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We hope that you will find much of interest in the area of accurate military drill of the American Civil War period.
Our officers have devoted many hours of study to this subject, many of the results of which will be posted here. This is an ongoing process, so be patient.
Articles of interest
This basic outline is for new recruits, and assumes a copy of Hardee's School of the Soldier to be available. The formation of the company system comes from Baxter's Volunteer's Manual, which can be viewed from this site.
Our esteemed 1st Sergeant Chris Svejk has compiled an excellent guide to the duties of NCO's, rather a Customs of Service abridged for reenactors.
Whither Goest the Second Sergeant
This short article might serve as a companion to the above. It examines the proper use of the second sergeant, and shows where most of us have gone astray.
6th Battalion Drill Guidelines
These guidelines are based on the 1862 Hardee's, and give a good idea where our battalion is heading in drill.
This might also be a companion to the above. This short article outlines an order in which study the School of the Battalion, and points out resources, both period and modern, to assist the learner.
This article compares Emory Upton's 1867 manual with the 1862 Hardee's, and traces the development of drill and tactics as the war progressed.
(In progress)
This article is a continuation of the above, comparing Upton's and Hardee's with the next major revision, which would have been the standard for the Spanish War.
This article searches drill manuals from 1779 to 1891 for insight into this mundane but necessary duty.
This article discusses the use of various methods of avoiding obstructions in both column and line of battle.
This important military ceremony is too often performed badly. This article gives an overview of the parade, and details each soldier’s assignment.
This is an examination of the proper choice of a drill manual for most Confederate units. It is the work of Geoff Walden and Dom Dal Bello, and was originally published in Camp Chase Gazette.
Online Drill Manuals
The electronic books presented here are mostly transcriptions of volumes in my own collection. Exceptions will be noted at each description.
These electronic books are posted for the betterment of performance of 19th century military drill in reenacting. The texts are in the public domain, but all rights to the transcriptions themselves are reserved by the creators.
This excellent work is largely complete through the School of the Company, and is an ongoing effort. It is the work of Robert Lewis, a member of Co. D, 5th Texas Infantry, in Arizona. Note, that while this is a valuable resource, much of the work seems to have been done with a scanner, leaving some eccentricities that cannot be blamed on Gen. Hardee. I thank Robert for giving his permission to link to his work.
This is an excellent and ongoing effort by Cpl. Josh Bucchioni, of Co. I, 47th, VA, Longstreet's Corps, to provide the most complete of all volunteer manuals to the online public. The infantry section is complete through the School of the Company and Instruction for Skirmishers. Thank you, Josh, for giving your permission for this link.
The Baron von Steuben arrived at winter quarters in Valley Forge, PA, and with his expertise in drill, remade the Continental Army from a ragtag militia into a fighting force with which to be reckoned! It is his work that began the great tradition of the American military,
Arofan Gregory, the creator of this project, wishes you to know that it is in its early stages. He is an artist in miniature soldiers, and is adding sections based on creating simulations with miniature soldiers, as opposed to reenacting. I look forward to seeing more of this work, so check back often. I thank him for his permission to link from the Drill Network. For those interested in exploring miniature simulations, here is a link to his site.
Historical Miniatures Wargaming Resource Site
The above three projects are not the work of the creators of the Drill Network. Questions relating to them should be posed to their creators, who can be accessed from their sites.
Hardee's 1862
General Hardee revised his work in 1860, published in Mobile in 1861, and North Carolina in 1862. This edition is the standard drill manual of the Liberty Greys, 6th Battalion, 1st Division, ANV. The transcription is available through School of the Battalion. It is therefore complete as to Hardee's work. The volume also contains Scott's Evolutions of the Line, the third of his three volume Infantry Tactics, which now available on this site.
As Southern States began to secede, so did Southern officers begin to resign their commissions in the US Army. One such was newly minted Lt. Colonel of Cavalry, William Hardee. This was of no small embarrassment to the US Army, as just 4 years before, Hardee’s work had been accepted as the standard of Infantry drill for the Army. To work around this, the War Department printed a new edition of tactics. It is Hardee’s work, although the now Confederate General’s name is nowhere to be found. This transcription the work of the Making of America project, a function of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The standard drill manual up till 1855, in use during the Mexican War, and still the manual of choice for many prewar militia units, was General Winfield Scott's three volume Infantry Tactics, first published in 1835. I have transcribed it through the Evolutions of the Line, (Volume III)and present it here in sections. Click above for the introduction page.
