A Regiment marshal'd in one Division orders the Colonels Company to draw up on the right hand next to that the Majors thirdly the second Captains fourthly the fourth Captains fifthly the sixth Captains sixthly the seventh Captains seventhly the fifth Captains eighthly the third Captains ninthly the oldest Captain and lastly the Lieutenant-Colonels Company I know some would have the Majors Company to be where I have plac'd the youngest Captains because they think next to the Van and the Reer the middle is the most honourable place But if they take heed they will find it is not so with a middle Company as with a middle man in a file who upon doubling the front by half files becomes a Leader Besides no Company can properly be said to be in the middle of a Regiment unless the Regiment consist of odd Companies which seldom or never is practised for draw up a Regiment of ten Companies in one front the sixth Company which is accounted the middle one or the Company in the middle of the Regiment is not so for it hath five Companies on its right hand and but four on its left Now my reason for Reasons for the manner of it drawing up the Companies in that order whereof I have spoken is this The right hand or the Van is the most honourable place and next to it the left hand or reer Now the honour comes from danger which is for most part expected from the Van or the Reer and hence it will follow that the nearer a Captain and his Company are the danger the more honourable place they have and therefore the nearer they are to the Van and the Reer the more honourable place they have If then the Regiment be attackâ— in the Van where most danger is expected the Majors Company is by much nearer the danger when it is marshal'd next to the Colonels than if it were drawn up about the middle of the Regiment and consequently is in the more honourable place by this same reason the oldest Captain is to be nearest the Lieutenant-Colonel who hath the second place of honour for if the Reer be attackt the Lieutenant Colonel is nearest the danger and next him the first Captain by this same rule of proportion the second Captain is next to the Major it being fit since the first Captain hath the second place of dignity in the Reer that the second Captain have the third place in the Van. And if this rule hold as I hope it will the third Captains Company must be drawn up on the oldest Captains right hand that so he may have the third place from the Reer as the second Captain had the third place from the Van. And to make short I place the fourth Captain in the fourth place from the Van and the fifth Captain in the fourth place from the Reer the sixth Captain in the fifth place from the Van and the seventh and last Captain in the fifth place from the Reer Now because an Enemy is sooner expected in the Van than in the Reer the Van is more honourable than the Reer and therefore I marshal the last Captain in or near the middle of the Regiment where being furthest from danger either in Van or Reer he obtains the place of least dignity for though all places are honourable yet some are more honourable than others I marshal then a Regiment of ten Companies drawn up in one Division thus Order of a Regiment in one Batallion Colonel Major Second Captain Fourth Captain Sixth Captain Seventh Captain Fifth Captain Third Captain First Captain Lieutenant-Colonel The Companies standing in this order the Major will have but little trouble How to put them in one Body to Body them one of two ways First he may command all the Pikes to advance twenty or twenty four paces and there join them then let him cause the Musqueteers of the five Companies on the right to advance to the right hand of the Pikes and the Musqueteers of the five Companies on the left hand to march up to the left hand of the Pikes and so his work is done Secondly if he have no other ground than that he stands on he is to command the Pikemen to march thorough the files of the Musqueteers by the right and left hand till they meet in one Body in the middle the Musqueteers being likewise order'd to march by both hands to their due distances so that this motion is a Chorean Countermarch of files This may be done with much ease and a few words if the Major please but some have the vanity to make themselves and their Soldiers more business than they need by crying this and that riding here and there making work to themselves and sometimes sport to the Beholders If the Major be order'd to marshal the Regiment in two Divisions he may do To marshal a Regiment of ten Companies in two Batallions it thus The Colonels Company being to have the right hand of the first division and the Lieutenant-Colonels of the second Division he ought to place the other Companies according to their Dignities and these are the Majors Company in the Reer of the first Division and the first Captains in the Reer of the second Division the second Captain next to the Colonel in the first Division the third Captain next to the Lieutenant-Colonel in the second Division the fourth Captain on the right hand of the Major in the first Division and the fifth Captain on the right hand of the oldest Captain in the second Division the sixth Captain next to the second Captain in the first Division and the seventh and last Captain next to the third Captain in the second Division The ten Companies of a Regiment then drawn up in two distinct Batallions are in this order Order of ten Companies in two Divisions First Division Second Division Colonel Lieutenant-Colonel Second Captain Third Captain Sixth Captain Seventh Captain Fourth Captain Fifth Captain Major First Captain My reason for this is because the Regiment being now divided into two Bodies or Batallions the two Reers are next in dignity to the two Vans and those that are nearest to the two Reers are next in honour to those who are nearest to the two Vans for this reason I place the sixth Captain just in the middle of the Reasons for that order first Division as furthest from danger of either Van or Reer of that Division having two Companies before him and two behind him or two on each hand of him And I place the last Captains Company in the middle of the second Division as the place of least dignity and that belongs to him all other Captains having the Precedency of him The Pikes of the first and second Divisions are in the middle of their several Batallions and the Musqueteers of the five Companies of each Body equally divided on both hands of the several Bodies of the Pikes which is done in that same way as when the Regiment
was marshal'd in one Division I know some are of opinion that the Majors Company should be in the Reer Objection against that way of marshalling of the Lieutenant-Colonels Division because the third place of honour in the Regiment belongs to him and the Colonel having the Van of the first Division and the Lieutenant-Colonel of the second the Major should have the Reer of the second Division because it is the Reer of the whole Regiment I should easily subscribe to this if it were not for two reasons First though it be but Answered one Regiment yet being divided it should be lookt on as two distinct Bodies and it is more honourable to have the Reer of the first than of the last Secondly when a Regiment is divided into two parts the Major ought to wait and lodg at the quarter of that Division of the Regiment where the Colonel is because from him he receives his Orders Directions and the Word which he is not oblig'd to carry to the Lieutenant-Colonel if the quarters of the two Divisions be divided as many times they are but the oldest Captain is obliged to come and receive them from the Major at the Colonels Quarter the first Captain in that case officiating as Major for the Lieutenant-Colonels Batallion Now if the Major ought to be where the Colonel is as I think he should then I think the Majors Company should be where himself is The Great Gustavus used another way of marshalling his Regiments and Brigades of Foot which taken altogether was not square of front yet all the four parts or Bodies which composed it were square The manner was this Regiment or Brigade marshal'd a third way Suppose one of his Brigades to be eighteen hundred men as I can assure you he had many weaker whereof twelve hundred were Musqueteers and six hundred were Pikemen the Pikes advanced twenty paces before the two Bodies of Musqueteers who immediately join'd to fill up the void place the Pikemen had possest Then were the Pikes divided into three equal Bodies two hundred to each Batallion the middle Body whereof advanced before the other two so far that its Reer might be about ten paces before the Van of the other two The two Bodies of Pikes that staid behind were order'd to open a little to both hands and then stand still all fronting one way to the Enemy by this means the place which the two hundred Pikes possest in the middle remaining void there were two passages like sally-ports between the Reer of the advanced Body of Pikes and the two Batallions that staid behind out of one whereof on the right hand issued constantly one or two or more hundreds of Musqueteers who before all the three Bodies of Pikes gave incessantly fire on the Enemy and when the word or sign for a Retreat was given they retir'd by the other passage on the left hand back to the great Body of Musqueteers where so many of them as came back unwounded were presently put in rank and file the fire continuing without intermission by Musqueteers who still sallied thorough the passage on the right hand and it is to be observed that the firemen fought thus in small Bodies each of them not above five files of Musqueteers and these for most part but three deep So you may consider that near the third part of the Musqueteers being on service the other two thirds were securely shelter'd behind the three Batallions of Pikemen who were to be compleatly arm'd for the defensive These Pikes had Field pieces with them which fir'd as oft as they could as well as the Musqueteers this continued till the Pikemen came to push of Pike with the Enemy if both parties staid so long as seldom they did and then the Musqueteers were to do what they were order'd to do and the order did depend on emergencies and accidents which as they could not be then seen so no certain rules could be given for them In this order did I see all the Swedish Brigades drawn up for one year after the Kings death but after that time I saw it wear out when Defensive Arms first and then Pikes came Worn out to be neglected and by some vilipended For the March of a Regiment if it can all march in one breast it should The March of a Regiment do so but if not and if the ground permit it let the right hand of Musqueteers march in breast next it the Body of Pikes and after it the left wing of Musqueteers But if none of these can be then as many should march in one petty Division as the way can permit as suppose twelve eight or ten and so soon as you come to open ground you are to