The “Compleat” Soldier
Or
An
Humble Proposall for the Industry of my Comrades during our Cantonment with the
Army about Valley Forge
GENERAL ORDERS
Head-Quarters, Middle-Brook, June 16, 1777.
Head-Quarters, Middle-Brook, June 16, 1777.
The army not to omit exercising
every day, as heretofore practiced. A
thing so essential is never to be neglected, unless in such circumstances as
render it impossible. 1
“Half
cock, shut pan…there’s a good man”, whispered the Corporal.
He
didn’t turn his head as he observed and corrected a private in the front rank
of the company. To do so would have
invariably earned a tongue-lashing from the Sergeant on the opposite end of the
company. I brought my firelock to half
cock and shut my pan, irritated at my recruit’s mistake yet impressed that my
Corporal could not only detect my blunder, but immediately corrected it. After all, Gen Von Steuben recommends the punishment of Corporals whose men are irregular in their drill or carriage.
The
clothes make the man, but what makes the soldier? Are my hand stitched small-clothes, self made
accoutrements and regimental, down-at-the heel shoes, and the contents of my
knapsack all for naught? The moment I move or speak, do I betray myself as a 21st century infantryman,
rather than a Continental? I suspect
this is the case with many of us. We
focus on a particular area of living history, but fail to embody the entire
persona of the 18th century and yet scoff at the fellow in another
unit sporting machine top-stitching, cotton body-shirt, and drinking beer from
a 21st century glass bottle. Our level of knowledge and immersion in the
18thc makes us, as soldiers, no better than county militia, mustering on market
days. We are not “compleat” soldiers. From a
twenty-four year old provincial Lieutenant Colonel, we find what in his mind made
the “compleat” soldier.
“…neglect no pains or diligence in training your men (when
off duty) to the true use and exercise their arms; and teaching them in all
other respects, the duties of their profession.
Be particularly careful in seeing that they take proper care
of their clothes and accoutrements; which you are to do, by inspecting narrowly
every Saturday at least, into their order; and by furnishing and making
stoppages from those who have lost, sold, or otherwise made away with, or
abused their things, till full reparation is had.
That this piece of duty may be conducted with ease; divide
your men into as many squads as there are Sergeants, and make it the duty of
each Sergeant (who is to keep the Roll of their necessaries for that purpose)
to see that the men of his squad have their clothes, arms, and accoutrements
always together, and in good order. This method I recommend as an alleviation
of but not an excuse for the officers to neglect this duty themselves.
I also desire that the greatest regularity may
be constantly observed in relieving the Guards, the Sentries, and all other
parts of ceremonious duty. That the men may not by neglecting this, contract
bad habits, but rather thro' a strict observance, become intimately acquainted
with, and knowing in their duty. And as I wou'd have the whole regiment tho'
never so much divided at present, pursue the same system of discipline, even in
the most minute punctilios, You are to send an alert Sergeant or Corporal and
two or three men, fit for the Drill, to this place to be perfected therein,
who, on their return, are to instruct the rest of your Command… You are also to
be vastly careful in making them preserve their Regimentals, and to make them
appear always neat and clean, and soldier-like, especially when they are upon
Duty…you will take great pains to make your Soldiers good marks-men by teaching
them to shoot at Targets…devote some part of your leisure hours to the
study of. your profession, a knowledge in which cannot be attained without
application; nor any merit or applause to be achieved without a certain
knowledge thereof. Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers
formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all; and may, in a
peculiar manner to us, who are in the
way to be joined to Regulars in a very short time, and of distinguishing thro' this means, from other Provincials.” 2
Later a General, Washington would place similar demands in his orders to his Colonels at Cambridge in 1776. Duties of the profession, exercise of arms, shooting at marks, cleanliness, study: In the 18th century this soldier was a man who was well drilled, disciplined, and knew his duty. I have noticed in my seventeen years engaged in living history that we perpetuate the misconception that the American soldier from the 18th to the 19th century was a rugged individualist and saw no need for the study or practice (drill) of the disciplined professional, actively resisting it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Captain Johann Ewald of the Hessian Jaegers, on seeing his troops strip the American dead, commented in his diary that though to a man the Americans were in rags, nearly every soldier carried a well-worn copy of some military manual in his knapsack. Ewald further commented that such could not be said for even the officers among his British allies. 3
way to be joined to Regulars in a very short time, and of distinguishing thro' this means, from other Provincials.” 2
Later a General, Washington would place similar demands in his orders to his Colonels at Cambridge in 1776. Duties of the profession, exercise of arms, shooting at marks, cleanliness, study: In the 18th century this soldier was a man who was well drilled, disciplined, and knew his duty. I have noticed in my seventeen years engaged in living history that we perpetuate the misconception that the American soldier from the 18th to the 19th century was a rugged individualist and saw no need for the study or practice (drill) of the disciplined professional, actively resisting it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Captain Johann Ewald of the Hessian Jaegers, on seeing his troops strip the American dead, commented in his diary that though to a man the Americans were in rags, nearly every soldier carried a well-worn copy of some military manual in his knapsack. Ewald further commented that such could not be said for even the officers among his British allies. 3
Poor
performance of the Continental soldier stemmed not from a lack of drill, but
from the lack of a standard manual (despite the orders of Congress)4 and the use of small unit tactics on a grand scale.5
These problems were both solved by the time Washington broke camp after a
winter at Valley Forge.
