fault on the following guide, who, if he have marched well, will no longer be at his proper distance; and if the latter regain what he has thus lost, the movement will be propagated to the rear of the column.
Being in column by platoon, to form it to the left (or right) into line of battle.
661. (Pl. XII, fig. 5) The instructor having halted the column, right (or left) in front, and wishing to form it to the left (or right) into line of battle, he will throw himself to platoon distance in front of the leading guide, face to him, and rectify, if necessary, the position of the guide beyond; this being executed, he will command:
Left (or right)- DRESS.
662. At this, which will not be repeated by the chiefs of platoon, each of them will throw himself two paces outside of his guide,
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and direct the alignment of the platoon perpendicularly to the direction of the column.
663. Each chief having aligned his platoon, he will command FRONT, and return quickly to his place in column,
664. This disposition being made, the instructor will command:
1. Left (or right) into line, wheel. 2. MARCH.
665. At the command march, briskly repeated by the chiefs of platoon, the front rank man on the left (or right) of each platoon will face to the left (or right,) and place his breast against the arm of the guide by his side, who stands fast; the platoons will wheel to the left (or right) on the principles of wheels from a halt, and in conformity to what is prescribed, No. 622. Each chief will turn to his platoon to observe its movement, and when the marching flank has approached near the line of battle, he will command: 1. Platoon; 2. Halt.
666. The command halt, will be given when the marching flank of the platoon is three paces from the line of battle.
667. The chief of the second platoon, having halted it, will return to his place as a file closer.
668. The captain having halted the first platoon, will throw himself to the point at which the right (or left) of the company will rest in line of battle, and command: Right (or left)- DRESS., according as the right of left of the company may have been in front of the column.
669. At this command, the two platoons will Dress up on the alignment; the front rank
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man near the flank of the leading platoon who finds himself opposite to the instructor established on the direction of the guides, will place his breast lightly against the left (or right) arm of this officer. The captain will direct the alignment from the right (or left) on the man on the opposite flank of the company.
670. The company being aligned, the captain will command: FRONT.
671. The instructor seeing the company in line of battle, will command:
Guides- POSTS.
672. At this, the covering sergeant will cover the captain, and the left guide will return to his place as a file closer, each moving quickly.
673. The first, or right platoon, being in front of the column, the alternative word, right or left, given above in parentheses, will be considered as omitted, and the same thing of the corresponding word, not in parentheses, if the second or left platoon be in front. In the second case, the captain, having halted the first platoon, will throw himself to the point at which the left of the company will rest in line of battle, whence he will give the command left dress; seeing both platoons aligned, he will add, front, and at the command guides posts, given by the instructor, the captain will promptly shift to the right of the company.
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Remarks on wheeling to the left or right into line.
674. The instructor may omit thecommand left (or right) dress, previous to commanding left (or right) into line, wheel, unless, after rectifying the position of the guides, it should become necessary to dress the platoons, or one of them, laterally the right or left.
675. The instructor, before the command left (or right) into line, wheel, will assure himself that the rearmost platoon is at its exact wheeling distance form the one in front. This attention is important, in order to detect negligence on the part of guides in this essential point.
To diminish and increase front of column, in marching by platoon.
Diminishing.
676. The company being in march in the cadenced step, common time, and supposed to make part of a column, right in front, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to break by platoon, he will give the order to the captain, who will command: 1. Break into platoons, and immediately place himself before the centre of the first platoon
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677. (Pl. XIII, fig. 1.) At the command break into platoons, the first lieutenant will pass quickly around the left to the centre of his platoon, and give the caution: Mark time.
678. The captain will then command, 2. March.
679. The first platoon will continue to march straight forward; the covering sergeant will throw himself on the left flank of this platoon (passing by the front rank) as soon as the flank shall be disengaged.
680. At the command march, given by the captain, the second platoon will begin to mark time; its chief will immediately add: 1. Right oblique; 2. MARCH. The last command will be given so that this platoon may commence obliquing the instant the rear rank of the first platoon shall have passed.