march presently in Squadrons or as they are now called Squads or in full Battel that is the Regiment all in one front for by that means your Soldiers are readiest to receive an Enemy they march in a more comely order and straggle far less than when they march few in breast and in a long row The Major appoints Captains Lieutenants and Ensigns to lead Divisions and Serjeants to attend the flanks every one according to their dignities but for my own part I never thought it convenient much less necessary that every small Division of a Regiment should have a Bringer up since he must be as some will have it a Commission'd Officer as well as the Leader of a Division should be For first consider that in a Regiment of one thousand strong there are an hundred sixty and six files and admit that the way will permit eight files to march in breast as that falls not always out by that account you shall have one and twenty Divisions consisting of eight Files apiece multiply twenty one by eight the Product is a hundred and Reasons why every petty Division cannot have a Bringer up sixty eight Files which consists of a thousand and eight men eight more than the number Reckon again how many Commission'd Officers you have in ten Companies besides the three Field-Officers you shall have but twenty nine now of these twenty one must be allow'd to lead the Divisions and by that account you have but nine Officers to bring up so you want thirteen Commission'd Officers for that imployment for Serjeants should neither be permitted to lead or bring up but in case of necessity their duty being to attend the flanks Besides all Commission'd Officers are not always present some frequently being either sick wounded or absent on furloff It will be enough therefore if all these petty Divisions be led by Commission'd Officers which yet cannot be unless you allow some Ensign-bearers to stay from their 〈…〉 ours and by this means you may spare six foot of ground between two Divisions for those who will allow Bringers up allow eighteen foot between two Divisions to wit six foot between the Reer of the first Division and him that brings it up secondly six foot between
hinder either Prince or State to appoint the depth of their Batallions to be twelve ten eight or six deep as they think fit though by some of them the Bodies cannot be subdivided till they come to one File or one Rank for it was never seen nor do I fansie it can be imagin'd that ever such an emergency of War will fall out that can move a General unless he be to File his Army along a very narrow Bridge or a very narrow way to marshal all his Foot either in one Rank or one File So I conceive the first reason is no reason at all A second Reason is In time of Action an Enemy may charge the Second reason for 16 deep Rear to rencounter whom the Dimaritâ— or Middle-men are commanded with the Half-Files that follow them to face about but without countermarch and sustain the charge By the way observe that in such an occasion the Bringer up or Rear-man hath the command of the Half-File and consequently of the Dimarite or Middle-man himself to whom Aelian gave it before But to the reason it self I give two answers First a Reserve which Aelians Phalange admits not would prevent that danger Secondly I say if they were but twelve in File nay but ten in File they might withstand Answered the charge of an Enemy in both Van and Rear as well as being sixteen deep which I make appear out of Aelian himself thus The Grecian Pikes were all eighteen Foot long except the Macedonians which were twenty one We shall speak of the longest Next Aelian allows one foot and a half of distance between Ranks when they fought which distance he or his Interpreter calls Constipatio Thirdly the same Author allows three foot of the Pikes length for his hands who presents it These grounds being laid which are the Authors own I say that only four Ranks of the Grecian Pikes and five of the Macedonian could do an Enemy any hurt and but hardly so either because between five Ranks there are four distances and for those you are to allow six foot at Aelians account of closest distance next you are by his rule likewise to allow fifteen foot of the Pikes of the fifth Rank to be abated from their length which fifteen being added to six make one and twenty for three foot of the Pikes length of the first Rank being allowed for their hands who hold them you must of necessity grant the like proportion for the rest And so the Macedonian Sarissa did not much advance its point from the fifth Rank beyond the first Rank and therefore the rest behind these five Ranks seem useless But an Enemy attacks the Rear to oppose whom let five Ranks face about and present for if five be sufficient to resist the shock in the Van certainly five may do the same in the Rear And if you will consider it well you will think the points of the Pikes of five Ranks sufficient to give or receive a charge if all the Files be â—err'd together as the Grecians were and as all should be that no interval be given an Enemy to enter between them If then ten Ranks were enough to resist an Enemy in Front and Rear I presume the other six might have been dispos'd of two ways first they might have been bestow'd on the Front and so have extended it to a far greater length which would have brought more hands to fight and not only sav'd the Phalange from being out-wing'd but have put it in a capacity to out-wing the Enemy Secondly these six Ranks might very advantagiously have compos'd a Body apart in the Rear and that should have been a Reserve and then no danger of an Enemy to have troubled the Battel behind But I am afraid you may think I am making up a Grecian Militia of my own unknown to the famous Warriours of that renowned Nation I shall tell you truly and ingenuously my quarrel is only with Aelian because he hath not told us so much as he knew and so much as he was oblig'd to tell us which in this particular is that I am now to tell you and it consists in two things one that Phalanges were not always sixteen deep and secondly that they wanted not always Reserves To prove both be pleased to take the following Instances At Deâ—â—s when the Athenians fought with the Thebans and other Boeotians the Phalanges were all of them eight dâ—â—p and all Phalanges eight deep of them had Reserves At Leuctra Epaminondas his Foot Batallions were all marshall'd in eight Ranks At Siracusa when the Athenian General Niciaâ— was to fight he plac'd his Auxiliaries in the two Wings his Athenians he divided into two great Bodies the half whereof he marshall'd in the Battel between the two Wings the other half he plac'd behind at a distance with And had Reserves command to succour either the Wings or the Battel as they saw them or any of them stand in need of their help and this was a perfect Reserve And observe that his Wings Battel and Reserve were all marshall'd eight deep Take Thucydides a noble Historian and a good Captain for my Author But you will say these were not Macedonian Phalanges true but they were Grecian ones though and the Commanders of them without all peradventure did well enough foresee in what danger their Phalanges of eight deep might be by a sudden charge of an Enemy in the Rear which no question they would have oppos'd by making the last four Ranks face about if their Reserves serv'd not their turn neither could the fourth Rank extend its Pikes being three foot shorter than the Macedonian ones much beyond the first Rank But to take the Objection more fully let us come nearer and view the Great Alexanders Army at Arbela and we shall see he was not at all limited by Aelians rules of a Macedonian Phalange though by it they say he conquer'd the Persian Monarchy Sir Walter Raleigh saith right that in this place Alexander drew up his Forces so that they fac'd to Van Rear and both Flanks but this is not to be understood so that he made his heavy armed Phalange front four several ways for then it should have been immovable and only apt to resist but not to advance which had been both against the intentions of that brave Prince and his actions of that day for he charg'd the Persian Batallions both with his Horse and Foot But the meaning must be that he order'd some Horse and Foot at a distance from his main Battel to face to the Rear for preventing any misfortune there and the like he did on both his Flanks but all these when his main Battel mov'd fac'd to the Van and advanced with it and when it stood they took up their former distances and fac'd as they were appointed And all this was done lest his Army small in comparison of that with Darius should be surrounded If the Army he was afraid to
be out-wing'd as assuredly he was it will easily be granted Alexander at Arbela but eight deep that the more ground he took up in Front the less subject he was to that danger And this Curtius confirms when he tells us that the Commanders of the several Bodies had orders given them to extend their Batallions as far in length as without eminent danger they might lest saith the same Author they should be environ'd I conceive then it cannot be doubted but Alexander studying how to make as large a Front as feasibly he might against so numerous an Enemy he made his heavy arm'd Foot Phalange but eight deep as that which suited best with his present affairs and as he had seen other Grecian Captains do before him for by that means he made himself master of twice as much ground as he had when it was marshall'd sixteen in File That he had Reserves is most clear both from Curtius and others for Nicanor follow'd the Phalange with the Argyraspides or Silver Shields and these were heavy armed observe it and Cenos with a Band of men which And had Reserves saith Curtius was appointed note this to be a Relief Then Horestes Lincerta Polycarpon and Philagus all with several Bodies follow'd the Phalanx And that all these were Reserves Aelian himself nor any for him will not be so impudent as to deny But I shall speak more of the marshalling this Army in the Chapter following the next I come now to the third Reason which is pretended for sixteen deep of Third reason for 16 deep the heavy armed Phalange And it is this Though the Pikes of all those Ranks that stand behind the fifth or if you will the sixth be useless in regard they can reach but little or nothing beyond the File leader and you will remember these Ranks are not fewer than ten if not eleven yet being at close order with their Pikes advanc'd they bear forward with the weight and force of their Bodies those five or six Ranks that are before them and so make the Impression the greater and stronger they take all occasion of flight from them and impose a necessity on them to overcome or dye I answer first that this pretended advantage if it was any at all was very oft dear Answered bought Secondly I say five Ranks having their Pikes presented to the Enemy three Ranks behind them might have serv'd sufficiently to bear forward the five before them or if Aelian