Study goes beyond the reading of Martin’s Private Yankee Doodle, although that is most certainly a very good place to start. In the 18th century, as today, there was a plethora of military material available to soldier and civilian. In a 1775 letter to William Woodford, Colonel of the newly raised 2nd Virginia, General Washington wrote from Cambridge,
“As to the manual exercise, the evolutions and maneuvers of a regiment, with other knowledge necessary to a soldier, you will acquire them from those authors, who have treated upon these subjects, among whom Bland (the newest edition) stands foremost; also an Essay on the Art of War; Instructions for Officers, lately published at Philadelphia; the Partisan; Young; and others…” 6
Washington stresses the manual exercise
among other works and maxims throughout his letter to Woodford. The
purpose of the manual was two-fold; to manipulate arms uniformly, and to safely
bring them to bear in a mass effect against the enemy. As writes Windam, in explaining this for his
audience, the Norfolk Militia,
“When the use of firearms became generally
established, the necessity of a greater regularity and uniformity, in the
manner of using these arms became apparent: it was soon discovered, that those
troops which could make the briskest fire, and sustain it longest, had a great
superiority over others less expert: and likewise, that the efficacy and power
of fire did not consist of random and scattering shots, made without order; but
in the fire of a body of men at once, and that properly timed and directed…that
they might do it all in the most expeditious and safe manner. In order to
effect this, it was necessary to analyze and reduce the compound motion of each
action into several simple motions that it was composed of…This is the origin
of what is called the Manual Exercise…” 7
The consequences of the negligence of officers to properly train men in the exercise of arms, is perhaps best illustrated by the performance of the 44th and 48th Foot at the Battle of Monongahela, who, along with the colonial auxiliaries, “…threw their fire away in the most confused manner, some in the air, others in the ground, and a great many destroyed their own men and officers.”8 In their defense, the 44th and 48th came to America at half strength, filling out the ranks with raw recruits during the previous months. Nevertheless, such a damning comment from an English officer suggests insufficient training and poor leadership at the company and section level.
What information on this subject was available to the officers and men
of the revolutionary period, not only to safely and efficiently fight, but to bring
order to the workings of the military unit?
Three texts appear to be the most prevalent, based off publication of
additional editions, those mentioned in correspondence, and are reflected in
extant general orders and regimental orderly books (which are a valuable source
in and of themselves). These include;
the Regulations of 1764, Bland’s Treatise, and Von Steuben’s Drill. Together, they are indispensible for officer,
soldier, and recruit. A fourth text, a
1759 English translation of the 1727 Regulations for Prussian Infantry, while
probably not to be found in the average knapsack, is recommended as it is
referred to in period correspondence and texts to include the Plan of
Discipline for the Norfolk Militia.9 The Prussian regulations certainly influenced
the Baron Von Steuben drillmaster and Inspector General of the Continental Army. He would have been intimately familiar with
them in the service of Frederick the Great,
assigned as aide-de-camp to the innovative and forward-thinking commander,
Johann Meyr .10
The 1764 regulations, or The Manual Exercise, as ordered by His
Majesty in 1764. Together with
Plans and Explanations of the Method Generally Practiced at Reviews and Field
Days., was published in twenty-six
editions in America alone, beginning in New York in 1766, as well as Boston,
Philadelphia, Wilmington, Providence, Lancaster, and Newburyport. 11
Of interest, it is advertised in several editions of the Virginia Gazette for
sale by the printers Dixon and Hunter throughout 1775,
coincidental to the raising of the 1st and 2nd Virginia
Regiments for the defense of the colony. 12 It is very likely that the ’64 was the manual
of arms to which Washington referred, having been a provincial officer and
whose professional library was well stocked with military treatises. Given the proliferation of the aforementioned
twenty-six editions of the ’64, chances are that copies were tucked in the
knapsacks of would-be officers as they formed their companies in Williamsburg
in the summer and fall of 1775.