681. The guide of the second platoon being near the direction of the guide of the first, the chief of the second will command Forward, and add MARCH, the instant that the guide of his platoon shall cover the guide of the first.
682. In a column, left in front, the company will break into platoons by inverse means, applying to the first platoon all that has been prescribed for the second, and reciprocally.
683. In this case, the left guide of the company will shift to the right flank of the second platoon, and the covering sergeant will remain on the right of the first.
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Increasing.
684. The column, by platoon, being in march right in front, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to form company, he will give the order to the captain, who will command, 1. Form company.
685. (Pl. XIII, fig. 2.) Having give that command, the captain, as chief of the first platoon, will immediately add: 1. First Platoon; 2. Right oblique.
686. The chief of the second platoon will caution it to march straight forward.
687. The captain will then command: 2. MARCH.
688. At this, repeated by the chief of the second, the first platoon will oblique to the right, in order to unmask the second; the covering sergeant, on the left of the first platoon , will return to the right of tha company, passing by the front rank.
689. When the first platoon shall have nearly unmasked the second, the captain will command: 1. Mark time, and at the instant the unmasking shall be complete, he will add: 2. MARCH. The first platoon will then cease to oblique, and mark time.
690. In the mean time, the second platoon shall have continued to march straight forward, and when it shall be nearly up with the first, the captain will command: Forward, and at the
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instant the two platoons shall unite, add MARCH; the first platoon will then cease to mark time.
691. In a column, left in front, the same movement will be executed by inverse means, applying to the second platoon what has been prescribed for the first, and reciprocally.
692. The guide of the second platoon, on the right, will pass to its left flank the moment the platoon begins to oblique; the guide of the first on its right, remaining on that flank of the platoon.
693. The instructor will also sometimes cause the company to break and reform, by platoon, by his own direct commands. In this case he will give the general commands prescribed for the captain above: 1. Break into platoons; 2. MARCH.; and 1. Form company; 2. MARCH.
Remarks on diminishing and increasing front of column, by platoon.
694. If, in diminishing, the subdivision that breaks off should mark time too long, it might, in a column if many subdivisions, arrest the march of the following one, which would cause a lengthening of the column, and a loss of distances.
695. Both in diminishing and increasing, the platoon that obliques will step out well in obliquing, in order not to lose distance in column, and not to arrest the march of the following subdivision.
696. If a platoon obliques too far to a flank, it would be obliged to oblique again to
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the opposite flank, to regain the direction, and by the double movement arrest, probably, the march of the following subdivision.
697. When, in a column of several companies, they break in succession, it is of the greatest importance that each company should continue to march in the same step, without shortening or slackening, whilst that which precedes breaks, although the following company should close up on the preceding one. This attention is essential to guard against an elongation of the column.
698. Faults of but little moment, in a column of a few companies, would be serious inconveniences on one of ten, and of excessive embarrassment in a general column of many battalions. Hence the instructor will give the greatest care in causing all the prescribed principles to be strictly executed. To this end, he will hold himself on the directing flank, the better to observe all the movements.
To diminish and increase front of column, in marching, by file, and by files.
Diminishing by file.
699. The company being in march, and supposed to constitute a subdivision of a column, right (or left) in front, when the instructor shall wish to cause files to break off he will give the order to the captain, who
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will immediately turn to his company, and command: 1. One file from left (or right) to the rear; 2. MARCH.
700. (Pl. XIV, fig. 1.) At the command march, the first file on the flank designated, according as the right (or left) of the column may be in front, will mark time, the other files of the company continuing to march forward; the rear rank man of the particular file will, as soon as the rear rank of the company shall clear him, move to the right (to the left, if it be a file from the right,) and place himself behind the third file from that flank; the centre rank man will, in like time and manner, place himself behind the second file, and the front rank man behind the first file, the moment he shall be cleared by the rear rank of the company. Each man in the file will move up to his place, just indicated, by advancing a little the outer shoulder, taking special care not to lose his distance.
