Silas' Handy Booklet of Rules, Regulations Governing Guards, Pickets, Camps & Marches

[Eric Tipton]

Silas' Handy Booklet of Rules, Regulations Governing Guards, Pickets, Camps & Marches
By Silas Tackitt
Click Here to Visit Silas' Page

This is small booklet contains rules and regulations for guards, pickets, camps and marches as written by Gilham, Hardee, Butterfield, and Mahan. Feel free to download and use this booklet which was created for use in the field. You won't find a better booklet of information for the price, but you can pay much more for lesser booklets. As far as printing and reprinting the booklet is concerned :

All rights reserved. Liberal and extensive distribution of this FREE pamphlet is encouraged. However, reassimilating, rearranging, cutting, pasting, reorganizing and/or otherwise taking credit for any part of this work without the written permission of the author is prohibited. Hey, I put some serious time into this pamphlet!

All text found in the booklet derives directly from period sources and citations to every paragraph are noted for the reader's reference.

The booklet has been published to the internet in two different formats: (1) standard and (2) booklet. The standard, side-by-side version allows the viewer to examine each page in a sequential order. Each printed sheet contains consecutive numbering. The booklet version is formatted for double sided printing. The pages do not become consecutive until printed and folded into a booklet.

Printing Instructions for the Standard Version:

The standard version requires no special instructions for printing. It is a "what you see is what you get" document. It's a good reference when you are looking for something in particular from the convenience of your monitor. As a printout, it's not as good as the booklet, but it works. Click here, open the pdf document, print it.

Printing Instructions for the Booklet:

This document has been specially formatted to print as a booklet. This pdf booklet requires double sided printing as well as a pdf reader. Any printer can produce double sided product. There are twenty-eight pages which requires fourteen sheets of paper. You need to perform two printings.

First, click on this link to open the odd pages for the pdf booklet. Open the document and select print. Check the print properties making certain that the print orientation is on LANDSCAPE, not portrait. Print the first fourteen sheets. Don't rearrange the sheets. Reinsert the sheets into your printer making certain that:

(1) the blank sides will be printed next,
(2) the first page printed previously will be the first page printed in this second printing, and
(3) the edge of the paper which exited the printer initially will now be the last edge to leave printer.

It sounds harder to describe than it really is. I just scoop my first set of copies as they are printed, flip them without rearranging the individual pages so that the blank side will now be printed, and drop the stack into the paper feeder of my printer.

Second, click on this second link to open the even pages for the pdf booklet. Print. If you've done it right, you've got a two sided booklet. I printed a booklet for myself using these two links so I know it works. - Silas

[Silas]

Re: Silas' Handy Booklet of Rules, Regulations Governing Guards, Pickets, Camps & Marches

Eric Tipton's recent posting about this booklet is timely. I am currently working on an article about period methology for marches. As in, making them more efficient and suck less.

This booklet was first created for Banks Grand Retreat, a week long march the wilds of the Kisatchie Nat'l Forest in 2007. The booklet continues to have great, much overlooked, information. Two resources used in the booklet are a focus of the current article. One is Butterfield's Camp and Outpost Duty. The other is the SoB of Hardee's Revised Tactics.

A route march rule from Butterfiled is that the back of the column needs to keep its regular step while the race horses at the front of the column need to take shorter steps. Yup. The back does not quicken its pace or step out. The front slows to allow the back to catch up. This is within companies to keep them from stretching out. Same concept applies to companies of a battalion.

One concept from Hardee and others is that a company or battalion marching in column should never be longer than the size of the battalion when in line of battle. The standard formation for route marches is in column of companies, which at full distance, equals the width of the battalion when in line of battle. What happens when the field or road does not allow the width of a company? It shrinks to platoon size or can break files temporarily to pass a defile. Only when the width is too large is marching by the flank is permitted. As soon as space allows for a larger formation, the companies expand to that size by going back to column of platoons or companies.

It's kewl stuff. Take a gander. Afterall, the booklet is free. Such a deal!

[Redbeard]

Re: Silas' Handy Booklet of Rules, Regulations Governing Guards, Pickets, Camps & Marches

I was interested to listen when you were explaining all this to me on a march back to base camp at Missionary. I'll certainly read.

[Silas]

Re: Silas' Handy Booklet of Rules, Regulations Governing Guards, Pickets, Camps & Marches

That's the stuff. Way more fun to discuss than the position of the soldier or manual of arms for the thousandth time...

[Scott Sheets]

Re: Silas' Handy Booklet of Rules, Regulations Governing Guards, Pickets, Camps & Marches

I enjoyed the handbook. Definitely worth a read folks.

I'll have to dig it up. But a handful of us had gone back and forth about marching by the flank or in a column. Casey is adamant that you should March in column. In our research we found it far more common to march by the flank. Even in the regular army. Either way, the information about the front of the "column" shortening step is very important.

I'll start posting my sources today.

[Silas]

Re: Silas' Handy Booklet of Rules, Regulations Governing Guards, Pickets, Camps & Marches

Regarding marching by the flank or in column, each has its place. Column is clearly the preferred method of marching as it moves the greatest number of soldiers through an area at the quickest and greatest ease. All but one period commentator I've noticed says to march in column so I gotta go with that. (The one is Morris and his late 1864 manual. Link : https://books.google.com/books?id=HW...page&q&f=false Morris has some interesting ideas.)

However, topography gets a seat at the table. Can't always march in an open field. When (1) the width of a road or defile is too narrow to allow the width of a company or platoon front and (2) a column of fours aka by the right or left flank is what fits, then column of fours becomes the best method. Once the road opens for any appreciable distance, then the column of fours needs to return to column of companies or platoons. To make it happen, individual companies need to know how to go from line to file and back.

There are many different ways to go from column of fours (by the flank) to column of companies or column of platoons. One is By Company (or Platoon) Into Line. Bear in mind that double quick is not required.

When soldiers on the inside of the line continue marching at quick time, the outside soldiers must advance at double quick time until they arrive upon the line. So, if the inside soldiers mark time, the outside soldiers need only march at quick time. Once the outside most soldier arrives upon the new line, the entire company or platoon can proceeds at quick time.

This marking time concept can be found in wheeling. When wheeling while marching at quick time, the inside men shorten the length of step while waiting for the outside men to arrive on the new line. Once the outside most man arrives, the entire company or platoon proceeds at quick time.

I've attached a couple illustrations which show how to go (1) from line to file and (2) from file to line.