|
By Abel Land  As promised, this is the next dispatch in the series, looking at how the serjeants would formulate the basic training of the recruit during the current war in America. Last week the content was on the foundation position for the recruit without arms; this week, the topic will be on how to stand at ease as explained in the Rules and Regulations 1807.
I would at this time like to backtrack a bit and thank one person who has helped me research and look critically at period manuals, along with clarification on some terms. This person puts his heart and soul into the knowledge of the late 18th and 19th-century foot drill — Ewan Wardle program development officer at Fort York National Historic Site in Toronto, Ontario. Thanks for your dedication to further our knowledge of historic military exercises. First, I would like to share a note on why serjeants need to go back once and a while and look at the manuals. When I took up the King’s shilling back in around 1807, how we were standing at ease was described as boxing the feet with the right foot behind the left with the hollow in against the heal of the left foot, the left foot not to move because it sets the dressing. But as we will see only some of this in the contemporary manuals. The Rules and Regulations 1807 does have the left foot stand fast, and the right foot move, but to a different position. Stand at ease is explained in part one, section two. “On the words Stand at Ease, the right foot is to be drawn back about six inches, and the greatest part of the weight of the body brought upon it; the left knee a little bent; the hands brought together before the body; but the shoulders to be kept back and square; the head to the front, and the whole attitude without constraint.” (Rules and Regulations 1807, 4) When reading this passage, it becomes apparent that the position of the feet is different than how I was taught. The manual has the right foot being drawn back about six inches with the weight of the body being placed upon it. Now, this is not that big of a deal, but it can show where going back and reading can help a recruit look more like he should. Let's now have a look at a couple of other manuals and see if this final position of the feet is the same. Looking back to the beginning of the conflict with the New French Republic, our government standardized the complexity and deviations made to the 1763 manual, by publishing the Rules and Regulations for the Formations, Field-Exercise, and Movements in 1792. In part one, on the position of the soldier, the description of the foot position for standing at ease is "the right foot to be drawn back about six inches." (Rules and Regulations 1792, 4) With the French Revolution coming to an end in 1802, revisions made to the 1792 manual of foot drill were published in the Instructions of Drill in 1804. The position of the soldier while standing at ease is “the right foot is to be drawn back about six inches"(Russell 1804, 35) same as in the 1807 Rules and regulations that we begun with. The previous manuals all describe the right foot drawing back about six inches, now is this the same after the conflict has ended? Let us take a look at the Treatise on the British Drill by Captain A. Suasso of the 55th regiment of foot. Where it describes that the stand at ease is to be conducted in the prescribed manner made in the Rules and Regulations, as follows is how the Treatise paraphrases; "On the words Stand at Ease, the right foot is to be drawn back about six inches."(Suasso 1816,13) The same can be seen in A System of Drill and Maneuvers, as practiced by the 52nd Light Infantry Battalion by Captain John Cross in 1823 with the “right foot to be drawn back about six inches.” (Cross 1823, 1) Now that all of you have had a good nap, I will let you get back to your companies and your responsibilities. Next week's dispatch will look at how to dress your sections. Your humble and obedient servant, Serjeant Abel Land, 41st Regiment of Foot winter garrison at Fort George, Upper Canada Cross, John. 1823. A System of Drill and Maneuvers, as Practised in the 53nd Light Infantry Regiment. London: W. Clowes, Northumberland-Court. Keith, James. 1803. The Soldier’s Assistant to the Manual and Platoon Exercise. London: J. Roach. [Image] Rules and Regulations for The Manual and Platoon Exercises, Formations, Field-Exercise, And Movements, of His Majesty’s Forces. For the Use of The Non-Commissioned Officers of The British Army. 1807. London: C. Roworth, Printer, Bell Yard, Temple Bar. Russell, John. 1804. Instructions for the Drill, and the Method of Performing the Eighteen Maneuvers. 3rd ed. London: C. Roworth, Printer, Bell Yard, Fleet Street. Suasso, A. 1816. Treatise on the British Drill and Exercise of the Company. 2nd ed. London: W. Clowes. The Manual and Platoon Exercises. 1792. Homer’s Head, Chaing-Cross: J. Walter.
0 Comments
By Abel Land  This is a new idea to help pass on the information acquired on foot drill of his Majesties forces during the North American conflict of 1812. Each Wednesday, there will be a new dispatch, including excerpts from the manuals employed to help train recruits.