701. The instructor, wishing to cause another file to break off from the same flank, will give the order to the captain, who will proceed as before.
702. At the command, march, given by the captain, the file already broken off, will gain the space of a file to the right, (to the left, if it be file broken from the right,) shortening, at the same time, the step, in order to make room between itself and the rear rank of the company for the file last ordered to the rear. The latter will break off and arrange itself in the manner prescribed for the first.
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703. The instructor will thus, by successive files, diminish the front of the company, supposed to be in column, by as many file as he shall wish, observing always to break off new files from the same flank.
Increasing by file.
704. The instructor wishing to cause files broken off to return into line, will give the order to the captain, who, turning to the company, will immediately command: 1. One file into line; 2, MARCH.
705. AT the command march, the front file of those marching by the flank (that is, the last file broken off) will return quickly into line, and the others will gain the space of a file, by advancing the inner shoulder towards the flank to which they belong.
706. The other files will be successively called up into line by the same commands and in like manner, the captain observing that the principles prescribed are strictly adhered to.
707. The instructor, having thus caused files to break off one after another, and having caused them to return into line in like manner, will next cause several files to break off at once.
Diminishing by files.
708. To effect this, he will give the order to the captain, who will proceed as prescribed, No. 699, substituting in the first command, three (or two) files, for one file.
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709. The files designated will mark time; each rank will advance a little the outer shoulder, as it shall be cleared by the rear rank of the company, oblique in rank, and place itself behind one of the three nearest files: the rear rank (the first cleared) behind the third file, the centre rank behind the second file, and the front rank behind the first file, in the positions each would have occupied, if the movement had been made file by file.
Increasing by files.
710. The instructor will next order the captain to cause three (or two) files to be brought into line at once, who, turning to the company, will command: 1. Three (or two) files into line; 2. MARCH.
711. At the command march, the files designated will advance the inner shoulder, move up and form on the flank of the company, by the shortest lines.
712. As often as a file or files shall break to the rear, the guide on that flank will gradually close on the nearest front rank man remaining in line, and so will he open out to make room for a file or files ordered into line.
Remarks on diminishing and increasing front, by file or files.
713. If the formation of files be in two,
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instead of three ranks, the rear rank man of each file broken off will place himself behind the second, instead of the third file from the flank.
714. File closers, who had been posted behind the files broken off, will march abreast with their respective files, as in other flank marches. (See No. 574.)
715. It is necessary to the preservation of distances in column that the men should be habituated in the schools of detail to execute the movements of this article with precision.
716. If new files broken off do not step well to the left or right in obliquing; if, when files are ordered into line, they do not move up with promptitude and precision, in either case, the following files will be arrested in their march, and thereby cause the column to be lengthened out.
717. The instructor will place himself on the flank from which the files are broken to assure himself of the exact observance of the principles.
718. Files will only be broken off from the side of direction in order that the whole company may easily pass from the front to the flank march.
To march the column in route, and to execute the movements incident thereto.
719. The length and swiftness of the route step will be the same as the direct step in common time, that is twenty-eight inches in
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length, and ninety in a minute. This length and rate will be habitually maintained in columns in route when the rods or ground may permit.
720. The company being at a halt, and supposed to constitute a subdivision of a column, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to march in the route step, he will command:
Column, forward. 2. Guide left (or right) 3. Route step. 4. MARCH.
721. At the command march, repeated by the captain, the three or two ranks will step off together in common time; the centre and rear ranks, or the rear rank only, if there be no centre, will take, in marching, by shortening a few steps, a distance of one pace (twenty-eight inches) from the rank immediately preceding, which distance will be computed from the breasts of the men in a following rank, to the knapsacks of the men in the rank immediately preceding. The men, without further command, will immediately be permitted to carry their arms at will, as indicated, No. 248. They will no longer be required to march in the cadenced pace, or with the same foot, or to remain silent. The files will march at ease; but care will be taken to prevent the ranks from intermixing, the front rank from getting in advance of the guide, and the other ranks or rank, from opening to too great a distance.
