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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,
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON II.
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.
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON III.
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.
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON III.
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:
SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY, LESSON III.
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.