 |
| The '64, adopted by Congress, competed with the Norfolk drill, Pickering's, Bland's and ostensibly the 1708 until Valley Forge. |
The
manual exercise of 1764 prescribes the manner in which men should manipulate,
load, and fire their unwieldy weapons in very close quarters to their comrades. The explanations should be studied to ensure
that the soldier is thoroughly completing the motions in the proper timing to
prevent collision and ensure the greatest volume of fire or to smoothly fix and
present the bayonet. This was even more
essential by 1775 as infantry formations were more open and no longer in the
three ranks of the first half of the century.13 Yet the ’64, while adopted by Congress in
1775 as the manual of arms and maneuver, does not give us information on how
the enlisted man was to perform his duties or what they might be. It takes more than rapid fire and the bayonet
to defeat an enemy. Armies are made up
of collections of smaller units, and rare was the time when Armies blundered
into each other in set-piece battle.
Small unit actions, raiding and foraging parties, picquets, field
fortification, patrols: these were the
day-to-day duties of the soldier. According
to the manuals of the day these duties depended, in part, upon the lessons
learned from the practice of drill. 14 The effectiveness of the section or
Sergeant’s guard equally rests upon the discipline of the “compleat” soldier. This extends
beyond the drill field and the outer-guard’s redoubt to the duties of the
barracks or camp, and begins before the drum roll is sounded to assemble.15
As La Cointe underlines the
importance of experience, “When many sentries are posted, care should be taken
that the oldest soldiers or those that know their duty best, should be posted
at the most exposed and distant places, and in such a manner that they may
discover all approaches to the post.”16
La Cointe’s suggested “old soldier” goes beyond the technical aspects of ’64. Such qualities separated regular from militia
and veteran from recruit. 17 Recalling Washington’s instructions to his
captains, it is certain that an officer was expected to ensure certain
behaviors in the rank and file. To the veteran
“compleat soldier”, these behaviors
would be habit formed by continuous inspection.
That is the mark at which we must aim.
Bland’s A Treatise of Military Discipline was initially
published in 1727 and reissued in several editions on both sides of the
Atlantic. According to the publisher of
the 1759 8th edition, Bland intended to provide his work as an
interim guide for the military, revising the outdated 1708 regulations.18
In
Bland’s we can confirm that equipment would be inspected thoroughly prior to
guard mount, rations (hard ammunition
bread) were to be taken on detached duty and how messes were organized. Inspections ensure that the unit “…may be
ready to execute all commands which shall come at any time from the Governor or
their Colonel.”19
Expectations for conduct in the ranks were
clearly spelled out, “Every soldier will give the greatest attention to the
words of every command, remaining perfectly silent and steady, not making the
least motion with the head, body, feet or hands, but such as will be
ordered…great care must be taken, not to begin a motion, till the word of
command, or signal of the drum, be ended, and then to be very exact in counting
a second of time, or 1, 2, betwixt each motion.” 20
The Prussian Manual is equally explicit on
the precedence on the immediate security of a camp prior to its laying out,
Regarding duty on outposts and
forage parties, “…assemble by wings (sections), according as they have been
ordered…they must carry their haversacks along with them, and must be always
told how many days bread and pay will be sufficient…outposts and parties are to
march out of camp with shouldered arms, and without beat of drum…” 22
Throughout Bland, the Prussian
Manual, and The Science of Military
Posts, the authors are adamant that Colonels down to Corporals are
responsible for the discipline of the men.