This transcription was made by your webmaster, from a photocopy of an original generously donated by Paul Kenworthy, a good friend on expert on drill.
The Plates for Volume Three are of an awkward size for scanning. Check back here for updates concerning their inclusion.
Check here also for other additions.
Military Texts
In 1846, West Point's Professor of Civil and Military Engineering, Dennis Hart Mahon, wrote the second of his famous text books, An Elementary Treatise on Advanced-Guard, Out-Post, and Detachment Service of Troops. Mahon's work is presented in its entirety here.
Viele’s
This book is difficult to classify. It is a drill manual, artillery manual, synopsis of regulations, fortifications text, or a cookbook!!
It has value in all these areas. I particularly recommend it to light artillery units armed with Mountain Howitzers. The Light Artillery section is based on the weapon, including specific directions for packing an unpacking the howitzer and limber on three mules!
Field Fortifications is also of great interest to the engineer, and I find the Field Rations section to be fascinating for the field impression.
H.L. Scott’s Military Dictionary
This compendium defines every military term in common parlance during the American Civil War. It is the work of the Making of America project, a function of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Edged Weapons
In 1852, George B. McClellan, than a Captain of Engineers, and just about to embark on a mission as US military observer of the Crimean War, submitted a translation of Gomard's manual for bayonet fencing, which, on the recommendation of General Scott, was adopted as the bayonet exercise for US troops.
McClellan divided his book into a School of the Soldier, which taught the basic maneuvers, and Instruction with the Plastron, which taught the use of these movements in the art of fencing.
The book is now offered here, complete with illustrations and internal links.
Sword Exercise
In 1850, Major Henry Wayne, late of the US Military Academy, wrote a manual of instruction for fencing, with a variety of weapons, based on his experience as an instructor. It contains instructions for the short sword, broad sword, sabre, stick and cudgel, and is an invaluable source for fighting arts without fire-arms in 19th century America.
Note that the original manual was without Table of Contents or an index, making a Navigation tool impossible. Also, many of the plates were very faint, and difficult to reproduce.
Volunteer's Manuals
As the Zouave fad increased, and the sectional tensions increased as well, militia companies became increasingly popular with young Americans. Many abridged drill manuals were published for this market, giving us great insight into how the citizen-soldiers were trained prior to the war.
This manual is instructive both as it provides one of the primary sources for our system of forming the company, and for its excellent illustrations, which are reproduced here. The transcription is now complete, with links in the introduction to help navigate. Check here for the addition of other volunteer manuals.
J. K. Lee was a Virginia militia officer who published his abridgment of Hardee's adapted for the musket, in 1861, the same time Gilham published his manual.
The Manual comprises a complete infantry drill book, plus a section on Regulations.
The Regulations as to Inspection, Parades, Etc., are probably the most valuable for the reenactor, as they outline the specific information we are most likely to need. This section can be found from the links in the Table of Contents, beginning with “Form of Inspection”.
COOPER'S
In 1836, brevet Captain Samuel Cooper, at the behest of Major General Alexander Macomb, Commander in chief of the US Army, prepared a Volunteers and Militia Manual, combining instructions for the three arms, as well as other directions from Regulations. This manual formed the model for Gilham's later work. The infantry section is a condensation of Scott's, and is now posted complete, with internal navigation links. We have added the Cavalry and Artillery sections, and and the transcription is now complete with addition of the Regulations.
I particularly recommend "Of the Battalion", which is a most valuable tool for studying the various Schools of the Battalion, and the "Regulations", which is a most concise statement of needed information, particularly in posting guards and sentinels.
This transcription was made by your webmaster from an original copy generously loaned by Alden Whyte.
Before Winfield Scott began his work on transcribing Napoleonic manuals for US Army use, he served as chairman of a board charged with condensing or “abstracting” the tactics manual then in use, for the edification of the militia. This resulted in the “Abstract of Infantry Tactics”. This manual gives an excellent précis of the tactics as they would likely have been used in the War of 1812. It contains many illuminating references not to be found in other manuals.
