Lesson III       Turns, and the march by the flank.

The rank being at a halt, and correctly aligned, the instructor will command:

 

1. Squad, by the Right Flank. 2.MARCH.

 

 

At the last part of the first command, the entire squad will face to the right.

 

At the second command, the squad will step off smartly with the left foot; the file keeping aligned, and preserving their intervals.

 

The march by the left flank will be executed by the same commands, substituting the word left for right, and by inverse Means.

 

The Instructor will place a well-instructed soldier by the side of the recruit who is at the head of the rank, to regulate the step, and to conduct him; and it will be enjoined on this recruit to march always elbow-to-elbow with the soldier.

The Instructor will cause to be observed in the march, by the flank, the following rules:

 

That the step be executed according to the principles prescribed for the direct step.

 

Because these principles, without which men, placed elbow to elbow, in the same rank, cannot preserve unity and harmony of movement, are of a more necessary observance in marching in file.

 

That the head of the man who immediately precedes, covers the heads of all who are in front.

Because it is the most certain rule by which each man may maintain himself in the exact line of the file.

 

The instructor will place himself habitually five or six paces on the flank of the rank marching in file, to watch over the execution of the principles prescribed above. He will also place himself sometimes in its rear, halt, and suffer it to pass fifteen or twenty paces, the better to see whether the men cover each other accurately.

1. Left (or right). 2.TURN.

 

 

At the command march, the first file will change direction to the left (or right) in describing a small 90 degree wheel, and will then march straight forward; the four men of this file, in wheeling, will keep up the touch of the elbows, and the man on the side to which the wheel is made, will shorten the first three or four steps. Each file will come successively to wheel on the same spot where that which preceded it wheeled.

 

When he shall wish to halt the rank, marching by the flank, and to cause it to face to the front, he will command:

 

1.Squad. 2.HALT. 3.FRONT.

 

At the second command, the rank will halt, and afterwards no man will stir, although he may have lost his distance. This' prohibition is necessary, to habituate the men to a constant preservation of their distances.

 

At the third command, each man will front by wheeling to the left, if marching by the right flank, and by wheeling to the right, if marching by the left flank, onto line.

 

When the men have become accustomed to marching by the flank, the instructor will cause them to change direction by file for this purpose, he will command:

 

The instructor will also cause the squad to face by the right or left flank in marching, and for this purpose will command:

 

1. Squad by the right (or left) flank. 2.MARCH.

 

At the second command, which will be given a little before either foot comes to the ground, the recruits will turn the body, plant the foot that is raised in the new direction, and step off with the other foot without altering the cadence of the step.

 

This lesson, like the preceding one, will be practiced with pieces at a shoulder; but the instructor may, to give relief by change, occasionally order support arms, and he will require of the recruits marching in this position, as much regularity as in the former. 

 

The march by the flank in quick time

The principles of the march by the flank in quick time, are the same as in common time. The instructor will give the commands prescribed, taking care always to give the command quick before that of march. He will pay the greatest attention to the cadence of the step.

 

The instructor will cause the change of direction, and the march by the flank, to be executed in quick time, by the same commands, and according to the same principles as in direct time.

 

The instructor will cause the pieces to be carried either on the right shoulder or at a trail.

 

The instructor will sometimes march the squad by the flank.

 

When marching in a column, the instructor will be watchful that the men do not bend their knees unequally, which would cause them to tread on the heels of the men in front, and also to lose the cadence of the step and their distance.

 

The various movements in this lesson will be executed in a rank of four, two, and singly. In the changes of direction, the leading man will change direction without altering the length or the cadence of the step. The instructor will recall to the attention of the men, that in facing by the right or left flank in marching, they will normally march in a rank of fours.

 

Lesson IV       General principles of Wheelings

Wheelings are of two kinds: from halts, or on fixed pivots, and in march, or on moveable pivots.

 

Wheeling on a fixed pivot takes place in passing a corps from the order in line to the order in column, or from the latter to the former.

 

Wheels in marching take place in changes of direction in column, as often as this movement is executed to the side opposite to the guide.

 

In wheels from a halt, the pivot-man only turns in his place, without advancing or receding.

 

In the wheels in marching, the pivot takes steps of nine or eleven inches, according as the squad is marching in quick or double quick time, so as to clear the wheeling point, which is necessary, in order that the subdivisions of a column may change direction without losing their distances, as will be explained in the School of the Company.

The man on the wheeling flank will take the full step of twenty-eight inches, or thirty-three inches, according to the gait.

Wheeling from a halt, or on a fixed pivot.