In a professional army, the direction of the Corporal carries with it
the gold standard of the authority of experience. Yet experience is exactly what was lacking in
the leadership of the Continental Army.
Why indeed would a soldier trust the instruction of his social equal who
like himself took up arms only a short time ago? Major General Baron Von Steuben, Inspector
General of the Continental Army, wrote to his compatriot Baron Von Gaudy, “You
say to your soldier, 'Do this' and he does it. But I am obliged to say to the
American, 'This is why you ought to do this' and then he does it.”23
The “Why” is, as is laid out for the
Norfolk Militia; Efficiency: Expending
the least amount of energy, materiel, manpower etc, to achieve a desirable
effect. The key is that the “compleat” soldier
understands that every regulation of the service and expectation of his
Corporal are ultimately for the express purpose of defeating an enemy and
conserving manpower. These lessons are
passed down from La Cointe’s veterans who “know their duty best” to
recruit: the wearing the accoutrements high on the waist, shifting canteens and
haversacks on to the back to allow free movement to load and fire, how to stay
warm and dry on detached duty, how to build field fortifications on outer guard
and picquet…in short how to stay alive. This is where the experimentation comes in,
for few of us have military experience or Corporals from whom we can learn, but
then Von Steuben achieved a miracle in less than three months at Valley Forge
with similar raw material.
Von
Steuben, as Drillmaster and later Inspector General of the Continental Army,
was granted unparalleled authority by Washington to establish standards of
discipline for the Army. He understood
discipline, how to make a “compleat” soldier,
and appreciated American initiative when properly channeled. The independent spirit and somewhat
insubordinate character of the American soldier was very familiar to Von
Steuben. He had assisted Johann Meyr in
training, equipping, and fighting the most effective independent freikorps (light troops) in Prussian
service during the Seven Year’s War.24 Under Meyr this freikorps successfully prosecuted an irregular war in Franconia and
Thuringia in a Prussian answer to the “savage” Croatians and Pandours employed by the Austrians. 25 It would have been a type of war that would
have made Von Steuben (the erstwhile member of Frederick’s General Staff and
light infantry veteran of the petit guerre) uniquely suited to the
Continental Army. Von Steuben’s methods would serve as the basis for discipline
in the U.S. Army into the 19th century.
“The Regulations for the Order and Discipline
of the Troops of the United States”, simplifies even further the
information contained in Bland’s, The Prussian Manual, and the ’64.
Though not as thorough as the Regulations for the Prussian Infantry, Von
Steuben’s drill manual has three redeeming qualities: 1. It is simple; 2. We
know that it was the standard trained to at Valley Forge and adopted by
Congress in 1779; 3. Von Steuben explains “Why” to the Continental Officer and
soldier alike. How do we measure up
against these requirements? For the
purposes of brevity, I will include only his instructions to the private
soldier, accompanied by the questions these should raise in our own minds.
“The recruit having received his necessaries, should in the first place learn to dress himself with a soldier-like air; to place his effects properly in his knapsack, so as to carry them with ease and convenience; how to salute his officers when he meets them; to clean his arms, wash his linens and cook his provisions. He should early accustom himself to dress in the night; and for that purpose always have his effects in his knapsack, and that placed where he can put a hand on it in a moment, that in case of alarm he may repair with the greatest alertness to the parade.” 26
“The recruit having received his necessaries, should in the first place learn to dress himself with a soldier-like air; to place his effects properly in his knapsack, so as to carry them with ease and convenience; how to salute his officers when he meets them; to clean his arms, wash his linens and cook his provisions. He should early accustom himself to dress in the night; and for that purpose always have his effects in his knapsack, and that placed where he can put a hand on it in a moment, that in case of alarm he may repair with the greatest alertness to the parade.” 26
Is my clothing worn
properly? Are my personal items stowed
neatly in my knapsack (instead of
hanging from it) so that I am not clanking around on the march? Do I acknowledge the officer of the day in
camp? Can I disassemble my firelock? Can
I cook for my messmates? Can I ready
myself for action within five minutes?
