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Attached to this post is the first look at the booklet I compiled for the upcoming Picket Post. When you click on it, you will see it is formattted for viewing on a computer screen. Tonight, I will upload two more files and provide instruction for how to print the files as a single booklet.
[NOTE FROM 2019 : Follow this link for the attachment rather than using the attachment at the bottom of this thread : http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...ostRegular.pdf There is a minor formatting error in the original which I corrected and noted a litte farther down in this thread from 2016. - Silas]
I have another booklet available which is much wider in scope than this new booklet. That one covered police guards, pickets, camps and marches. This new booklet has a much narrower focus. It only covers advanced guards aka pickets, but does such in much greater detail than my other booklet.
The idea for this new booklet derives from information provided by Sam Cathey for a Southern Guard Picket Post I attended back in 2004. He gathered information, boiled it down and simplified it. You can view his information here as it is still online :
I thought it was pretty good, but like original text and the ability to go back to the source to view the context of the text. So, what I did was go back to Sam's document and found the original sources for his work. When I thought the original text made more sense than his simplified text, I used original. In reviewing the original sources, I found some other great stuff which seemed like a good idea to add. I also went beyond the sources he used because so many good things are more readily available now than they were in 2004.
A real problem with the original texts is than every author seemed to like his system better than other systems. Generally, they are all very similar. Frequently, they use different names to describe the same duties. Another confusion is using the same names for different duties. What I did was use the most common set of terms then changed the original text to reflect the common use.
For example, the most commonly used terms for the outmost lines are sentinels, outposts and reserve. Sometimes the outmost line was called pickets. The next line supports. The next line grand guards and behind them could be a body called pickets. Going from one source to another gets very confusing.
I kept sentinels, outposts and reserve which are the terms we will use for Picket Post. I changed the original text to reflect these changes, but I left a citation in my text so the reader could easily locate the original text if needed. I made the changes so that participants will use the same terms without confusing other participants. Because people don't always read this stuff, I included some period illustrations which show these concepts.
After a general introduction, highlighted areas included : duties of sentinels, duties of outposts, duties of the reserve, duties of officers and duties of patrols. It also includes instruction for performing guard mount, grand rounds and challenges. I have also tossed in some instruction about forming companies which Hardee and Casey should have included in their manuals. (It also includes how to place the corporals from the only source I've encountered about same.)
Although this isn't a drill booklet, some manual of arms is necessary for things which we will be doing and which are often done incorrectly by even the authentic community. You'll find text and illustrations for support, present, port, and parade rest. Officers get some help with how to salute properly and not like a character from a Three Musketeers movie.
Going through many original texts really helped me understand what we will be doing at this event. I'm really looking forward to this event as the 2004 Picket Post was one of the best events I've done in the hobby. I hoping this one will be even better. This booklet is me sharing some fundament concepts and some kewl stuff I've found. I could easily have made my booklet twice its current size, but not too many people would read, let alone use, such a ponderous document. Enjoy.
[NOTE FROM 2019 : Follow this link for the attachment rather than using the attachment at the bottom of this thread : http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...ostRegular.pdf There is a minor formatting error in the original which I corrected and noted a litte farther down in this thread from 2016. - Silas]
I have another booklet available which is much wider in scope than this new booklet. That one covered police guards, pickets, camps and marches. This new booklet has a much narrower focus. It only covers advanced guards aka pickets, but does such in much greater detail than my other booklet.
The idea for this new booklet derives from information provided by Sam Cathey for a Southern Guard Picket Post I attended back in 2004. He gathered information, boiled it down and simplified it. You can view his information here as it is still online :
I thought it was pretty good, but like original text and the ability to go back to the source to view the context of the text. So, what I did was go back to Sam's document and found the original sources for his work. When I thought the original text made more sense than his simplified text, I used original. In reviewing the original sources, I found some other great stuff which seemed like a good idea to add. I also went beyond the sources he used because so many good things are more readily available now than they were in 2004.
A real problem with the original texts is than every author seemed to like his system better than other systems. Generally, they are all very similar. Frequently, they use different names to describe the same duties. Another confusion is using the same names for different duties. What I did was use the most common set of terms then changed the original text to reflect the common use.
For example, the most commonly used terms for the outmost lines are sentinels, outposts and reserve. Sometimes the outmost line was called pickets. The next line supports. The next line grand guards and behind them could be a body called pickets. Going from one source to another gets very confusing.
I kept sentinels, outposts and reserve which are the terms we will use for Picket Post. I changed the original text to reflect these changes, but I left a citation in my text so the reader could easily locate the original text if needed. I made the changes so that participants will use the same terms without confusing other participants. Because people don't always read this stuff, I included some period illustrations which show these concepts.
After a general introduction, highlighted areas included : duties of sentinels, duties of outposts, duties of the reserve, duties of officers and duties of patrols. It also includes instruction for performing guard mount, grand rounds and challenges. I have also tossed in some instruction about forming companies which Hardee and Casey should have included in their manuals. (It also includes how to place the corporals from the only source I've encountered about same.)
Although this isn't a drill booklet, some manual of arms is necessary for things which we will be doing and which are often done incorrectly by even the authentic community. You'll find text and illustrations for support, present, port, and parade rest. Officers get some help with how to salute properly and not like a character from a Three Musketeers movie.
Going through many original texts really helped me understand what we will be doing at this event. I'm really looking forward to this event as the 2004 Picket Post was one of the best events I've done in the hobby. I hoping this one will be even better. This booklet is me sharing some fundament concepts and some kewl stuff I've found. I could easily have made my booklet twice its current size, but not too many people would read, let alone use, such a ponderous document. Enjoy.
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