Sentinels at officers' tents

[Hank Trent]

from http://www.lindapages.com/12wvi/12wvi-6.htm:

We were brigaded with the Thirty-fourth Massachusetts. This regiment was under very strict regimental discipline. Each officers tent when in camp, had a sentinel placed in front of it; and no private soldier was allowed to enter his tent without first getting permission.

With less than two weeks' notice, I need to portray a sentinel like that. I've not found period instructions for posting guards within a camp specifically, only at the perimeter or beyond. That leads me to believe the same procedures would apply. If there are period instructions for sentinels at officers' tents, please point me to them!

Since this is a public living history, all spectators will be passing through freely and I'll be talking to them somewhat more than I would be allowed historically. However, my interaction with the officer(s) will still be period. I need to give the illusion of a disciplined by-the-book private, while still being friendly to spectators.

Here are my two questions. Hope they're not too dumb.

1) Normally, the sentinel could not take orders from a staff officer. But, since I'm posted at a building occupied by a staff officer, could my staff officer give me orders related to my duties in guarding his office, without needing to relay them through an officer of the guard or a field officer?

2) How far could I move without "quitting my post" if I need to speak to my officer? For example, would I come to shoulder arms, turn, step to face the doorway, and say, "Sir, the gentleman you're expecting, is here to see you?" Or would I always keep facing forward and communicate if necessary by speaking without turning? Or should I never address my officer directly at all?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[ScottCross]

Re: Sentinels at officers' tents

Hank, I've not seen anything written in regards to this situation. However, a few years ago when the WIGs were at Shiloh, I was posted as a regular part of the camp guard in front of Colonel Pat Craddock's tent. We treated it just as any other post with the special instructions, "Don't let anyone in except the Colonel!"

And Pat, if you read this: I did NOT steal your Irish whiskey when I was posted to guard your tent! I stole it before any of the guards were even posted!

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: Sentinels at officers' tents

Hank,

Check out the US Army Regs of 1861 for info on sentinels and guard duty. Pretty much all you need is in there. If you can lay your hands on Dom Dal Bello's well-done "Instructions for Guards and Pickets" booklet, so much the better.

I agree with Scott: guards posted at an officer's tent in the camp are part of the Guard that warrants the boundaries of the camp, and the Regs, Kautz, and Dom, among other sources, are pretty clear on that. As a private, you are guarding the post assigned to you by higher authority; got questions? Ask the Sergeant of the Guard or Corporal of the Guard for instructions.

1) Normally, the sentinel could not take orders from a staff officer. But, since I'm posted at a building occupied by a staff officer, could my staff officer give me orders related to my duties in guarding his office, without needing to relay them through an officer of the guard or a field officer?

You may be guarding a field officer, staff member, or line officer's quarters, so they're not all "staff officers". Frankly, if in doubt, accept orders only from the non-comms of your Guard, Officer of the Guard, Officer of the Day, or battalion commander. Others are not authorized to give you instructions unless you are told otherwise. That's by the book, of course; in reality in the Civil War, it varied by regiment, situation and circumstance, and by the men in charge.

2) How far could I move without "quitting my post" if I need to speak to my officer? For example, would I come to shoulder arms, turn, step to face the doorway, and say, "Sir, the gentleman you're expecting, is here to see you?" Or would I always keep facing forward and communicate if necessary by speaking without turning? Or should I never address my officer directly at all?

As your Corporal of the Guard or Sergeant of the Guard for clarifications on how far you are supposed to move from "the spot" you're assigned to guard. Frankly, though, unless you're the first man assigned to guard that spot during the event or in that camp, you're probably relieving another sentinel as you are posted, and when one sentinel relieves another he is supposed to ask the Old Sentinel if there are specific instructions related to guarding that post; if you're unclear as to when you move and how far, ask the Old Sentinel, and if he doesn't know, ask the non-comms of your Guard.

[billwatson]

Re: Sentinels at officers' tents

Ditto what Kevin said, but let me take another whack at the logic of the sentinel's situation.

He's a member of the guard. He takes orders from guard company noncoms, the officer of the guard, battalion commander and the officer of the day. The guard company was set up as a specialized tool of the regiment, and the taking of orders from a limited number of officers was one of the ways they did that.
But if one of those orders, a special order for a particular post rather than general standing orders, is to screen visitors at the direction of a particular officer who is not the usual giver of orders to the guard company, there's your loophole. It's an atypical function, but it can be covered.