thought six Ranks might present all their Pikes with advantage then let four Ranks be allowed behind them to bear them forward to the charge and hinder them to fly and this will make in all but ten Ranks and so still six Ranks might have been disposed of either to enlarge the Front or make a Body in the Rear for a Reserve And thirdly I say when Aelian's six formost Ranks were busie in fight the ten behind them who were to bear those six forward were at their closest distance which he calls constipation and so not able to open very suddenly and face about in so good order and so soon as was requisite to receive or beat back the charge of an unexpected Enemy For certainly they must first have open'd backward and then fac'd about both which must have been done by the command of some of their Officers probably the Lieutenant and it is well enough known how confusion and disorder which seldome fails to attend such occasions stops the ears and dulls the judgement of Souldiers that they can neither hear nor understand the words of Command aright I will fetch two instances from History and those I believe will prove all I have said and clear this whole matter pretty well At the Battel of Cynocephalae or Dogs heads fought by Philip the last King Battel of Cinocephalae of Macedon except one against Titus Flaminius a Roman Consul the half of Philips heavy armed Phalange on the right hand bore down all before it and trod over the Legions gaining ground so far that the Macedonian thought the day his own But Flaminius having observ'd that the left Wing of the Phalange could not draw up in any close order because of the unevenness and knottiness of the Mountain whose little hillocks represented the heads of Dogs sent a Tribune with a Legion and some Elephants up the Hill to charge that Left Wing which he smartly doing easily routed it and immediately fell on the Rear of the victorious Right wing and without opposition cut it in pieces Now if the Left Wing of the Phalange which had no convenient ground whereon to draw up had plac'd it self on the top of the Hill at a distance behind the Right Wing as a Reserve the Romans durst never have hazarded to have come between them or if the last ten Ranks of the Right Wing who serv'd for nothing but to bear forward the other six Ranks had fac'd about according to Aelians rule they could not so easily have been broken But the close posture or constipation of these last ten Ranks to bear forward the formost six Ranks made them uncapable to do that quickly which the present necessity required or else the sudden charge of an unlook'd for Enemy did so appal them that they knew not what they were doing nor who commanded or who obeyed which as I have said frequently falls out in such cases So this Phalanx cast in Aelian's Macedonian mould cost King Philip very dear but another modell'd after the same fashion cost his Son Perseus much dearer At Pidna a Town of Macedon King Perseus fought with Lucius Aemilius Battei of Pidna a Roman Consul and the ground for his Phalange being as good as his own heart could wish the Roman Legions were not able to resist its furious charge but gave ground in several places insomuch that the Consul seeing Fortune look with so grim a countenance upon him began to despair of the Victory and to tear his Coat of Arms but being of a ready judgement he quickly espied his advantage for he saw the Phalange open its constipation some small Bodies of it pursuing those who gave ground and others fighting loosely with those of his Romans who made stouter opposition and therefore order'd some of his Legionaries to fall into those void and empty places of the several Phalangarchies and these getting entrance at those intervals came upon the sides of the Macedonian Pike-men and so without much trouble made most of them dye on the place If but a third nay a fourth or fifth part of this Phalange had been standing at a convenient distance in Reserve ready to have charg'd the weary and disorder'd Legions will any man doubt but that in all humane probability Perseus had been Master of the Field But the want of that lost him in the twinkling of an eye his Wife and Children his Kingdom his Riches which he lov'd too well his Honour and at last his Life The Defect then of
he speaks there of Macedonian and Persian Warriours and is confuting Calisthenes his History of the Battel of Issus between Alexander and Daâ—ius as I noted before Achilles Terduzzi imagines the Roman Foot to have been twelve in File but that was to make good his conjecture of the quantity of ground a Consular Army took up whereof I may chance to speak hereafter But the common opinion carries me along with it that both the Roman Horse and Foot ordinarily were Roman Horse and Foot teâ— deep marshall'd ten in File but upon emergencies Generals might alter it though I confess the strong reason for it to me seems very weak which is that the Leader of the Horse was called Decurio and he of the File of Foot Decâ—nus for this last is appropriated to other Offices and the first by Aelian's Translator is given to the Leader of a Macedonian File which consisted of sixteen But this supposition as probable we must make the basis or ground on which to build our most probable conjectures of the Intervals of several Bodies and Classes in which both our Authors give us small assistance yet I shall give you all I can pick out of them or others on that Subject When Polybius in his twelfth Book told us that for most part Horse-men were ranged eight deep meaning I think the Persian Horse he subjoins that there must be an Interval between several Troops but what that Interval was he forgot to tell us It is pity he who knew things so well should needlessly have kept them up from us as secrets the reason he gives for an Interval between two Troops doth not weigh much because saith he they Intervals between Troops must have ground for conversion that is to face to either Right or Left hand or by any of them to the Rear If any of these be needful whole Squadrons of four six or eight Troops joyn'd together may do it as easily and conveniently as single Troops which consist of three or four Files at most But conversions on that same ground are seldome necessary never convenient But being left to guess how many foot of Interval Troops ten deep Conjectured required one from another I conjecture eight Foot which I ground on that the same Polybius saith in that same twelfth Book which is that a Stadium or Furlong contain'd eight hundred Horse drawn up in Battel Then I say First a Stadium is the eighth part of an Italian mile one hundred twenty five paces six hundred twenty five Foot Secondly eight hundred Horse being at our Authors rate eight in File are one hundred in Front Thirdly For every Horse-man to stand on Horse back and room to handle his Arms I allow with others four foot of ground and so for one hundred Horses four hundred Foot Fourthly According to Polybius and I suppose the Out of Polybius Roman rule the eight hundred Horse must be divided into several Troops and in each of them but thirty Riders so there will be twenty â—â—x compleat Troops and twenty Horse-men for the twenty seventh Troop Fifthly Twenty seven Troops require twenty six Intervals Now allow with Polybius a Stadiâ—m for eight hundred Horse-men that is for one hundred in Front and for these hundred allow with me four hundred Foot for the Horsemen to stand on you will have of six hundred twenty five foot of ground for your twenty six Intervals two hundred and seventeen foot and that will be eight foot and near one half for every Interval So my opinion is if I understand Polybius right that the Interval between two single Troops was about eight foot But let us fancy the Roman Horse to have been ten in File and so every Troop only three in Front for so I probably think they were and let uâ— remember that in every Consular Army there were twenty Roman Troops and forty of the Allies in all sixty Fancy those sixty Troops drawn up in one Field upon one of the Wings of the Army as several times all the Cavalry was marshall'd on one Wing they must have fifty nine Intervals Next remember that sixty Troops at thirty in a Troop were compos'd of eighteen hundred Too many Intervals Riders these drawn up ten in File made one hundred and eighty Leadders allow to every one of these four foot that will amount to seven hundred and twenty foot then for fifty nine Intervals which according to Polybius sixty Troops must have you are to allow four hundred seventy two foot at eight foot for each Interval I suppose still that which I can scarcely believe of so many Intervals but add four hundred seventy two foot to seven hundred and twenty the aggregate will be eleven hundred ninety two foot How these sixty Troops marshall'd so thin so few in Front with so many Intervals could stand out the brisk and furious charge of a numerous and couragious Enemy is beyond my fancy unless they have been interlin'd with well-armed Foot As to the Distances between Bodies of Foot Polybius in the twelâ—th Book Overâ—ight in Polybius so often cited allows expresly six foot between Files but he is to be understood in that place of the Macedonian Phalanx confâ—ting the impertinent relation of Calisthenes but he speaks not there or elsewhere oâ— distance between Roman Files And yet here is an inadvertency in that great man as we shall see another immediately in Vegetius of the same nature Polybius allows six thousand foot of ground for the Front or Longitude of sixteen thousand men sixteen deep and so we have one thousand Files between every one of the Files he allowâ— six foot of distance so the distances do compleatly take up his six thousand Foot and so no ground is allow'd to stand on to which if he had adverted he would have allow'd one foot to each man whereon to stand and consequently seven thousand foot for one thousand Files in Front But I shall not question the six foot of distance between Files being I have told you in the Grecian Militia that much was necessary for their Pike-men between Ranks on their march though not between Files and that in standing in Battel they used Densatio three foot of distance and in fight Constipaâ—â—â— one foot and a half Vegetius is more inexcusable than Polybius for he allows for the Ranks one foot Two in Vegetius of ground to stand on in these words Singuli Bellatâ—res stantes singulos obtinent pedes Every Combatant says he takes up one foot of ground But that he allows none for them to stand on when he speaks of Files I prove thus In the fourteenth Chapter of his third Book he allows three foot of distance between Files and in the next place saith that ten thousand men marshall'd The first in distance of Files six deep made a Front of sixteen hundred sixty six and so it doth with a fraction only of four hitherto he is very right but concludes very