722. The company marching in the route step, the instructor will cause it to change direction to the side of the guide, and to the
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reverse flank, which will be executed without formal commands, on a simple caution from the captain; the centre and rear ranks will successively come up to change direction on the same ground on which the front rank had changed; each rank will conform itself, although in the route step, to the principles which have been prescribed for the change in closed ranks, with this difference only: that the pivot man on the reverse flank, will take steps of fourteen inches, instead of nine inches, in order to clear the wheeling point.
723. The company, marching in the route step, to cause it to pass to closed ranks and the cadenced step, the instructor will first cause arms to be shouldered, and then command:
1. Close order. 2. MARCH.
724. At the command march, the centre and rear ranks, or, if there be no centre, the rear rank, will regain, by lengthening a few steps, the habitual distance of rank from rank, directing himself upon his file leader, and the whole will resume the cadenced pace.
725. The company, marching in closed ranks, that is, in the cadenced pace, the instructor, to cause it to take the route step, will command:
1. Route step. 2. MARCH.
726. At the command march, the front rank will continue the step of twenty-eight inches
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and the whole company will conform itself to what is prescribed, No, 721.
727. The company marching in the route step, the instructor will suppose the necessity of marching by the flank in the same direction. He will cause arms to be shouldered and supported, and the ranks to be closed, and then command:
1. Company, by the right (or left) flank. 2. By file left (or right.) 3. MARCH.
728. At the command march, the company will face to the right (or left) in marching, the captain will place himself by the side of the guide who conducts the leading flank; without waiting for the captain, this guide will wheel immediately to the left (or right;) all the files will come in succession to wheel on the same spot, and if there be files broken off to the rear, from the flank now in rear, they will, by wheeling, regain their respective places, and follow the movement of the company.
729. (Pl. XIV, fig. 2) The instructor having caused the company to execute the movement, No. 590, and following, and having caused the company to retake the route step, he will next exercise it in diminishing and increasing front, by platoon, which will be executed by the same commands and the same means, as if the march were in the cadence step, with this single difference- that, in the platoon which would take the oblique step in the other case, each man in this will half face to the right (or left,) and thus diagonally march till the platoon covers or unmasks the
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON VI.
platoon which is marching straight forward. The half face to (or advancing the shoulder opposite to) the new direction, is necessary in a column in route of many subdivisions, in order to prevent these which cover or unmask, from arresting the march of those which move straight forward. As soon as the company breaks into platoons, the chief of each will take the position of the guide, and be covered by the latter in the rear rank.
730. (Pl. XIV, fig. 3.) The company being in column, by platoon, and supposed to march in the route step, the instructor can cause front to be diminished and increased by section, if the platoons have a front of ten or more files- not otherwise; because, in a narrower front than five files, a column by section cannot march in the route step without lengthening out from front to rear.
731. The movements of diminishing and increasing front, by section, (half platoons,) will be executed according to the principles indicated for the same movements by platoon. The right sections of platoons will be commanded by the captain and first lieutenant, respectively; the left sections by the two next subalterns in rank, or in their absence, by sergeants. (See Nos. 34-5.)
732. The instructor wishing to diminish by section, will give the order to the captain, who will cause arms to be shouldered, ranks to be closed, and then command: Z1. Break into sections; 2. MARCH.
733. As soon as the platoons shall be
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broken, each chief of section will throw himself on its directions flank in the front rank; the two guides, who will be thus displaced, will each fall back to the centre rank, and cover the chief of his section; the remaining file closers will place themselves in the rear ranks of their respective sections- all on the side of direction.
734. The instructor will cause the route step to be resumed the moment the sections are formed.
735. Platoons will be broken into sections only in the column in route, the movement being inexpedient in the maneuvers, whatever may be the front of the company.
736. When the instructor shall wish to increase front of column by section, he will give the order to the captain, who will turn, as usual, to the company, and cause arms to be shouldered, ranks to be closed, and then command: 1. Form platoons; 2. MARCH.