Are you in a situation where others need to know just how this works besides you? :-)

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: Sentinels at officers' tents

Hank,

I realize that I didn't reply to part of one of your questions about how to salute. If you'd like, shoot me an e-mail (address below; please do not use a PM because file attachments cannot be sent via PM) and I'll send you a copy of my CRRC2 article (also printed in CCG a few years ago) on "Basic Honors to be Rendered by the Troops", which covers saluting in various forms and courtesies to be paid by guards.

Tha article presents the ideal. In reality in the Civil War, it sometimes (often?) varied from the regs and protocols. It seems that, for example. soldiers on Guard then had a hard time differentiating when and who to salute with a "carry" (shoulder arms) and who/when to salute with a "sergeant's salute", and who/when to salute with "present arms"; modern reenactors actually mirror this inconsistency with protocol pretty well. To be clear, you're SUPPOSED to salute line officers (captain and below) with a "carry", and salute field officers, general officers, the battalion commander, and Officer of the Day (regardless of the OOD's actual rank) with a "present arms", unless one's in a guard box when the "sergeant's salute" should be used to avoid jamming the bayonet into the roof of the guard box (or, in the case of the event you're attending, a canvas fly or similar "structure").

When in doubt, ask the non-comms of the Guard for clarification--it's their job to know the answers and be able to effectively communicate them to the men of the Guard.

[NoahBriggs]

Re: Sentinels at officers' tents

Gents,

My doctor's office is the place Mr. Trent will be guarding, located in Harpers Ferry. We have been detached from the 34th Mass. in Dec. of 1863 and are part of the Provosts Office for the next year, while the rest of the 34th is raising hell in the Valley throughout 64. They stop in at HF around Dec. 64, before moving on to the siege ops around Petersburg and Richmond.

Technically for this event the Sergeant of the Guard, the OOD et al. &c. are non-existent or waaay off-stage. The Park asks for third-person interpretation, and there is no real established chain-of-command for the military during the LH. Hence Hank's modified interpretation of "screening visitors" and the like.

Apparently this office has become Private Trent's regular post. At times when he is not on actual guard duty he has functioned as a clerk as well. Unofficially our characters have developed a mutual professional attitude of respect, which leads to casual conversation, but "in public" we maintain the officer-private distance.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Sentinels at officers' tents

Thanks to everyone for the replies!

As a private, you are guarding the post assigned to you by higher authority; got questions? Ask the Sergeant of the Guard or Corporal of the Guard for instructions.

Well, ya see, they're all dead. Or at least not being portrayed. This is the living history at Harper's Ferry where if there's any functioning overall military command of the 34th Massachusetts that's mounting guards, I'm not aware of it. Was part of the guard mount by the book at ITW and had a great time, but such is not to be, here. So I'm trying to make the best of the situation.

All I know is that I'm portraying the private who'll be guarding the hospital tent, and in between two hour shifts (when no guard will replace me :sarcastic ), I'll be portraying an orderly assisting the surgeon, and at night, I'll be off duty.

That's why I know whose tent I'll be guarding, and that he won't be a field officer. And why just following orders and getting instructions from the previous guard won't work--I need to be the one to figure out what those instructions would have been and then operate within the parameters of those instructions.

Others are not authorized to give you instructions unless you are told otherwise. That's by the book, of course; in reality in the Civil War, it varied by regiment, situation and circumstance, and by the men in charge.

So from that and Bill Watson's advice, it sounds like it would be reasonable to be told to take ongoing instructions from the assistant surgeon whose tent I'm guarding, like "ask new visitors to wait until I'm finished with these," or "tell everyone I'll be back in five minutes," or whatever.

I realize that I didn't reply to part of one of your questions about how to salute.

Actually, my question was not so much how to salute, but whether it would be reasonable to turn and address the officer behind you in his tent/building (not sure which it'll be yet) to announce a visitor or something similar connected with my duties. Or whether turning one's back while on duty would be as bad as handing over your gun or sitting down or something, and just never done.

I assumed I would use carry (shoulder) arms for a salute to him, based on this from the 1861 regulations: "Sentinels will present arms to general and field officers, to the officer of the day, and to the commanding officer of the post. To all other officers they will carry arms."

I guessed a lieutenant assistant surgeon would be staff rather than field, and of course neither the officer of the day nor the commanding officer of the post, so he'd fall under "all other officers."

Edited to add: Just saw Noah posted a lot of the same information while I was typing!

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net