Alarm place were lodged the Extraordinaries Extraordinaries of both the Cavalry and Infantry of the Allies for the quarters of their Horse eighty foot in breadth and a hundred sixty seven in length were allowed and for their Fooâ— two hundred foot in length and seventy in breadth Within the Extraordinaries of the Horse was the Market-place which they called Forum Without the Foot of the Extraordinaries and next them was the place of arms or the Alarm-place and this was of one equal breadth in all Alarm-place the four quarters of the Camp to wit two hundred Foot kept yet in our Modern Castrametations Next to this place of arms was the Rampart and that Port which was called Pâ—rta Prâ—tâ—riana the Prâ—tâ—rian Port. Now though the Prâ—torian Port. Roman Consul by this account was not in the middle of his Army as Xenophon would have all Generals to be yet Lipsius thinks it enough that he was in medio Ducum in the middle of his Captains I know not why this was enough but let us see how Behind the Prâ—tor â—â—n on the right hand of it were the Tents of the six Tribunes of the first Roman Legion and upon their right hand the Tents of the six Praefecti of the Allies on the left hand of the Praetorium at some distance behind it were the Tents of the six Roman Tribunes of the second Legion and Tribunes and Praesecti on their left hand the six Praefecti of the second Legion of the Allies were quartered The Sieur de Preissac and his Translator Captain Crusâ— in their delineation of the Roman Camp place the Tents of all the twelve Tribunes and twelve Praefecti as Lipsius doth in his first figure which himself found subject to censure and therefore helpt it in the next Page In the first he makes the left hand Tribune of the first Legion and the right hand Tribune of the second Roman Legion to place their Tents close behind the Praetorium and by that means they took away the mutual prospect of the Consul from his Legions who were quartered behind him and of the Legions from the Consuls Pavilion which was pitcht before them This Preissac did also but Lipsâ—â—â— helped and mended his by â—eaving the Praetorium visible to all quarters and this Preissuck was bound to do likewise but he did it not Besides this error Preissack allows a hundred and fifty foot-square for every Tribunes Tent whereas Polybius allows but fifty and allows enough when he doth so this I conceive to be the Printers fault whereof I thought fit to acquaint the Siâ—â— de Preissacks Reader So you see that the twelve Tents of the Roman Tribunes and the twelve Tents of the Praefecti of the Allies took up twelve hundred foot of ground square fifty foot square being allowed to each of them Observe here that Polybius tells us not at all where or in what place of the Camp the Allies Prâ—fecti lodged and this gives just cause to Lipsius to complain of his carelesness in this point which Lipsâ—â—â— himself hath very well supply'd in quartering them where they should be that is in the front of their Legions as the Roman Tribunes were placed by Polybiâ—â— in the front of theirs as I have told you and in imitation of Lipsâ—â—s Prâ—issâ—ck and Tâ—rduzzi quarter them just so This is all I have to say concerning the Castrametation of the Superior or upper part of the Roman Camp And so I come to the lower one Below the Tents of the Tribunes there was a Street which traversed the Inferior part of the Camp whole breadth of the Camp and divided the superior part of it from that inferior one which I am now to describe This Street was a hundred foot broad and was called Via Principalis the principal Street whether it had that name because Via Principalis it was near the Consuls Pavilion the Tribunes Tents and the Eagles or because if the Camp was of any long continuance they erected their Altars in that Street is no great matter This Street was intersected by another which did run the whole length of the Camp from the Decuman Port to the Praetorian one This Lane divided the right hand Roman Legion from the left hand one and consequently had on each side of it the half of the Consular Army On the right side of it were quartered the Horse and Foot belonging to the first Roman Legion and on the right hand of that Legion the first Legion of the Allies in this following order Nearest to the Street was quartered the Cavalry belonging to the first Legion Quarters for the Roman Horse of the first Legion all in one Row or Street call it as you please for Polybius his Interpreter useth both Striga and Vicus a Row and a Street This Row was divided into ten several quarters each of which was to contain and lodge a Troop consisting of thirty Riders with their Horses Arms and Baggage Every one of these ten Quarters was a hundred foot square and consequently the whole Row was a thousand foot long and a hundred foot broad If you please to multiply a hundred by a hundred you will find the product ten thousand Foot and so much ground had every Troop of thirty Horse allowed to it And that I may tell it you once for all every Maniple of the Principes and Hastati had as much but not the Triarii as you will see anon On the right hand of the Horse were quartered the Triarii who being but half the number of the Hastati and Principes Triaril to wit six hundred they had but fifty foot of ground in breadth but in length as much as the Horse to wit a thousand foot divided equally into ten parts to every one of which parts was assign'd a Maniple consisting of sixty men Multiply a hundred by fifty for every Maniple of the Triâ—â—ii had a hundred foot in length and fifty foot in breadth the product in five thousand foot and so much ground of superficial measure had every Maniple of the Triarii They were obliged to have a care of the Horses belonging to the Cavalry to feed them and see that in the night they strayed not to the disturbance of the Camp and so you may think the Horsemen needed the fewer Grooms Next the Triarii was a Street fifty foot broad on the right hand of it was a Row of Tents in which lodged the Principes who were twelve hundred in number divided Princiâ—eâ— into ten Maniples each censisting of a hundred and twenty men to every Maniple was allowed as much ground as to a Troop of Horse to wit a 100 foot square so to all the ten Maniples a thousand foot in length and a hundred in breadth On their right hand quartered the Hastati all in one Row twelve Hastati of the first Roman Legion quartered hundred in number likewise and had an equal allowance of ground The Hastati were
have observ'd in most Tacticks Lieutenant Colonel Elton is very clear in his definition of a distance which though I told you of it before I shall again give you Distance says he is a place or interval of ground between every rank and rank and every file and file as they stand By this description then three foot of distance being allowed between every file and file there are in seventeen files sixteen distances or intervals which make but forty and eight foot then you are to allow seventeen foot to the Combatants that is one foot for every man to stand on seventeen being added to forty eight make sixty five and so many foot of ground doth a Company possess in front if it consist of seventeen files for the ground of the ranks you are to compute it thus Six ranks take six foot to stand on and thirty foot for five intervals six foot being allow'd for open order in all six and thirty foot which a Distance of Ranks Company Regiment Brigade or Army of Foot constantly possesseth from the toes of the Leaders to the heels of the Bringers up unless you bring the ranks to stand at order which you may frequently do with very good reason and then the five Intervals take up but fifteen foot which being added to the six foot on which the ranks stand make but twenty one foot And when Pikes are to give or receive a Charge you may bring them to close order that is one foot and a half and then the five Intervals take up but 7½ foot these being added to six make 13½ foot Observe that in Exercising this Company of seventeen Files you are to set aside one of the Files because it is odd and so The Colours will hinder the doubling the Files The Colours of the Company are to be on the head of the Pikes neither can they conveniently be between the second and third rank in time of Battel as some would have them to be for you may easily consider what room an Ensign can have with his Colours between ranks when they are at order much less at close order as they should be in the time of Battel It will be fitting before I go further to meet with an objection concerning Objection against my Distances of Files Distances it is this The three foot of distance allowed between Files say they must be reckoned from the Centers that is from the two middle parts of the two File-leaders as from the middle part of the right hand File-leader to the middle part of the File-leader who stands on his left hand I wonder at this notion for hereby two File-leaders take up one foot of ground and so doth the rest of the File and there are but two foot of Interval between the two files and this cannot at all quadrate with the definition of distance for that is an Interval between Files and not betwixt the two middle parts of two mens Bodies And the Authors of Tacticks should have been clearer in their expressions and have said two foot between Files which they knew was too Answered little and have added that every File should have one foot of ground to stand on for what language is this a man shall have half a foot for his right middle part and another half foot for his left middle part for this way of their reckoning of the three foot of distance amounts to just so much and no better language which I conceive is very improper besides by this account the right and left hand Files would have each of them one half foot of ground more than any of the rest of the Files the right hand Filemen hath it by the right middle parts of their bodies and the left hand Filemen by the left middle parts of their Bodies because these two Files on these two hands have no Sidemen which you may easily conceive if you please a little to consider it Let us in the next place see what Officers are appointed to have the command Of Officers of a Company and inspection of this Company and here we may find some difference in the several establishments of Princes and States yet in this we find all agree to have a Captain a Lieutenant an Ensign Serjeants Corporals and Drummers except the Spaniard who rejects the Lieutenant as useless some allow no more Officers than those I have spoken of some allow more to wit a Captain of Armies a Furer a Fourier and a Clerk or Scrivener And besides some allow Lancepesats or Lancpresads as they are commonly called as also Reformado's and Gentlemen of a Company But neither Lancepesats Gentlemen of the Company nor Reformado's are Officers and though Corporals be yet they carry Arms and march in rank and file I shall describe all these and all the Officers of a Foot Company beginning with the Reformado and ending with the Captain Those are called Reformado's or Reformed who have been