“When learning to march, he must take the greatest pains to acquire a firm step and a proper balance, practicing himself at all his leisure hours. He must accustom himself to the greatest steadiness under arms, to pay attention to the commands of his officers, and exercise himself continually with his firelock, in order to acquire vivacity in his motions. He must acquaint himself with the usual beats and signals of the drum, and instantly obey them.”27
Do I practice the manual of arms
when off duty or not at an event? Am I
comfortable with my firelock? Do I know
what size flints it requires and where it must strike on the hammer steel? Do I know what to do when I can only hear the
musick above the din of battle?
“When in the ranks, he must always learn the names of his right and left hand men and file-leader, that he may be able to find his place readily incase of separation. He must cover his file-leader and dress well in his rank, which he may be assured of doing when he can just perceive the breast of the third man in front of him. Having joined his company, he must no longer consider himself a recruit, but as a soldier; and whenever he is ordered under arms, must appear well dressed, with his arms and accoutrements clean and in good order, and his knapsack, blanket, &c. ready to throw in his back in case he should be ordered to take them.”28
“When in the ranks, he must always learn the names of his right and left hand men and file-leader, that he may be able to find his place readily incase of separation. He must cover his file-leader and dress well in his rank, which he may be assured of doing when he can just perceive the breast of the third man in front of him. Having joined his company, he must no longer consider himself a recruit, but as a soldier; and whenever he is ordered under arms, must appear well dressed, with his arms and accoutrements clean and in good order, and his knapsack, blanket, &c. ready to throw in his back in case he should be ordered to take them.”28
Do
I know the men to my right and left? If
we move over broken terrain or must reform will I fall in on the correct man? Arms and
knapsacks must be important, Von Steuben mentions it twice! Do I clean them after duty or sneak off to
the sutlers, leaving them fouled in the arms bell?
“When warned for guard, he must appear as neat as possible, carry all his effects with him, and even when on sentry must have them at his back. He must receive the orders from the sentry he relieves; and when placed before the guard-house, he must inform the corporal of all that approach, and suffer no one to enter until examined; if he is posted at a distance from the guard, he will march there in order, have the orders explained to him by the corporal, learn which is the nearest post between him and the guard, in case he should be obliged to retire, or have anything to communicate, and what he is to do in case of alarm; or if in a town, in case of fire and any disturbance. He will never go more than twenty paces from his post; and if in a retired place. Or in the night, suffer no one to approach within ten paces of him.
“When warned for guard, he must appear as neat as possible, carry all his effects with him, and even when on sentry must have them at his back. He must receive the orders from the sentry he relieves; and when placed before the guard-house, he must inform the corporal of all that approach, and suffer no one to enter until examined; if he is posted at a distance from the guard, he will march there in order, have the orders explained to him by the corporal, learn which is the nearest post between him and the guard, in case he should be obliged to retire, or have anything to communicate, and what he is to do in case of alarm; or if in a town, in case of fire and any disturbance. He will never go more than twenty paces from his post; and if in a retired place. Or in the night, suffer no one to approach within ten paces of him.
A sentinel must never rest upon his arms, but keep walking his post. He must never suffer himself to be relieved but by his corporal; challenge briskly at night, and stop those who have not the countersign; and if any will not answer to the third challenge, or having been stopped should attempt to escape, he may fire on them.” 29
Do I take all aspects of living
history seriously…or just focus on material culture? The correct canteen, hand-stitching, or
fingerwoven tumpline mean absolutely nothing to the public we seek to educate
if we don’t act the part?
“When on patrol, he must observe the strictest silence, nor make the least noise with his arms or accoutrements.
“When on patrol, he must observe the strictest silence, nor make the least noise with his arms or accoutrements.
In
action he will pay the greatest attention to the commands of his officers, level
well, and not throw away his fire; take particular care to keep his rank and
file, incline to that side he dresses to, and encourage his comrades to do
their duty.
When
ordered to march, he must not charge himself with any unnecessary baggage; he
will march at his ease, without however leaving his rank or file; he should
drink as seldom as possible, and never stop but when necessity obliges him; in
which case he must ask the leave of the commanding officer of the platoon.