This week's post is on the position of the soldier, not under arms. This starting post sets the foundation into which all foot drill is rooted. This first manual is the Rules and Regulations 1807, now the dates of for the conflict are 1812-15, why is a book published in 1807 crucial, the General Regulations and Orders from 1811, and 1815 both have this to say on the subject; “Every Serjeant of Cavalry and Infantry is required to have in his Possession a Copy of the Abstract of the Rules and Regulations for the Manual and Platoon Exercises; Formations, Field-Exercises, and Movements of His Majesty's Forces, which was printed for their Use, and issued, in the Month of January, 1807.” (Orders and Regulations 1811, 89) This manual should be the most common reference for all serjeants conducting foot drill, unless ordered differently, or future military historians in the 21st century where there will be multiple other sources to do research from. 1807 breaks the exercise down into three sections, the first is of the drill or instruction of the recruit, in 40 parts. The first section, which will be looked at over the next few posts, is on training without arms, beginning with the position of the soldier. “The equal squareness of the shoulders and body to the front is the first and great principle of the position of a soldier. The heels must be in a line, and closed. —The, knees straight without stiffness. —The toes a little turned out, so that the feet may form an angle of about 60 degrees. —Let the arms hang near the body, but not stiff, the flat part of the hand and little finger touching the thigh; the thumbs as far back as the seams of the breeches. —The elbows and shoulders to be kept back; the belly rather drawn in, and the breast advanced, but without constraint; the body upright, but inclining forward, so that the weighs of if principally bears on the forepart of the feet; the, head to be erect, and neither turned to the right nor left. The position in which a soldier should move, determines that in which he should standstill. Too many methods cannot be used to supple the recruit, and banish the air of the rustic. But that excess of setting up, which stiffens the person, and tends to throw the body backward instead of forward, is contrary to every true principle of movement, and must therefore be most carefully avoided.” (Rules and Regulations 1807, 3) Here in the Canadas, there should be no slacking of military discipline before or during the conflict. The Rules and regulations 1807 and the Rules and Regulations for the Formation, Exercise & Movements of the Militia of Lower-Canada published in 1812; have similarities in military discipline. The relatable section is entitled Squad Drill and reads “Position of the soldier. An equal squareness of the shoulders and body, to the front, is the first great principle; the heels must be in a line and closed; the knees straight without stiffness, and the toes a little turned out." (… the Militia of Lower-Canada 1812, 1) The third manual is from 1806, and is A Practical Guide for the Light Infantry Officer, by Capitan T. H. Cooper. This manual emits the nuances of the detailed description of how to individually fall in. But gives general observations of how to form an independent company and how to form a homogenized battalion. "When Light Infantry companies are in line with their battalions, they are to form, and act, in every respect, as a company of the battalion. Loose Files. When acting by themselves, and not in line, they may loosen their files six inches apart from each other.” (Copper 1806, 1) Continuing the topic of light infantry, the British realization that during the ongoing conflict in Europe against the Corsican upstart Napoleon Bonaparte, that the need to define and develop systems of light maneuvers is necessary. Either through the use of light infantry battalions or rifle troops. The progression to light drill seems not to have affected the firm upper lip of battalion drill, as seen in the next two manuals. The first is A System of Drill and Maneuvers, as practiced by the 52ed Light Infantry Battalion by Captain John Cross in 1823. “On the word "Attention," the arms are to be dropped smartly down the side, the right heal to be brought up in line with the left, and the knees straightened; the elbows slightly touching the body, the fingers straight, the thumb close to the fore-finger; the thumb, fore, and middle fingers in a small degree turned out, (in order to keep the elbows close to the body), the edge of the hand very slightly touching the thigh, and about two inches behind the seam of the trousers; the body is to be erect, but inclined a little forward, the head to be held up well, the chin kept in, the eyes off the ground, and the whole attitude without constraint.” (Cross 1823, 2) The 52ed Light Infantry Battalion in 1823 is conducting virtually the same system for the position of the soldier as the 1807 Rules and Regulations. For the rest of the standing army in 1824 Field Exercise and Evolution of the Army, the passage on the position of the soldier reads with remote grammatical differences with the 1807 manual. I hope this dispatch reaches all the unit in good standing after the Christmas season. The next post will follow in half a fortnight. Happy reading privates… if you can, Your humble and obedient servant, Serjeant Abel Land, 41st Regiment of Foot winter garrison at Fort George, Upper Canada Sources: Cross, John. 1823. A System of Drill and Maneuvers, as Practised in the 53nd Light Infantry Regiment. London: W. Clowes, Northumberland-Court. General Regulations and Orders for the Army. 1811. London: W. Clowes. General Regulations and Orders for the Army. ———. 1815. 2ed ed. London: W. Clowes, Northumberland-Court. Rules and Regulations for the Formation, Exercise & Movements of the Militia of Lower-Canada. 1812. Quebec: The new Printing Office. Rules and Regulations for The Manual and Platoon Exercises, Formations, Field-Exercise, And Movements, of His Majesty’s Forces. For the Use of The Non-Commissioned Officers of The British Army. 1807. London: C. Roworth, Printer, Bell Yard, Temple Bar. T.H., Cooper. 1806. A Practical Guide for the Light Infantry Officer. London: Robert Wilks.  By Tom Fournier