Officers suppose Reformed Officers Commissionated and those only and are out of charge and bear Arms till they can be prefer'd In some places they are permitted to be without Arms. A Gentleman of the Company is he who is something more than an ordinary Gentleman of a Company Souldier hath a little more pay and doth not stand Centinel In French he is called Appointe and with the Germans he is called Gefreuter They march and watch with Arms they go common Rounds and Patrouills and near an Enemy they are to be the forlorn Centinels whom the French call Perdus Lancespesate is a word deriv'd from the Italian Lance spesata which signifies a broken or spent Lance. He is a Gentleman of no ancient standing in the Militia for he draws his Pedigree from the time of the Wars between Francis the First and his Son Henry the Second Kings of France on the one part and the Emperour Charles the Fifth and his Brother-in-law the Duke of Savoy on the other part in those Wars when a Gentleman of a Troop of Horse in any Skirmish Battel or Rencounter had broke his Lance on his enemy and lost his Horse in the Scuffle he was entertain'd under the name of a Broken-Lance by a Captain of a Foot Company as his Comerade till he was again mounted But as all good orders fall soon from their Primitive Institution so in a short time our Monsieur Lancespesata for so he was called was forc'd to descend from being Lancespesata the Captains Comerade and became the Corporals Companion and assisted him in the Exercise of his Charge and therefore was sometimes called by the French Aide Caporal But when the Caporal grew weary of the Comradeship of his Lancespesata he made him officiate under him and for that had some allowance of pay more than the common Soldier which he enjoys in those places where he is made use of and still keeps the noble Title of Lancespesata though perhaps he was never on Horseback in his life corruptly
not marshalling the Battel and Reserve in this order at the Battel of Woodstock fought in the Error aâ— Woodstock Battel year 1636 was either the Swedish error or mistake for Banier who commanded the right wing of the Swedish forces being overlaid with numbers had been undoubtedly beaten if the Battel and left wing had not prevail'd so soon as he saw the danger he sent Post after Post to Lieutenant General Vizthumb who commanded the Reserve commanding him to advance instantly to his succour but he made no great haste the Swede having obtain'd the Victory Vizthumb next morning is question'd for his slow advance he justified himself by making it appear that if he had advanc'd immediately those who were running away in Troops would have routed him at least have so disorder'd him that he could have done no service and therefore he stood firm in his first ground till all the runnaways were past him and then march'd up in good order Most of this was known to be true but if Battel and Reserve had been marshal'd in the manner I spoke last of there had been no danger of that whereof Vizthumb was afraid for there had been room enough for him to have advanc'd and for those who fled to have run away But it seems it was order'd otherwise But we shall marshal an Army both ways first with the lesser and next with the greater Intervals and we shall suppose our Army to consist of sixteen thousand Army of 16200 Horse and Foot divided into seven Brigades of Foot and six of Horse Horse and Foot and a few more We shall draw them up in a fair Campaign or Heath which hath very few or no encumbrances of Houses Trees heights or hollow places and the right hand of it shall be fenced with some unfordable water and the left with the Waggons of the Army The Army it self shall consist of seven Brigades of Foot and six of Horse Each Brigade of Foot shall consist of 1800 men in all 12600. The six Brigades of Horse shall consist of 3600 which being divided into six parts gives 600 Horsemen besides Officers to every Brigade in all 16200. In the first way of marshalling I shall allow as I should do one foot of ground for every Foot soldier to stand on and three foot distance between files but because some think this too much have patience and at my second marshalling of the army I shall allow them less though no less belongs to them To every Horseman I allow four foot of ground for himself and the distance between him and his sidemen Some will think it too much but Bockler allows him six this is too much at next marshaling I shall allow him less than four On the right wing of the Van guard or Battel shall stand two Brigades of Horse and on the left wing as many and between the wings the Body shall be Marshal'd in Battel and Reserve with lesser Intervals composed of four Brigades of Foot On the right wing of the Reer-guard or Reserve shall stand one Brigade of Horse and on the left wing another Brigade of Horse and between the two wings the Body shall be composed of three Brigades of Foot The length of the Battel you may compute thus every Brigade of Horse being six hundred and drawn up three deep consists of two hundred Leaders for each of these four foot are allowed that is eight hundred Multiply eight hundred by four which is the number of the Brigades of the Battel the product is 3200. Three Streets or Distances each of eight foot-broad must be allow'd in every Brigade inde twelve Streets in four Brigades these make 96 foot then you have two Intervals on the right hand one between the two Brigades of Horse and another between the Horse and the right hand of the Foot and as many you have on the left hand of the Battel in all four great The Longitude of the Battel computed Intervals each of them of 24 foot for more some will not allow inde 96 foot add 3200 to 96 and both to 96 you will find the aggregate to be 3392. And so much ground doth the four Brigades of Horse possess with their Intervals Each Brigade of Foot consisting of 1800 men being six deep hath 300 Leaders these possess 1200 foot 1200 being multiplied by four which is the number of the Foot-brigades of the Battel produceth 4800. There must be a distance of six foot between the right hand of the Pikemen and the right wing of the Musqueteers and another on the left hand these two Distances take 12 foot and therefore four Brigades require 48 foot Now four Brigades have three Intervals each of 24 foot inde 72. Add then 72 for greater Intervals to 48 allow'd for lesser Distances the aggregate is 120 add 120 to 4800 the aggregate is 4920 so much ground doth four Brigades of Foot possess with their Intervals Be pleased to add 4920 to the 3392 Foot which the four Brigades of Horse possest you will find the aggregate to be 8312 foot which being divided by five to make paces the Quotient is 1662 and two foot so much ground do our four Brigades of foot and four Brigades of Horse take up in front the Intervals between Brigades being allowed to be no greater than 24 foot According to this allowance the Reader may easily calculate the longitude of the three Brigades of Foot and two Brigades of Horse which make the Reer-guard or Reserve if he conceive it worthy of his pains To marshal our Army of 16200 men another way in order to Intervals I shall in the first place allow no more ground to either Foot-soldier or Horseman Marshal'd in Battel and Reserve with greater Intervals for himself and distance from his sidemen but three foot in all But for the great Interval between two Brigades I shall allow as much ground as a Brigade may stand on that the Brigade in the Reserve may possess it when order'd to advance You will remember we agreed that four Brigades of Foot and four of Horse should make the Battel and three Brigades of Foot and two of Horse should make the Reserve which I marshal thus On the right hand of the Battel two Brigades of Horse but between them an Interval of as much ground as one of the Brigades possesseth On the left hand of the second Brigade of Horse an Interval of 24 foot on the left hand whereof four Brigades of Foot marshal'd in one front these four must have three Intervals each of them capable to contain a Brigade of Foot on the left hand of them an Interval of 24 foot and then two Brigades of Horse with such a distance between them as that the two Brigades on the right wing had The Reserve I marshal thus One Brigade of Horse drawn up at a convenient distance directly behind the Interval between the two Brigades of Horse on the right wing of the Battel Then on its
Horse make the Reer-guard behind which at a miles distance follows a strong party of commanded Horse The Baggage may be in the Van or the Reer or May be divided easily into several Bodies if the General appreheâ—d danger in them both it may march immediately after the Train This great Body may be very soon divided into either two or three several ones and may march as many several ways as the General pleaseth But truly with submission to great Commanders I should be of opinion that the Baggage of an Army should never be divided unless the Army it self divides if danger be in the Van let it all stay in the Reer the proper place of Baggage if the enemy be expected in the Reer post away all the Baggage to The proper place of Baggage in a march the Van if in both necessity will force it to be in the middle of the Army But my humble opinion is that without apparent danger it should constantly be in the Reer of the whole Army for the disadvantage is but small that the Brigades or Regiments of the Van have and withal they have but their turns of it that they must wait very long at night till their Baggage come from the Reer It is but small I say if you compare it with the great prejudice the Prince or States service suffers by having the Regiments or Brigades which march in the Reer benighted being hinder'd by the Baggage that is order'd to march before them two three sometimes five hours whereas if that Baggage had not been in their way they might have reach'd their Quarter seasonably enough But there is a worse thing in it than that when upon the unexpected appearance of an enemy in the Van the Brigades that are in the Reer-guard being suddenly call'd up they are not able â—â— advance for the unavoidable Embarras of Baggage that is before them Indeed I think the middle or center of the Infantry a proper place for the great Guns and Train and the Generals Secretaries and Cabinets with his Papers and for most of his and some of the other General Officers Coaches especially if their Ladies be in them and there I think these should constantly march But my judgment is that all other Baggage whatsoever belonging to either Horse or Foot should be in the Reer according to that priority or precedency the Regiments or Brigades have themselves in the march and these should change every day that who is in the Van one day may be in the Reer the next that all may participate equally of the ease or toil of a march Where the sick and wounded should be What is spoke of the place where Baggage should march is to be understood also of the sick and