When
arrived at camp or quarters, he must clean his arms, prepare his bed, and go
for necessaries, taking nothing without leave, nor committing any kind of
excess. He must always have a stopper
for the muzzle of his gun in case of rain, and when on a march; at which times
he will unfix his bayonet.” 30
Is my haversack to low, smacking into the
man to my left on the march? Is my tin cup not properly stowed in my
haversack or knapsack? Does my canteen clank against my bayonet socket? Can I
complete the forced march with the gear I choose to carry or will I fall out
and leave a gap for my Corporal to fill in the ranks? Is my firelock ready in any weather, as if my
life depended on it?
Von
Steuben asks much of the Continental Soldier, yet trained many weeks to prepare
for the campaign of 1778. The fruit of
their labor was the control of the battlefield at Monmouth and a retreating
British army later that summer. To improve ourselves before the roads are
hard enough to march, without the benefit of time served in Von Steuben’s Model
Company at Valley Forge, we must:
- Master
drill and the exercise of arms (The science of war at the tactical
level).
a. Purchase a period correct copy of the ’64 and Von Steuben’s. Find the pictures (plates) on the
internet. Say the commands and practice
in a mirror. This includes loading and firing.
(Make a wooden flint to spare our
flints and lock). Know our weapons, practice
how to change the flint and remediate misfires: efficiency and safety.
b.
Clean our firelocks during a football game (once a week). Know our firelocks and how they work. Don’t take apart the lock without a spring
vise and someone who has done it before.
c. Ask your NCOs to drill you during an event (better yet get together
before events). It usually happened
twice a day if a soldier wasn’t on duty, outerguard, picquet, or a work
detail. It doesn’t need to be long.
- Study
and understand your duties (The minutiae of the soldier’s life).
a. Consult extant diaries, periodicals, and orderly books. These are readily available online, at
libraries, colleges, and historical societies.
b. Consult extant Manuals: Bland’s, Von Steuben’s, La Cointe’s Science
of Military Posts, The Prussian Manual. These were usually only read by officers, but soldiers would have
been taught and known through experience what they
contained (Remember
Capt Ewald’s observation).
c. Volunteer for guard detail, picquet/patrol,
forage (water, wood, fodder/straw) details.
Learn by
doing. Extra duty is a good deal. Washington ordered that all detachments,
guards, fatigue parties and scouting
parties were to have an extra gill of rum per night. (General Orders, 11 June
1777). Spend time around the field musick and learn the signals and the
commands they represent.
- Practice
Discipline (The art of experience in preparedness).
a. Wear our equipment high at the ribcage. Wear our canteens, haversacks, knapsacks
swung to our backs so they don’t impede ourselves or our fellow rankers in
manipulating our firelocks. When we take
it off, stow it in a manner that it can be thrown on in case of alarm. Keep our personal items in our knapsacks, not
strewn about the tent or field kitchen.
b. Carry a bottle of sweet oil (olive oil not
petroleum based) and a tin of tallow or a mixture of beeswax and oil (like Snow
Seal sold commercially today). Keep our firelocks oiled and waterproof
our pans, cartridge boxes, shoes, haversacks, etc with the tallow. Make a tompion
and “cow’s knee” to protect your muzzle and lock from moisture. Neither our firelocks nor our feet work well
when wet.
c. Condition ourselves. If we don’t walk during the week, we’re not
going to make it on the weekend.
d. Make or purchase the uniform and equipment
proper to our impression. Sure it takes time
and research, but I would rather spend money on what’s appropriate, than waste
money on what’s wrong. Be humble, take
advice from people who have the knowledge (then check the extant documentation
to make sure they’re correct).
We have other pursuits, to be sure,
like what we do Monday through Friday.
Then again, Von Steuben’s methods took only a few feverish weeks. Drill, read, practice and never stop
improving the various aspects of our impressions, with a nod to the “compleat” soldier that marched out of
Valley Forge in 1778.
1 General Orders, 16 Jun 1777, Papers
of George Washington, http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/WasFi06.html,
accessed 6 Oct 11.
2 General Instructions to All the Captains of
Companies, 29 Jul 1757, Papers of George Washington, http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/WasFi02.html
accessed, 21 Nov 11.
3 Ewald, as paraphrased by military historian William S. Lind, Irregular Warfare
Discussion, Marine Corps Center for Irregular Warfare, 9 Dec 11.
4
Palmer, John, General Von Steuben, Yale University Press, New Haven CT, 1937,
140.