Whenever I hear the adage “if he did not have bad luck, he would have no luck at all”, I think of Porter Hanks. Lieutenant Porter Hanks is most often known as the American Officer who surrendered Fort Mackinac to an attacking British force representing one of the first land actions associated with the War of 1812.  Medicine Chest By Tom Fournier
My knowledge or interests do not naturally align with science or medicine but I could not resist this list of medical supplies that come from the Messages and Letters of William Henry Harrison; Volume 2 Part 2. Harrison was governor of the Indiana Territory and led the American military forces at the victories at Tippecanoe (1811) and Moraviantown (1813). He had command of Fort Meigs in Ohio in 1813. To my thinking, medical knowledge was at a strange crossroads at this time. Knowledge of anatomy had become quite advanced but the understanding of how it all worked still fell to a notion that the body had an ideal equilibrium and to solve for an illness or disruption meant restoring that equilibrium. Treatments such as bleeding, purging or blistering were still common. Equilibrium could be restored by releasing things like blood, urine, stool or perspiration. The body had four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile) and too much or too little of any of these humours would result in illness. Bored Officers, An Afternoon of Whisky and a Deserter on the Loose in Detroit. What Could Go Wrong?4/14/2019  Detroit 1812 from the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library By Tom Fournier
This incident has fascinated me for some time. It happened in 1805 in Detroit involving Officers of the British Army (41st Regiment) and the U.S. Army. By way of some background, Officers from the British and American armies stationed in remote outposts with limited society, were there to observe each other, but they would often end up taking advantage of their common background and experiences to develop friendships and a culture of visiting. The British had a policy of rounding up and returning American deserters to the U.S. Army. They asked for reciprocal actions or support from the Americans. For the Americans, this proved more difficult in or near American communities as their citizens were protective of British deserters seeking liberty and a new life in the United States.  By Tom Fournier
One of my favourite books is “This Was Montreal in 1814, 1815, 1816 & 1817” by Lawrence M. Wilson. It is simply a number of excerpts from the Montreal Herald that gives insights as to what life in Montreal might have been like during the Regency era. I particularly like the “society pages” type descriptions of the balls. Two of these I will share in this article.  By Tom Fournier
March 11, 1719 represents the founding of the 41st/Welch Regiment, one of the key lineages in the current Royal Welsh. This blog looks at the evolutions, integrations and amalgamations as well as some key highlights along their history.  Invalid Regiment by David Morier On March 13, 1719 we have the founding of Colonel Edmund Fielding’s Regiment of Invalids. They formed from out pensioners from the Royal Hospital at Chelsea. This was the humble beginnings for the 41st Regiment of Foot (which would go on to become the Welch Regiment, then the Royal Welsh Regiment and ultimately the Royal Welsh).
 By Tom Fournier
Oh, the gems you come across when doing research! I believe most of us realize that the average British soldier was not a choirboy. They were volunteers from the most poor and downtrodden. They may have volunteered to escape the prospects of a domestic situation that they did not like. They were also forced conscripts from the judicial system; rather than face transportation to a penal colony or other punishment, a life in the army was offered as an alternative. The Duke of Wellington was purported to say,” I don't know if they frighten the enemy, but they scare the hell out of me."  By Tom Fournier
Some years ago, I had the good fortune to do some work at the National Archives (Public Records Office) in Kew (London) during a visit to the U.K. As I was going through the casualty returns for the 41st Regiment during their time in Canada, I noticed for some of the early years there were also included statements of debts for some of the individuals that died along with the corresponding credits (outstanding pay and the results of the sale of their personal necessaries). I thought it an interesting perspective to see what some of these individuals had as personal items. Interesting, yes. Fascinating insights, certainly. And unexpectedly, sad. Their life, all their worldly possessions summed up in a little chit, haphazardly stuck between the pages of a casualty return. Here are several of them: |