wounded Soldiers who if they cannot be put in some secure or fortified place should be brought forward though Baggage-horses should be borrowed from the owners for that use and in time of danger should be sent as far from it as may be with a good Guard or Convoy When ground will permit the Brigades of an Army whether Horse or Foot to march in one breast or front there is a question what distance or interval should be kept between these Brigades There be some who theoretically argue that the distance between two Brigades both marching in breast but the one behind the other should be of as much ground as a Brigade drawn Distance between Brigades on a march should not be so great as when they are to fight up in front doth possess because say they when one Brigade is drawn up on the right hand of a large field where the whole Army is to be marshal'd the second Brigade which follows cannot draw up in full breast on the left hand of the first unless there be such an Interval between them on their march as that I just now told you of nor can the third draw up on the left hand of the second unless it have that same distance the like is to be said of all the rest To this I answer when an Army is marshal'd in Battel-order that distance is to be kept between Brigades whereof I spoke in the last Chapter and so the second will have the less difficulty to marshal it self on the left hand of the first But that cannot make me allow so much ground between Brigades on a march as I willingly do when they are to fight To the reason produced against it I say to think that a Brigade all in one breast and marching directly behind another though at never so great a distance can draw up in breast on the left The contrary opinion examin'd hand of another without some turning or wheeling is a meer speculation And I say more let a Brigade march in three Squads at as great a distance as you will the second shall not draw up on the left hand of the first without some wheeling And if a smaller body cannot do it much less can a greater And practice will shew the vanity of the other opinion to any who will be at the pains to examine it and observe it in the march of Brigades in the field as I have done oftner than once This opinion then vanisheth unless they who follow it bring a better reason for it which I have not yet heard But be pleased to take notice what an inconvenience and that no small one the observing this rule will bring along with it in a march I speak still when Brigades march all in one front one behind another at that rate there shall be such avast distance between the Van and the Reer that the last Brigade shall not get up though it run which it should not do to the place where it should be marshal'd but in a very long time which you will easily grant to be true if you will with me make this computation We have spoke of eight Brigades of foot in this Chapter to be in our Army each of them shall be no stronger than 1800 men and therefore each of them must be 300 in front allowing four foot to every Leader these 300 Leaders possess in rank 1200 foot of ground as much by this opinion which I combate must be allowed for an Interval between two Brigades marching one after another in breast now in eight Brigades there are seven Intervals seven times 1200 foot make 8400 Every one of the Brigades possess in deepness 36 foot multiply 36 by 8 which is the number of the Brigades the product is 288. Add 288 to 8400 the aggregate is 8688 foot so much distance there is from the Leaders of the first Brigade of Foot to the Bringers-up of the eight and last Take a view of our six Brigades of Horse each whereof shall consist And found inconvenient of no more than 600 being three deep each Brigade hath 200 in front allow but three foot for every Rider the front of each Brigade possesseth 600 foot of ground as much
hand of the Battel Before the Battel begin there use to be fore-parties of both Horse and Forlorn Hopes Foot sent out to skirmish these are called Forlorn Hopes and Enfans Perdues Those of the Foot should advance one hundred paces before the Body those of the Horse further But I find at the Battels fought both at Dreux and St. Dennis between the Protestants and Roman Catholicks of France none of those Forlorn Hopes were made use of at all and as few were used at Lutsen where Gustavus Adolphus lost his life When an Enemy is marshalling his Army your Artillery should incessantly To advance on an Enemy play upon him to hinder him all you may to order his affairs and if your Battel be already marshall'd under the shelter of your Ordnance you should advance and take your advantage of him before his Batallions or Squadrons be drawn up but in so good order that the Scene be not changed that by your precipitation you give not him an opportunity to take advantage of you Your advance on an Enemy in what posture soever he be should be with a constant firm and steady pace the Musketeers whether they be on the Flanks or interlin'd with either the Horse or the Pikes firing all the while but when you come within Pistol-shot you should double your pace till your Pikes closely serr'd together charge these whether Horse or Foot whom they find before them It is true the business very oft comes not to push of Pike but it hath and may come oft to it and then Pike-men are very serviceable If a misfortune fall out that a Brigade Regiment or other part of an Army be beat or begin to run and quit the Field this should be conceal'd from the rest of the Army and the Souldiers told that the Enemy in other places is beaten and if they fight but a little the Victory will be instantly theirs I shall not speak here of what advantage a large Front is having done it so often before but if a General perceive that the business may be quickly decided To marshal the Foot in three Rankâ— I think he should double the Front of his Foot and make but three Ranks where formerly they were six and so being able to out-wing his Enemy he may fall on his Flank for at no extraordinary march an Army may be brought to push of Pike before three Ranks of Musketeers have fired successively if they do not begin to fire till they be within distance less than Musket-shot and after they have given their three Volleys then they may give the fourth which will signifie as much if not more than all the three by kneeling stooping and standing whereof I have spoke in the eleventh and twelfth Chapters When any Regiment or Brigade runs or offers to quit the Field the Reserve behind should be order'd immediately to advance and encounter the Victorious Enemy who will hardly be able to withstand that fresh charge for it may be almost received as a Maxime That a Troop Regiment or Brigade A good Rule but not Infallible how strong soever it be which hath fought with and beaten that Body of equal number that stood against it may be easily routed by a Troop Regiment or Brigade that hath not fought though far inferiour in number If any part of an Army get the Victory of those who stand against it he who commands that part ought to send some Troops in pursuit of the routed Enemy and Not to fall on the Flank of an Enemy a great neglect with the rest fall on the Flank of that Batallion which stands next him and yet keeps ground The neglect of this duty lost the famous General Count Tili the Battel of Leipsick for himself being on the Right hand of the Imperial Army beat the Duke of Saxe and his Army out of the Field whom Tili hotly pursuing did not fall on the Left Flank of the Swedish Army left naked Inflanced by the flight of the Saxons But at that same time the King of Sweden who was on the Right hand of his own Army had routed Count Pappenheim who The doing it contributes to the Victory commanded the Left Wing of the Imperialists upon which that martial King did not fail to charge the Flank of the Imperial Battel which was left naked by Pappenheim's Flight and this help'd to procure the Victory to the Sweed As I told you in another place Banier's Right Wing was well near beaten at Woodstock nor did the Reserve come so soon to his succours About that same Instanced time Lieutenant General King had routed the Right Wing of the Imperial Army and with it bore down the Right hand of their Reserve and â—â—ll on the Right Flank of their Battel which yet disputed their ground with Felt-Marshal Leslie who thereupon cast down their Arms and yielded the Victory to the Swedes And the mentioning this Victory puts me in mind to advertize all Officers of Foot not to teach their Musketeers to neglect the use of their Rammers a lesson too often taught and practis'd for at this Bartel I speak of the Imperial Foot were on a Hill up which Leslie advanced with his Infantry but neither his nor the Imperial Musketers made use of Rammers only as the common custome is when they charg'd with Ball they knock'd the Buts of their Muskets at their Right foot by which means most of the Bullets of the Imperial and Saxish Fire-men fell out at the mouths of their Musket when they presented them down the Hill upon the Sweeds whose Bullets could not run that fortune being presented upward And for this reason it was observ'd that few of the Sweedish Foot fell When a Reserve or a part of it advanceth those who fled have a fair opportunity to rally and in a short time to second the Reserve and though To rally rallying at so near a distance is not frequently seen yet it is not banish'd out of the Modern Wars or Armies At Dreux both Armies rallied twice or thrice with various success the Generals of both Armies being both made Prisoners And at Lutsen both Armies rallied often for they fought from morning till night most of the Imperial Cannon being twice taken was as oft retaken Fresh succours in time of Battel discourage an Enemy Some Great Captains have thought it fit in time of Battel to make a show of their Waggon-men Carters and Baggage-men at a distance as if they were succours newly arrived and certainly nothing terrifies an Army more in time of equal sight than an unexpected Enemy as Robert Duke of Normandy's fortunate arrival in the time of Battel between Godfrey of Bouillâ—n and Instance the Saracens in the Holy Land deliver'd the Victory to the Christians But these feigned Musters of Baggage-men and Carriage-horses produce not always False shews sometimes happy the wished effects Sulpitius a Roman Dictator being to fight with the Gauls order'd