 

The rank being at a halt, the instructor will place a well instructed man on the wheeling flank to conduct it, and then command:

 

1. Right wheel. 2.MARCH.

 

At the second command, the rank will step off with the left foot, turning at the same time the head a little to the left, the eyes fixed on the line of the eyes of the men to their left; the pivot-man will merely mark time in gradually turning his body, in order to conform himself to the movement of the marching flank; the man who conducts this flank will take steps of twenty-eight inches, and from the first stop advance a little the left shoulder, cast his eyes from time to time along the rank and feel constantly the elbow of the next man lightly, but never push him.

The other man will feel lightly the elbow of the next man towards the pivot, resist pressure coming from the opposite side, and each will conform himself to the marching flank-shortening his step according to his approximation to the pivot.

 

The instructor will make the rank wheel round the circle once or twice before halting, in order to cause the principles to be the better understood, and he will be watchful that the center does not break.

 

He will cause the wheel to the left to be executed according to the same principles.

 

When the Instructor shall wish to arrest the wheel, he will command:

 

1. Squad. 2. HALT.

 

At the second command, the rank will halt, and no man stir. The instructor, going to the flank opposite the pivot, will place the two outer men of that flank in the direction he may wish to give to the rank, without however displacing the pivot; who will conform the line of his shoulders to this-direction. The instructor will take care to have between these two men, and the pivot, only the space necessary to contain the other men. He will then command:

 

Left (or right)- DRESS.

 

At this, the rank will place itself on the alignment of the two men established as the basis, in conformity with the principles prescribed.

 

The Instructor will next command FRONT, which will be executed as prescribed.

Remarks on the principles of the wheel from a halt.

 

Turn a little the head towards the marching flank, and fix the eyes on the line of the eyes of the men who are on that side.

 

Because, otherwise, it would be impossible for each man to regulate the length of his step so as to conform his own movement to that of the marching flank.

 

Touch lightly the elbow of the next man towards the pivot. In order that the files may not open out in the wheel.

 

Resist pressure that comes front the side of the marching flank.

 

Because, if this principle be neglected, the pivot, which ought to be a fixed point, in wheels from a halt might be pushed out of its place by pressure.

 

Wheeling in marching, or on a movable pivot.

 

When the recruits have been taught to execute well the wheel from a halt, they will be taught to wheel in marching.

 

To this end, the rank being in march, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to change direction to the reverse flank (to the side opposite to the guide or pivot flank,) he will command:

 

1.Right (or left) wheel.2.MARCH.

The first command will be given when the rank is yet four paces from the wheeling point.

 

 

At the second command, the wheel will be executed in the same manner as from a halt, except that the touch of the elbow will remain towards the marching flank (or side of the guide) instead of the side of the actual pivot; that the pivot man, instead of merely turning in his place, will conform himself to the movement of the marching flank feel lightly the elbow of the next man, take steps of full nine inches, and thus gain ground forward in describing a small curve so as to clear the point of the wheel. The middle of the rank will bend slightly to the rear. As soon as the movement shall commence, the man who conducts the marching flank will cast his eyes on the ground over which he will have to pass.

 

The wheel being ended, the instructor will command:

 

1.Forward.2.MARCH.

 

The first command will be pronounced when four paces are yet required to complete the change of direction.

 

At the command march, which will be given at the instant of completing the wheel., the man who conducts the marching flank will direct himself straight forward; the pivot-man and all the rank will retake the step of twenty-eight inches, and bring the head direct to the front.

 

Turning, or change of direction to the side of the guide

The change of direction to the side of the guide, in marching, will be executed as follows: The instructor will command

 

1.      Left (or right). 2.TURN.

 

The first command will be given when the rank is yet four paces from the turning point.

At the command TURN, to be pronounced at the instant the rank ought to turn, the guide will shorten his step to about 11 inches, turning to the left (or right) in marching, and move forward in the new direction without slackening or quickening the cadence. The whole rank will promptly wheel itself to the new direction; to effect which, each man will advance the shoulder opposite, to the guide, take the double or double quick step, to carry himself in the new direction, turning the head and eyes to the side of the guide, and maintain the touch of the elbow on that side

 

Wheeling and changing direction to the side of the guide, in quickened time

When the recruits comprehend and execute well, in common time, the wheels, at a halt and in marching, and the change of direction to the side of the guide, -the instructor will cause the same movements to be repeated in quick time, and double quick time.

 

These various movements will be executed by the same commands and according to the same principles as in common time, except that the command quick, or double quick will precede that of march. In wheeling while marching, the pivot man will take steps of eleven inches, and in the changes of direction to the side of the guide, the men on the side opposite the guide must increase the gait in order to bring themselves onto line.

 

The Instructor, in order not to fatigue the recruits, and not to divide their attention, will cause them to execute the several movements of which this lesson is composed, first without arms, and next, after the mechanism be well comprehended, with arms.