Question of Parade Rest

[cwpilgrim]

I've seen where others on the forum have inqured about the different Federal parade rests used: Muzzle in right arm with hands in front and the other type with the muzzle in front with hands on barrel. There may be others, but these I have seen in photos.

Something I did not find addressed so far concerns the reason for the difference

I am curious to know if there was a reason for one type over the other. Rifles vs. Muskets?
Early war vs. mid-War?
Eastern vs. Western?

Or possibly: "That's just how we do it"?

Thoughts?

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Question of Parade Rest

Hallo!

In brief and to over-generalize...

How it was done was according to which manual was being used.

For starters, I would suggest:

http://44tennessee.tripod.com/rest.html

Curt

[cwpilgrim]

Re: Question of Parade Rest

Thanks for the input Curt.
The article didn't really answer my question though.

I understand that different manuals were used i.e. 1861 Regulations, Casey's, Hardees etc.
There may not be a simple answer to actually why one method (besides the manual in use) was selected over the other beyond conjecture. I will leave it at that until something more accurate comes along.

[PogueMahone]

Re: Question of Parade Rest

Have you considered that age old dillema of not covering ones face when having your photo taken? When the boys lined up and the officer said "Parade Rest!", the photographer probably said, "Can you do something else with the muskets? I can't see their faces."

Just another angle to consider ...

[ephraim_zook]

Re: Question of Parade Rest

Good point, Joe. As a photographer and photography teacher I've often wondered how frequently veritas yielded to ars (or artis). My Latin ain't so good any more. I've encouraged my students to look at subjects from the artistic point of view when appropriate. I.e.: When all the cigarette butts distract from the art, pick them up before making the image. On the other hand, if you are documenting litter, don't dump more butts there for effect. :-)

Ron Myzie

[PogueMahone]

Re: Question of Parade Rest

Well, we are all so quick to accept "photographer's prop" to settle a question. It seems reasonable that they asked folks to move about to be seen better.

[Clsinclair]

Re: Question of Parade Rest

"Touched by Fire" shows many early war soldiers using the musket resting in the right shoulder and shows many later photos of soldiers in the field using the Parade rest as stated in Hardees and in Upton's Tactics. There's a period called "Parade Rest" when Civil War Statues were being erected and they show the latter method that I mentioned.

[cwpilgrim]

Re: Question of Parade Rest

Claude,
That is why I think it has to do more with the weapon and time than just a random choice. We know Hardees was revised to accomodate the rifle rather than the musket in the Manual of Arms, so there is at least one documented case where a change was made to fit the weapon.

I have noted also the frequency of early war photos showing right side PR as you have noted. We know that muskets were more prevelant in early war, so there could be a connection as it relates to parade rest.

I just haven't found any definative proof that such was the reason for the change in the position.

[Silas]

Re: Question of Parade Rest

The period photo I use in my article is of an Iron Brigade regiment in 1862. Being a regiment commanded by Gen. Gibbon, a known stickler for doing things in the old army way, I wasn't too surprised to see a photo with soldiers performing parade rest in the manner prescribed by the regulations.

As for this particular picture, I am not comofortable saying the weapon is at the shoulder so the faces of the persons are better viewed. I have trouble with the general idea of placing the weapon against shoulder for the view reason because a slanting of the weapon to the left would not cover the face of the person photographed. If there is a bayonet involved, it's placed more to the side. As for folks in the back rank, their faces would be partially obscured whether the weapon is slanted to the left or against the shoulder if there is a bayonet involved.

Regarding the revisions to Hardee, I think you've got it backwards, John. Hardee's is the 1855 manual which is written for the shorter rifle - think light infantry tactics. The US tactics of 1861 contain the smoothbore and rifle methods of loading. This can also be seen in Gilham's manual. The two revised manuals of 1862 - meaning Casey and Hardee's Revised - each create a uniform of handling the weapon. Casey says place the butt between the feet regardless of whether it's a rifle, rifle musket or a musket. Hardee says place the butt outside the left foot regardless of the type of weapon.

I don't think it is the particular weapon which caused the change from against the shoulder to across the body. I'm thinking it has more to do with the significant influx of volunteer soldiers and the need to weed out unnecessary redundancy. There are two parades. One is the evening parade. The other is the parade associated with guard mount which occurs in the morning. There is no good reason why the method of parade rest is one way for this parade and a different way for the other parade. For reasons of simplicity one method seems to have been chosen over the other. The across the body method found in the method for relieving sentinals has a more dignified appearance than the method found in the regulations. (The method in the regulations has an advantage as being the same basic method for placing the hands whether the soldier possesses a weapon or not.) Upton's post bellum manual seems to show this evolution. See paragraph 78 at page 34 of his manual for the instruction and the drawing.

Which method for parade has been a minor personal irritant for years. What I have written is the best guess I have had over that time. If someone can provide the mythical concrete source providing a better explaination, I'd be happy to alter my opinion. Until then, I'm sticking with it. Ultimately, the proper method comes down to time, place, manner and who is commanding.

[cwpilgrim]

Re: Question of Parade Rest

Thanks for the insight and correction, Mark.

I suppose for LH purposes, using actual photo's of the unit we are to portray at that point in time has to be the final authority regarding which method to use for parade if one is available.

BTW: I do like your GP book!