he making alt they all take up their several distances behind him till he who is File-leader turn himself about on that same ground he stood on and then all turn likewise so that all the File faceth to the Rear in that same order that before the Counter-march it fac'd to the Van by this means the Body loseth ground in the Rear and therefore our Modern Drillers when they command the Macedonian counter-march they say By the Right or Left hand Countermarch and lose ground in the Rear or gain ground in the Van which is all one thing The Laconian is when the Batallion is commanded to take up as much ground in the Rear as it possess'd before and is done thus The File-leader Lacedemonian turns just where he stands and marcheth as many foot behind the Rear-man as the Body at its due distance should possess all who follow him turn not about till their Leaders go by them and so the Bringer up doth only turn himself without any further motion The Modern word of Command for this is Counter-march to the Right and Left hand and gain ground in the Rear The Persian is when the Batallion keeps the same ground it had but with this difference that the Leader stands where the Bringer up was and the Persian Rear-man where the Leader stood It is done thus The Leader advanceth three steps and then turns and marcheth to the Rear and all who follow him turn not till they come to that place to which he advanced and then they face about and take up the same ground they formerly possest The word of Command for this is Counter-march to the Right or Left hand and keep your ground It is also called the Chorâ—an Counter-march because Oâ— Choraean as the Chorus useth to sing and dance all together so here all the Ranks move at once and keeping that same measure and distance in turning resembles a Dance But indeed all these Counter-marches as most of all evolutions are better and sooner illustrated nay demonstrated by a Body of Souldiers in the Field than they can be either by words or figures on Paper Philip King of Macedon Father of the Great Alexander put down the first of these Counter-marches which was his own Countrey one and with good reason for it hath a show of flying at least of retiring being a Body of sixteen deep as the Macedonian Phalanx was by that Counter-march lost in the Rear where the Enemy is suppos'd to be one hundred and twelve foot of ground one foot being allowed for every Rank to stand on and six All three of small use foot of distance between the Ranks at least it loseth one hundred and six foot And truly I think the hazard were small if all the three several Counter-marches were for ever banish'd out of all Armies except those of our Enemies It is true I never saw any of them used in sight of an Enemy for if they be practis'd then I am confident confusion would follow them which is but too ready to appear in any Army though never so well order'd when it is unexpectedly attack'd by an Enemy in the Rear If the Grecians had been acquainted with our great Guns nay even with our Muskets which kill at a greater distance by far than Darts or Arrows and against which their Defensive Arms would not have been proof they would have found that an Enemy a good way from their Rear would have render'd their best Counter-marches both unfeasible and dangerous All the good I suppose that is intended by a Counter-march is to place the very same men and Ranks with their faces to the Rear in that very same order they were with their faces to the Front And truly if Captains be careful to place their best men in the Front their next best in the Rear and make middle men of the third and rank every man according to his worth and dignity as they should do but too many of them are negligent in this it will be needless to hazard a Counter-march but with much ease and with one word of Command and that is By the Right or Left hand about an Enemy may be fac'd in the Rear without danger of any confusion or disorder I have seen some very punctual Officers and Drill-masters who have taken much pains to teach new beginners all these three sorts of Counter-marches and have made them practise their lessons very exactly yet for all that I could never in my own Judgement have a better opinion of Counter-marches than they say some Physicians have of Cucumbers which they first order to be well corrected and prepar'd with Vinegar Oyl Pepper and I know not what else and then advise to throw them out of doors or over the Windows In exercising Bodies the first care is to make Ranks and Files keep that distance that is allowed by the Prince or General who commands the Army for he may do in that according to his pleasure The Grecian Foot had a three-fold distance the first was of six foot and this Aelian will have to be in exercisings and marches between File and File as well as Rank and Rank but assuredly there was not so good reason for the one as there was for the other in regard all the heavy arm'd Foot cartying long Pikes required six foot in their march between Rank and Rank for the conveniency of their Pikes but there was no need of so much between File and File as Distances of the Foot any man at first view may easily comprehend The second distance was of three foot between Rank and Rank as also between File and File and this was when they were drawn up and stood in Battel with their Pikes order'd and their posture at this distance was called Densatio The third was of one foot and a half between both Files and Ranks and that was when they were either to give or receive a charge and it was call'd Constipatiâ— In that posture having presented their Pikes with their left foot formost their Targets touch'd one another and so their Phalange look'd like a Brazen Wall as Lucius Aemilius the Roman Consul spoke of that wherewith King Persâ—â—s fac'd him at the Battel of Pidna where they fought for the Soveraignty of the Kingdom of Macedon The Grecian Horse were marshall'd in several figures and of their distance I can say nothing nor doth Aelian help me in it at all Of these several figures of Horse Troops I shall speak in the next Chapter but one And Of the Horse then my Reader will perhaps believe with me that the Square Battels probably kept that distance that Troops have done since and that both the Rhombus and the Wedge required a greater distance when they were commanded by a motion either to the Right or Left hand to change the posture or the place wherein they stood and I conceive when either of them was to charge the Horse men were obliged to â—err
it far His Son Alexander when he cross'd the Hellespont to invade the Persian Monarchy had thirty two thousand Foot and five In the Macedonian Armies thousand Horse above eight thousand more men than in Aelian's Macedonian Phalange At Issus he was stronger and at Arbela he had forty thousand Foot and seven thousand Horse all Grecians besides very many Asians whom he had subdued So we see that Aelians numbers of Horse or Foot did not hold even in the Macedonian Armies Much less will his rule hold in other Grecian Phalanges who drew up their heavy armed Foot but eight deep and so by our Authors method their light armed but four deep for if you allow their heavy armed Phalange to be one thousand twenty four Files these multiplied by eight which is the number of the File that Batallion consisted of eight thousand one hundred ninety two men Their Velites being half of that number they were four thousand ninety six Give the half of that number to their Cavalry they must have been two thousand forty eight And thus by Aelians rule their whole Phalange Nor in the other Grecian Phalanges of both heavy and light armed Foot and Horse should have amounted to neither more nor less than fourteen thousand three hundred thirty six Combatants But they neither observ'd that number nor his rule in the division of that number At Delos the Thebans and Boeotians had an Army consisting of seven thousand heavy armed Foot ten thousand light armed and one thousand Horse If they had been rul'd by Aelian they should have had more than ten thousand heavy armed five thousand and odd Velites and all the rest should have been Horse in this Pâ—â—lange of theirs When the Athenians sent Alcibiades and Nicias to Sicily they did not dream of any such exact numbers At Mantinea Epaminâ—â—das his Army consisted of thirty thousand Foot and three thousand Horse a number exceeding the great Macedonian Phalange by four thousand three hundred twenty eight men The Armies of the Lacedâ—monians and Athenians that fought against him in that last Battel of his were twenty two thousand Foot and Horse and these were more by seven thousand six hundred sixty four than a Grecian Phalange should have been by Aelians method at four deep the light and eight deep the heavy armed and yet came short six thousand six hundred seventy two of the number of the great Macedonian Phalange By this we see our Authors numbers of Phalanges did not always hold and it is a very great question to me if ever they did exactly hold at all I have already told you how he marshals his Phalange of heavy armed Foot without Reserve I have shown you that was not always done and I have demonstrated and instanc'd the inconveniencies of it when it was done Let us now see where he placeth his Cavalry in time of action To this he saith it was marshall'd according to the Generals pleasure sometimes on the Flanks of the heavy armed Foot sometimes before them and sometimes behind them That they were drawn up according to the Generals pleasure he needed not tell us that was not the question but it was where the Generals pleasure was to place them For marshalling the Horse on the Flanks of the Foot there is reason enough for it it was and still is a common practice To marshal them when they are to fight before the Foot is not in Where Aelian marshall'd the Cavalry my opinion advisedly done some to skirmish doth well but if all the Horse fight in the Van of the Foot and be beaten they may readily rout their own Infantry without the Enemies help for something like that I have seen practis'd And though the Macedonian Foot Phalange had as I said before three Intervals through which the Horse might perhaps if worsted have retir'd in good order and drawn up in the Rear of the Foot yet their Flight or Retreat would have infinitely discourag'd the Infantry which was presently to enter into action nor do I think such a manner of fight hath been oft practis'd To draw up the Horse behind the Foot would be in my judgement yet of less use but Aelian in his Figure of the whole Phalanx marshals the heavy armed Foot formost next them the Velites and the Cavalry behind both If he did not intend the Horse should fight in that place why did he marshal them there and if he conceiv'd they might fight there why did he not tell us how they could do it It is true it may be imagin'd the Velites might bestow their Arrows and Stones cast out of Slings upon an Enemy over the heads of the heavy arm'd Phalange but what hurt Horsemen heavily armed could do an Enemy over the heads of both heavy and light arm'd Foot drawn up in two distinct Bodies one behind the other is not so easie to fansie And with permission of Aelian I doubt it can hardly be made appear that any General before his time whether Macedonian Grecian or Barbarian ever drew up an Army in that fashion if they had ground to do it otherwise Cyrus plac'd his Foot in the Battel and his Horse in the Ordinarily Horse fought in the Wings Wings when he fought with the Assyrians saith Xenophon The Grecians at Delos Leuctra and Syracusa put their Horse in the Wings mixed with light armed Foot their heavy armed Phalange in the middle and some of their Velites skirmishing before it with Reserves behind Alexander used that same custome in all his Battels though at Issus the Streights of the Mountains would not suffer him to put his Army in that order he had design'd till he acquir'd a more spatious ground At Arbela where he totally overthrew Darius he marshall'd his Army nothing after Aelians pattern but so that you may almost say that our Modern Generals draw up their Armies now in imitation of him and according to the Copy he cast them there For his Right Wing consisted of Horse mix'd with light armed Foot the Right hand whereof was commanded by Clitus and the Left by Philotas His Left Wing was likewise Horse mix'd with Velites on the Right hand whereof stood Meleager and on the Left Philip with his Thessalian Cavalry Between these two Wings was ranged his Phalange of heavy arm'd Foot some Velites skirmishing before it and behind all these both Phalanae and Wings were those Reserves under Horestes Lincerta Polycarpon and Philagus whereof I formerly told you The altering a Phalange from one form posture or site to another gave Several forms of a Phalange gave it several denominations occasion to the Grecians to give it some new denomination though it was still that same Phalange it was before the motion or evolution made the alteration which perhaps hath given a rice to Aelian to present us with so many several Figures in his Treatise nor would they be hard to be understood if they were illustrated by either smaller or greater