737. At the first command, each chief of section will throw himself before its centre, and each of the two guides will pass to the front rank. At the command march, the movement will be executed as has been prescribed for forming company, No. 729. The moments the sections unite, the file closers will return to their habitual places; and the instructor will cause the column to retake the route step.
738. The instructor will also cause to be executed, by the column in route, diminishing and increasing front by file, or by files, as prescribed in the preceding article, and in like manner; but as it is a fixed principle that the depth of column, at full distance, shall be about the same, less one of its subdivisions, as the front of the same corps in line of battle, the front of a column will never be diminished, by file or by files, below the front of seven files, (not including the captain);) because, there would not be space between the subdivisions, for the broken files to march in the route step, without increasing the depth of the column- the actual formation being in three ranks.
739. (Pl. XVII, fig. 4.) The instructor will sometimes suppose the necessity of a greater diminution of front, by the same process, although the company be formed in three ranks. To effect this, he will, through the captain, cause arms to be shouldered, and ranks to be closed, and then break off files till the front be reduced to five files.
740. The company being broken by platoon, or by section, the instructor will caus it, marching in the route step, to march by the flank in the same direction, by the commands and means indicated, Nos. 727-8. The moment the subdivisions shall face to the right (or left,) the first file of each will wheel to the left (or right,) in marching, to prolong the direction, and to unite with the rear file, of the subdivision immediately preceding. The file closers will take their habitual places in the march by the flank, before the union of the subdivisions.
741. When the company, marching in the route step, shall halt, the centre and rear ranks, or, if there be no centre, the rear rank, will close up to the habitual distance
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON VI.
at the command halt, and the whole will shoulder arms.
Countermarch.
742.The company being at a halt, and supposed to constitute part of a column, right in front, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to countermarch, he will command:
1. Countermarch. 2. Company, by the right flank. 3. Right- FACE. 4. BY file left.
5. MARCH.
743. (Pl. XIII, fig. 3.) At the third command, the company will face to the right, the two guides to the right about; the captain will go to the right of his company, cause three or two files, according as the depth of the company may be three or two ranks, to break to the rear, and then place himself by the side of the front rank man on the right, to conduct him.
744. At the command march, both guides will stand fast; the company will step off smartly; the first file, conducted by the captain, will wheel around the right guide, and direct its march along the front rank so as to arrive behind, and two paces from the left guide; each file will come in succession to wheel on the same ground around the right guide; the leading file having arrived at a point opposite to the
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON VI.
left guide, the captain will command: 1. Company; 2. HALT; 3. Front-FACE; 4. Right-DRESS.
745. The first command will be given at four paces from the point where the leading file is to rest.
746. At the second, the company will halt.
747. At the third, it will face to the front.
748. At the fourth command, the company will dress by the right; the captain will step two paces outside of the left guide, now on the right, and direct the alignment, so that the front rank may be enclosed between the two guides; the company being aligned, he will command, FRONT, and place himself before the centre of the company as if in column; the guides, passing along the front rank, will shift to their proper places, on the right and left of that rank.
749. In a column, by platoon, the countermarch will be executed by the same commands, and according to the same principles; the guide of each platoon will face about, and its chief will place himself by the side of the file on the right to conduct it.
750.In a column, left in front, the countermarch will be executed by inverse commands and means, but according to the same principles. Thus, the movement will be made by the right flank of the subdivision, if the right be in front, and by the left flank, if the left be in front: in both cases the subdivisions will wheel by file to the side of the front rank.
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Being in column by platoon, to form on the right, or left, in line of battle.
751. The column by platoon, right in front, being in march, the instructor, wishing to form it on the right into line of battle, will command:
1. On the right, into line. 2. Guide right.
752. (Pl. XIII, fig. 4.) At the second command, the guide of each platoon will shift quickly to its right flank, and the men will touch elbows to the right, the column continuing to march straight forward.
753. The instructor having given the second command, will throw himself to the point at which the right of the company ought to rest in line, and place himself facing the point of direction to the left of which he will choose.
