Position of the Soldier

LESSON I. POSITION OF A SOLDIER.

SS 85. Heels on the same line, as near each other as the conformation of the man will permit:

The feet turned out equally, and forming with each other something less than a right angle;

The knees straight without stiffness;
The body erect on the hips, inclining a little forward;
The shoulders square and falling equally;
The arms hanging naturally;
The elbows near the body;
The palm of the hand turned a little to the front, the little finger behind the seam of the pantaloons;
The head erect and square to the front, without constraint;
The chin near the stock, without covering it;
The eyes fixed straight to the front, and striking the ground about the distance of fifteen paces.

REMARKS ON THE POSITION OF A SOLDIER.

Heels on the same line;

SS 86. Because, if one were in -rear of the other, the shoulder on that side would be thrown back, or the position of the soldier would be constrained.

Heels more or less closed;

Because men who are knock-kneed, or who have legs with large calves, cannot, without constraint, make their heels touch while standing.

The feet equally turned out, and not forming too large an angle;

Because, if one foot were turned out more than the other, a shoulder would be deranged, and if both feet be too much turned out, it would not be practicable to incline the upper part of the body, forward without rendering the whole position unsteady.

Knees extended without stiffness;

Because, if stiffened, constraint and fatigue would be unavoidable.

The body erect on the hips;

Because it gives equilibrium to the position. The instructor will observe that many recruits have the bad habit of dropping a shoulder or drawing in a side, or of advancing a hip, particularly the right, when under arms. These are defects he will labor to correct.

The upper part of the body inclining forward;

Because commonly, recruits are disposed to do the reverse, to project the belly, and to throw back the shoulders, when they wish to hold themselves erect, from which result great inconveniences in marching. The habit of inclining forward the upper part of the body is so important to contract, that the instructor must enforce it at the beginning, particularly with recruits who have naturally the opposite habit.

Shoulders square;

Because; if the shoulders be advanced beyond the line of the breast, and the back arched (the defect called round-shouldered, not uncommon among recruits), the man cannot align himself, nor use his piece with address. It is important, then, to correct this defect, and necessary to that end that the coat should set easy about the shoulders and arm-pits; but in correcting this defect, the instructor will take care that the shoulders be not thrown too much to the rear, which would cause the belly to project, and the small of the back to be curved.
The arms hanging naturally, elbows near the body, the palm of the hand a little turned to the front, the little finger behind the seam of the pantaloons;
Because these positions are equally important to the shoulder-arms, and to prevent the man from occupying more space in a rank than is necessary to a free use of the piece; they have, moreover, the advantage of keeping in the shoulders.

The face straight to the front, and without constraint.

Because, if there be stiffness in the latter position, it would communicate itself to the whole of the upper part of the body, embarrass its movements, and give pain and fatigue.

Eyes direct to the front;

Because this is the surest means of maintaining the shoulders in line-an essential object, to be insisted on and attained.

SS 87. The instructor having given the recruit the position of the soldier without arms, will now teach him the turning of the head and eyes. He will command -

1. Eyes-RIGHT. 2. FRONT.

SS 88. At the word right, the recruit will turn the head gently, so as to bring the inner corner of the left eye in a line with the buttons of the coat, the eyes fixed on the line of the eyes of the men in, or supposed to be in, the same rank.
SS 89. At the second command, the head will resume the direct or habitual position.
SS 90. The movement of Eyes-LEFT will be executed by inverse means.
SS 91. The instructor will take particular care that the movement of the head does not derange the squareness of the shoulders, which will happen if the movement of the former be too sudden.
SS 92. When the instructor shall wish the recruit to pass from the state of attention to that of ease, he will command:

REST.

SS 93. To cause a resumption of the habitual position the instructor will command:

1. Attention. 2. SQUAD.

SS 94. At the first word, the recruit will fix his attention; at the second, he will resume the prescribed position and steadiness.

PART SECOND.
GENERAL RULES.

SS 125. The instructor will not pass the men to this second part until they shall be well established in the position of the body, and in the manner of marching at the different steps.

SS 126. He will then unite four men, whom be will place in the same rank, elbow to elbow, and instruct them in the position of shouldered arms, as follows:

LESSON 1. PRINCIPLES OF SHOULDERED ARMS.

SS 127. The recruit being placed as explained in the first lesson of the -first part, the instructor will cause him to bend the right arm slightly, and place the piece in it, in the following manner.

SS 128. The piece in the right hand-the barrel nearly vertical and resting in the hollow of the shoulder - the guard to the front, the arm hanging nearly at its full length near the body; the thumb and fore-finger embracing the guard, the remaining fingers closed together, and grasping the swell of the stock just under the cock, which rests on the little finger.

SS 129. Recruits are frequently seen with natural defects in the conformation of the shoulders, breast and hips. These the instructor will labor to correct in the lessons without arms, and afterwards, by steady endeavors, so that the appearance of the pieces, in the same line, may be uniform, and this without constraint to the men in their positions.

SS 130. The instructor will have occasion to remark that recruits, on first bearing arms, are liable to derange their position by lowering the right shoulder and the right hand, or by sinking the hip and spreading out the elbows.

SS 131. He will be careful to correct all these faults by continually rectifying the position; he will sometimes take away the piece to replace it the better; he will avoid fatiguing the recruits too much in the beginning, but labor by degrees to render this position so natural and easy that they may remain in it a long time without fatigue.

SS 132. Finally, the instructor will take great care that the piece, at a shoulder, be not carried too high nor too low. if too high, the right elbow would spread out, the soldier would occupy too much space in his rank, and the piece be made to waver; if too low, the files would be too much closed, the soldier would not have the necessary space to handle his piece with facility, the right arm would become too much fatigued, and would draw down the shoulder.

SS 133. The instructor, before passing to the second lesson, will cause to be repeated the movements of eyes right, left and front, and the facings.