Simplest way to learn the drills?

[sauguszouave]

Re: Simplest way to learn the drills?

David,

You're actually asking two questions. The first one is, where can I find the best definition of what I need to learn? The second one is, how is the best way to develop my drill skills once I have a good definition?

I'm afraid the bad news is that answering the first question is a problem nowadays. The official manuals were not written as how-to books. They were written by French officers to be used by experienced French drill instructors in French army regimental schools. The officers translating them in the US did not add in all the minutia that the French officers left out. This problem was publicly acknowledged by military professionals in the US during the war. There were books that did explain this kind of stuff, but they weren't official and they are not available to re-enactors today. My favorite is N.W. Root's "Infantry Tactics for Schools." This book is almost impossible to find in original. Of the stuff that is available as a reprint, I like the 1861 Infantry Tactics the best. Don't get spooked by the rifle vs. musket debate, it is a tempest in a teapot. Do the rifle drill with the musket stack. Read the manual very carefully and do every single thing it says, exactly as it says. That will get you close.

As you probably noticed for the other responses you've gotten, experienced re-enactors don't have a very high opinion of the general state of the art in the community. Be very careful who you take advice from, there is a 75% chance they have never cracked a manual themselves.

The second question is easier to answer. I prefer Col. Bernard Lentz's method, which, is very similar to Elmer Ellsworth's method. Take a single motion and repeat it over and over until you have it down. Only then go on to the second motion. Run the two together over and over. Build up slowly like that. Say the command out loud to yourself and then count cadence out loud as you perform the motion. In the long run, you will learn faster if you memorize the commands so that you can give them yourself rather than relying on a tape or someone else.

Goes like this:

Shold-eeeeeeeer, ARMS!

ONE!

TWO!

Ord-eeeeeeeer, ARMS!

ONE!

TWO!

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight, FACE!

ONE!

FRONT!

ONE!

Start really slow and build up speed. Don't move on until you've mastered a motion. It feels like it takes forever to do it this way, but it's really faster in the long run.

Good luck,

Paul Kenworthy

[john duffer]

Re: Simplest way to learn the drills?

"The officers translating them in the US did not add in all the minutia that the French officers left out. "

Actually both Scott's and Hardee's translations are pretty much word for word except for switching metric measurements to feet and inches.

[ley74]

Re: Simplest way to learn the drills?

Not all videos are created equal.

[sauguszouave]

Re: Simplest way to learn the drills?

John,

>>Actually both Scott's and Hardee's translations are pretty much word for word except for switching metric measurements to feet and inches.<<

And therein lies the bulk of the problem. If the original French ordinances didn't tell you how to do something, the American translation doesn't tell you either. The French army had multiple manuals explaining the same subject, and sometimes they even allowed competing systems to coexist. Read the introduction to George McClellan's translation of Gomard's bayonet fencing manual. McClellan lists the competing French fencing systems that he reviewed before settling on Gomard's. French military periodicals of the period contain rebuttals from various fencing masters to critiques of their systems. The French army encouraged this kind of side-by-side comparision of competing systems. Comparing the different French manuals sometimes fills in the gaps in the US manuals. For example, Guard Against Cavalry is taught in the US manuals to men in one rank. There is no explanation of how to execute it in two ranks, or in three ranks as the French actually did it. Specifically, the instructions are to step back with the right foot about 22 inches with the heel in line with the heel of the left foot. The problem is that the toes of the rear rank's left foot are directly behind the front rank's left heel and only about 12 inches away. In France, Pinette's "Ecole des Fantassin" explains that in two or three ranks the right foot of the front men don't line up with their heels. They offset to the right just enough to overlap the front feet of the rear rank men. Pinette's manual includes an illustration showing how the feet are supposed to overlap.

My favorite example of the problem facing re-enactors is the very first page of the tactics manual. The first page is the fold-out illustration showing how to form a battalion and a company. The problem is that there are actually four different tables of organization for infantry battalions in simultaneous use in the US army during the war. The 1st through 10th US Infantry had one, the 11th through 19th US had a different one, US Volunteers had a third, and state militias frequently had a fourth. For example, regulars had three lieutenants per company, US Volunteers only had two. This doesn't mean much when you're forming line, but when you get to the skirmish drill the third lieutenant has a real job. If you boost all the sergeants up one position to fill that job, you end up either short a section leader or short a guide. How was that addressed? Dom Dal Bello wrote a little piece once on how combat casualties were replaced in the line, but you won't find that explained anywhere in the tactics manual.

The list of un-explained stuff just goes on and on.

Regards,

Paul Kenworthy

[Charles Heath]

Re: Simplest way to learn the drills?

The first page is the fold-out illustration showing how to form a battalion and a company. The problem is that there are actually four different tables of organization for infantry battalions in simultaneous use in the US army during the war. The 1st through 10th US Infantry had one, the 11th through 19th US had a different one, US Volunteers had a third, and state militias frequently had a fourth. For example, regulars had three lieutenants per company, US Volunteers only had two. This doesn't mean much when you're forming line, but when you get to the skirmish drill the third lieutenant has a real job.

Paul,

This very subject was the topic of two lengthy discussions on the OTB Forum. Take the time to look up G.O. 15 from May 1861, as it fills in some fairly large blanks we reenactors take for granted about the configuration of the federal forces. The transition from a small, widely dispersed, frontier army to what was the new norm in 1861-1862 is absolutely fascinating.

[sauguszouave]

Re: Simplest way to learn the drills?

Charles,

I haven't read the previous discussion, but I've got GO 15. The unit I re-enact is an example of the militia organization problem. I belong to the Salem Light Infantry which was a Massachusetts volunteer militia company formed in 1805. It was Company H of the 7th MVM. When Lincoln called up the militia in April 1861, Mass. militia regiments had 8 companies instead of 10. What they did was transfer two companies from other regiments into each of the first 5 regiments Mass. sent to Washington. The Salem Light Infantry got swapped into the 8th MVM to fill it up. However, the Mass. Adjutant General's office didn't know how the regular army designated companies, so they assigned the SLI as Company J. That designation was later changed to I when the folks in Boston found out you don't use the letter J in company designations.

The SLI served for 90 days with 3 lieutenants, but only 2 corporals. When they mustered out in August of 1861, most of the men re-enlisted in the 19th and 23rd Mass. Volunteers which were organized under the Employment of Volunteers Act of July 21, 1861 ammended July 25. Those companies had two lieutenants and eight corporals each. The 19th Mass. had been at the camp of rendezvous without field officers before the SLI mustered out. The colonel of the 8th MVM was commissioned colonel of the 19th MVI and the captain of the SLI was commissioned Lt. Col. The first thing they did when they took command was start the drill instruction over from the beginning. The original company officers of the 19th MVI had no experience and they had the drill all wrong. The new colonel assigned new drill instructors to each company and made them all start again from scratch.

Regards,

Paul Kenworthy

[sauguszouave]

Re: Simplest way to learn the drills?

I noticed I swapped the names of Pinette's and Gomard's manuals by accident. The correct citation is: Pinette, Jh., "Ecole du Tirailleur." Paris: J. Dumaine, 1846. Figure 18, opposite p. 49, "Position pour croiser la baionnette sur trois rangs."

Regards,

Paul Kenworthy

[Silas]

Re: Simplest way to learn the drills?

People initially have trouble reading the manuals because they are written in an odd style of English. Shakespeare is older and odder. Read enough Shakespeare and you get accustomed to it. Then you appreciate it. Same goes for the manuals. Spend some time in Hardee, Gilham, and Casey. You'll appreciate them, too.