754. The line of battle ought so to be chosen that the guide of each platoon, if in three ranks, may have at, least ten paces to take to come upon the line, or nine paces if the formation be in two ranks only.
755. The head of the column being nearly opposite to the instructor, placed at the point of appui (or rest,) the chief of the first platoon will command: 1. Right turn; and when exactly opposite to that point, he will add: 2. MARCH.
756. At the command march, the first platoon will turn to the right, in conformity
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with the principles prescribed, No. 407. Its guide will so direct his march as to bring the front rank man, next on his left, opposite to the instructor; the chief of platoon will march before its centre; and when its guide shall be near the line of battle, he will command: 1. Platoon; 2. HALT.
757. At the second command, which will be given at the instant the right of the platoon shall arrive at the distance of three paces from the line of battle, the platoon will halt; the files not yet in line will come up promptly. The guide will throw himself on the line of battle, opposite to one of the three left files of his platoon; he will face to the instructor, who will align him on the point of direction to the left. The chief of platoon having at the same time gone to the point where the right of the company is to rest, will, as soon as he sees all the files of the platoon in line, command: Right-DRESS.
758. At this, the first platoon will align itself; the front rank man, who finds himself opposite to the guide, will rest his breast lightly against the right arm of this guide, and the chief of platoon, from the right, will direct the alignment on this man.
759. The second platoon will continue to march straight forward, until its guide shall arrive opposite to the left file of the first; it will then turn to the right at the command of its chief, and march towards the line of battle, its guide directing himself on the left of the first platoon.
760. The guide having arrived at the
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distance of three paces from the line of battle, this platoon will be halted, as prescribed for the first; at the instant it halts, its guide will throw himself on the line of battle, opposite to one of the three left files of his platoon, and will be assured in his position by the instructor.
761. The chief of the second platoon, seeing all its files in line, and its guide established on the direction, will command: Right-DRESS.
762. Having given this command, he will return to his place as a file closer, passing around the left; the second platoon will dress up on the alignment of the first, and, when established, the captain will command: FRONT.
763. The movement ended, the instructor will command:
Guides-POSTS.
764. At this, the two guides will return to their places in line of battle.
765. A column, by platoon, left in front, will form on the left into line of battle, according to the same principles, and by inverse means, applying to the second platoon what it is prescribed for the first, and reciprocally. The chief of the second platoon having aligned it, from the point of appui, (the left,) will retire to his place as a file closer. The captain having halted the first platoon three paces behind the line of battle, will go to the same point to align this platoon, and then command: FRONT. At the command guides-posts, given by the instructor,
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the captain will shift to his proper flank, and the guides take their places in the line of battle.
General Remarks on the School of the Company.
766. The third lesson will always be exercised at carried arms, as men cannot march correctly in line of battle with arms supported. To give relief in those exercises, particularly in the beginning, the instructor will frequently cause arms to be ordered, and command: Rest.
767. In the last three lessons, the instructor, to avoid fatiguing the men, and to prevent them from falling into habits of negligence at shouldered arms (a position which must always be regular) will sometimes cause arms to be supported, marching by the flank, and sometimes to be shifted to the right shoulder, (See No. 246,) marching by the front.
768. When arms are shifted to the right shoulder, ranks will always open out from three to four inches; thus, at the command, to the right shoulder, shift-ARMS, which will be given when in march, the rear and centre ranks (if there be a centre rank) will shorten the first step, in order to open out that number of inches; and at the command, shoulder-ARMS, the same ranks (or rank) will lengthen the first step the same number of inches, in order to close up again to the habitual distance.
769. (a) As often as a company or battalion, marching otherwise than at carried arms, halt, it will carry arms at the command halt. This rule is general.
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769. (b) When the companies of a regiment are to be exercised at the same time, in the School of the Company, the colonel will indicate the lessons or lesson which they are severally to execute. The whole will commence by a roll of the drums, and terminate by a like signal.
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