Note that this is not an abstract of Scott’s three volume Infantry Tactics, but a version of the drill tactics which preceded Scott’s great work. ACW references to “Scott’s” are never to the Abstract, but to the Infantry Tactics.
Still, the many references to matters which are explained no where else make this a most valuable reference. The transcription is now complete through the School of the Company, which includes the Special Instructions, for Sergeant’s Manual, Sword Manual, Color Manual, and Drum Major’s Instructions, and most recently, through School of the Battalion. Check back here for updates.
This Digest was prepared by William Steffen, for the use of the 44th Massachusetts Regiment. This is one of the most important manuals posted here! The U.S. Tactics upon which it was based are Hardee's, without the crediting the now Confederate General. It considers all of School of the Battalion with the uninstructed volunteer officer in mind. It is likewise very valuable for the reenacting officer. Keep your Hardee's at hand to look up the paragraph references.
Manuals for Cavalry and Artillery
Philip St. George Cooke had a relatively quiet Civil War career. Had it not been for this manual, he would have been best known as J.E.B. Stuart's father-in-law.
In this 1861 publication, Cooke takes the cavalry from Poinsett's two rank formation, to a single rank formation.
The study of this manual is also of interest to the infantry student. Upton based most of his 1866 infantry maneuvers upon cavalry tactics.
Before the war, a young Capt. Joseph Robert’s undertook the writing of an artillery manual to replace the somewhat outdated Burns’. He based his work on earlier manuals, and experiments conducted at Fort Monroe. It was accepted and printed as the "Hand-Book of Artillery".
By the time the work reached its fifth printing, in 1863, Robert’s had received a Major’s commission in the Regular Army, and was a Colonel of Volunteer’s, commanding the 3rd Pennsylvania Artillery.
The work is a “Catechism” or “Webb Lecture” of artillery, being largely in the form of questions and answers. There are many tables with much information. There is also a “Sequel” with drill instructions specifically for heavy artillery, not often found in the period field artillery manuals.
I must point out that my copy is not the best. Many of the numbers in the tables were most difficult to make out. I apologize for errors there, and I hope the text is of use.
In 1859, Captain John Gibbon published his “Artillerist’s Manual”, intended as a text book for his students at West Point. In the second edition of 1893, published here, he included a new section on the relatively new weapon, the rifled gun.
Gibbon had a distinguished career in the war, rising to the rank of Brigadier General of Volunteer’s.
The work is uploaded in PDF format, requiring the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. If the pege does not load in your browser, click Here for Adobe 5.0, and the free Reader download.
The transcription is the work of Jack Melton, and the Drill Network wishes to thank him for his kind permission to use it here. Click Below to view his excellent Artillery Site.
Military Signals
Here is a site for buglers, with midi files giving the calls. Click on the Hardee's calls for General and Skirmish.
Drummers have an equal number of duty calls to learn. Here is a site for recordings of these calls. Note that Real Player will be needed to play these recordings. The work is that of Paul Boccadoro, and I thank him for his permission to link it to the Drill Network.
Here is the site for the Signal Corps Association, Reenactors’ Division. (SCARD.) This site has much information on the proper use of signaling by flags. My thanks to Walt Mathers for permission to link to the site.
This is the quintessential source for signal calls for fife and drum. Bruce was the drummer, and Emmett, the fifer. Emmett, by the way was also the composer of the minstrel show walk-abouts, "Old Dan Tucker", and "Dixie's Land", and was a virtuoso of the fife, and a noted martial musician.
(Note, as this site is 90% musical notation, it has been loaded as images, making for a very slow download. If you do not read musical notation, it will be of little value.)
Other Links of interest.
Revised United States Army Regulations of 1861
These were the regulations which governed the U.S. Army during the ACW. Confederate Regulations were copied from them, making this an excellent resource for reenactors of both persuasions. It is the work of the Making of America project, a function of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The internet, and the electronic books available on this site are a wonderful resource, but nothing can replace the actual book. Shamrock Hill Books is an excellent source for reprinted period manuals, and many other volumes on the history of this period.
This is not only a sutlery of interest, but is the only northeastern source for the 1862 North Carolina reprint of Hardee's. E-mail them from their web site for information.
Parade, Inspection and the Basic Evolutions
Here you can view the forward to this modern guide for the reenactor, by Dom Dal Bello, plus ordering information. All officers and NCO’s should own a copy.