5 “From
their experience in Indian Warfare, the Colonials had generally marched in
Indian fashion (column of files). This
resulted in greatly elongated columns of march.
A brigade marching Indian fashion takes up four times as much road space
as it would in column of fours…While a command marching correctly in column of
fours can form to the front in thirty minutes, it will take over two hours for
the same command to make the same maneuver from “Indian Files”. This is the real reason some organizations had
reached the battlefield too late at such battles as Brandywine and
Germantown.” Palmer, 156.
6 Letter to William Woodford, 10 Nov
1775, Papers of George Washington, http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/WasFi04.html,
accessed 6 Oct 11.
7 Windham, W., (1759) A Plan of Discipline for the Norfolk Militia,
J. Shuckburgh, London, (Reprinted by Museum Restoration Service, Ottawa,
Canada, 1969), xvi-xvii.
8 Dunbar,
as quoted by Keegan, John and Richard Homes. Soldiers: A History of Men in
Battle, Viking, NY, 1986, 66.
9 Windham, Plan. xxv, Part II, 4.
10 Parker, David E., That Loose Flimsy
Order: The Little War Meets British
Military Discipline in America, 1755-1781., University of New Hampshire, 1988,
176.
11 Houlding,
J.A., Fit For Service, The Training of the British Army 1715-1795.,
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1981, 214-15.
12 Virginia Gazette, 29 Jul 75, Number
1251 Dixon and Hunter, http://research.history.org/DigitalLibrary/VirginiaGazette/VGbyYear.cfm,
accessed 7 Oct 11, 3.
13 Houlding, 101.
14 “…all
detachments of six men or more should march in double rank at closed
distance…not only companies at drill, but small guard and fatigue details, at
all hours of the day or night were required to march exactly as Steuben had
taught them on the drill ground.”, Palmer, 156-157.
15 “There
was instruction in sentry duty, and the daily guard mounting became a brilliant
ceremony. The troops were practiced in skirmishing
as well as in close order. There were
also tactical exercises on rough ground…under simulated war conditions, the
troops made tactical marches and attacked and defended positions.” Palmer, 167.
16 “There
was instruction in sentry duty, and the daily guard mounting became a brilliant
ceremony. The troops were practiced in skirmishing
as well as in close order. There were
also tactical exercises on rough ground…under simulated war conditions, the
troops made tactical marches and attacked and defended positions.” Palmer, 167.
17 La
Cointe, M. (1758) The Science of Military Posts, Royal Academy at
Nismes, (Reprinted by T. Payne, Mews Gate, London, 1761), 97.
18 “…After performing any firings with
powder, it will be absolutely necessary to take particular care, that the
bayonets are wiped very clean; or soil of the powder remains upon them, which
will not only cause them to rust, but also spoil the scabbard, so as to render
it impossible to the bayonets clean ever after.”, Windam, Part II. Ch I, 17.
20 Bland,
224.
21 Bland, 17.
22 Griess, Col Thomas E. and Prof. Jay Luvas, Ed. Regulations for the Prussian Infantry, W.
Faucitt, Trans. (Reprinted by Greenwood Press, New York, 1968), 167.
23 Griess, 206-207.
24 Baron Friedrich Wilhem Von Steuben,
as quoted by Royster, Charles, A revolutionary People at War: The Continental
Army and the American Character, 1775-1783.,University of North Carolina Press,
1979., 219.
25 Parker, 70.
26 “These free corps were organized for
swift raids and other special missions away from the main army. They were composed of picked officers and
men, many of them volunteer adventurers.
They comprised about 1300 infantry and 200 hussars with a battery of
five cannon. According to Carlyle, [Von
Mayr’s] battalion was in the van of the army as it approached the battlefield
of Rossbach…After the battle it took an active part in the pursuit of the
French and the attacks on their rear guard…[Von Steuben] rode to the
battlefield of Rossbach under the eye of Frederick the Great himself.” Palmer,
35.
27 Von Steuben, Frederick William,
(1794) Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United
States, Thomas and Andrews, Boston, (Reprinted by Dover Publication, NY,
1985). 147-148.
28 Von Steuben, 148.
29 Von Steuben, 148-149.
30 Von Steuben, 149-150.
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