others were fighting the Triarii rested themselves till the Consul or General gave Triarii rest them either an Order or a Sign to rise But in what posture they rested whether they kneel'd or sate or if they kneel'd whether they did it on one knee or both or if on one knee whether on the Right or the Left is not to me very clear Vegetius in the twentieth Chapter of his first Book seems to say on But how is a question both knees genibus posuâ—s are his words and indeed this was the easiest way In the sixteenth Chapter of his second Book he makes them kneel but on one knee and this I believe is the truest But in the fourteenth Chapter of his third Book to my thinking he makes them fit which I suppose could not be true at all for at that posture they could not with any conveniency make a Pent-house of their Shields which both he and Polybius say and which Reason teacheth they were bound to do to save themselves from the Enemies missiles There is no doubt the Triarii did often recover the honour of the day when it was well near lost When Lucius Furius was well beaten by the Volscians Ordinarily the Triarii kept for the last Reserve at Satricum Livy tells us in his sixth Book that Furius â—amillus advanc'd seasonably with his Triarii charg'd gallantly and obtain'd the Victory The Latines after an obstinate fight at Vâ—suvius had fair hopes of Victory when they had wholly defeated the Lest Wing of the Roman Army and in it kill'd the Conâ—ul Decius and forc'd both the Hastaâ—â— and Principes to give ground on the Right hand But Manlius with his Triarii fell freshly upon them and recover'd the Battel Polybius in his Second Book says The Triarii were not only kept for the last Reserve on the Land but at Sea likewise in their Naval Battels Yet were they not always left for the last for at or near Capua the Consul Petilius perceiving by the extent of the Samnites Army that they intended to out-wing him a danger to which most of the Roman Armies were obnoxious did not stay till the Hastati and Principes had fought but presently call'd up both the Principes and Triarii to the Van and of them making a large But not always Front by a furions charge of all his three Bodies marshall'd in Breast routed his Enemy Neither do I make any doubt but those six Cohorts which Caesar call'd up to the Front of his Army at Pharsalia were Triarii for he says he call'd them ex terâ—iâ— agmine out of the third Batallion He did it to assist his Horse against Pompey's Cavalry which far surpass'd his in number and to these Cohorts himself attributeth the Victory And if he had nor call'd them up before the fight begun but delay'd according to the ordinary custome till his Hastati and Principes had retir'd perhaps he should have made use of them too late but he fore-saw the danger of that well enough and prevented it Since the Hastati when over-power'd were to retire to the Principes and both of them when over-master'd to the Triarii there is no question but in each of these Bodies there were distances and intervals prepar'd wherein to receive one another whether by the Retreat of the first to the second or of both first and second to the third or by the advance of the second and the third to the first That these Intervals were is granted by all but what measure or podisme of ground for any of them is not at all punctually set down by any for any thing I know an inexcusable oversight tâ— but I shall speak of them all in my Discourse of Intervals Here I shall only take notice of two things First That Machiavel errs when he says in the Third Book of his Aâ—t of War that the Error of Machiavelli Hastati had no Interval but fought in one Body Spossi fâ—rmi Thick and close For if so the Principel could not advance to their assistance or yet conveniently and feasibly receive them when they retir'd within their Intervals if they had not been marshaâ—l'd in smaller Bodies I suppose this fancy had its birth only in Machiavel's Brain whose Head no doubt was full of more hurtful notions The second thing I am to acquâ—int you with in this place is that whatever distance was allow'd between the Maniples or Cohorts of the Principes for receiving the Haâ—â—â—ti the double proportion of distance must have been given between the Maniples or Cohorts of the Triarii in regard they were to receive both the Hastati and Principes Polyâ—â—â—s in his fifth Book avers that though the number of the Hastati and Principes might vary and be greater or lesser according to the strength or weakness of the Legion yet the number of the Triarii never alter'd but they were constantly six hundred Now in his time the number of the Principes was twelve hâ—ndred and that of the Hastati as many Achilleâ— Terâ—â—â—zzi not adverting to what I have said of A mistake of Terduzzi distances concludes first that the two formost Batellions were marshall'd twelve deep which I will not grant him and next that the Triarii were drawn up but six deep which I would not fail to deny him though I had granted him the first His reason for the last assertion is that the Triarii being but half the number of the other two Batallions could not make an equal Front with the other two unless they were drawn up but half their depth But he doth not take heed that if they had made an equal Front of men with the other two they could not have receiv'd both the other two in their Intervals but only one of them and then they had not done that for which purposely they stood in the third Batallion And if he had adverted that the Intervals between the Maniples of the Triarii must have been double that which was allow'd to the other two Classes that stood before them he would have marshall'd six hundred as deep as he did twelve hundred for the double distance between the several Bodies of six hundred made six hundred of equal Front of ground with the twelve hundred before them so you may easily consider that notwithstanding the disparity of their numbers the difference of the several Intervals made the Front equal as to the ground of all the three Batallions of Hastati Principes and Triarii The Reason and the only Reason why we must believe that the Triarii Triarii but 600 in every Legion were constantly six hundred is because Polybius said it was so but I shall suppose it was neither so before his time nor yet after his time nor doth he offer to give any reason why it was so in his time Lipsius who is very ready for such things offers to give two Reasons for it the first whereof is stark naught and it is this That the
shrill and continued without interruption it was interpreted to be a certain sign of Victory but if it was dead cold and unequal often begun and often interrupted it bewray'd fear and discouragement and portended ruine and destruction It was used by all Nations as well as the Romans and the word Baritus whereby Historians express it was borrowed from the Ancient Germans whose cry they say sounded like the pronunciation of that word They cryed no more after they came to the medley else it would have hinder'd them from hearing the Commands of their Officers either by word of mouth or the Trumpet Though the loud noise of Cannon and Musket in our Modern Wars may seem reason enough to suppress this ancient custome of shouting yet it neither ought to be nor yet is it banish'd out of our Armies The Germans French Danes and Swedes in their advance and before they give Fire have their ca ca oâ— And no doubt with an advance a stroâ—t heats and inflames the Blood and helps to encourage The late Usurper and his Armies made but too good use of it These things were previous to a Battel First The Purple Coat of Arms at the Consuls Pavillion Secondly The Exhortation or Harangâ—e Thirdly The Marshalling the Army Fourthly The Word or Teâ—â—â—â—a Fifthly The Classiâ—â—â— And Lastly This Shout or Baritus Of the first five that were ordinarily practis'd Caesar speaks in the Second Book of his Gallick War as necessary for when he was almost surpriz'd by the Nervians he writes thus Caesar saith he of himself had all things to do at once the Standard to be set up that is the Scarlet Coat his Army to marshal his Souldiers to exhort to cause the sign to be given by the Trumpet and to give the Sign this last Sign signifieth the Tessera otherwise the words had been superfluous of which that great man cannot be taxed As to this last Sign which was the Word the Ancients found that same difficulty with which all Armies are still troubled and that was that by the often requiring and giving it the Enemy came to the knowledge of it and then it was useless Lipsâ—â—â— tells us that he reads in Pâ—liâ—â—nus that one Aâ—ues an Arcadian A pretty story Captain being to fall on the Lacedâ—monians in the night time or as we now call it to beat up their quarters instead of a Word he commanded his Army to require no Word at all but to use all those who sought a Word as Enemies so that the demanding the Tessora bewray'd the demander to be a Lacedaemonian who at that time receiv'd a notable overthrow The Roman Consul when Classicum a sign of Battel he was to fall on caus'd the Classicum to sound which was seconded by the nearest and immediately by all the Trumpets Horns and Horn-pipes of the Army And now the Battel begins concerning which an old question is not yet perhaps decided Whether it was better to give or receive the charge The A question whether to give or receive the charge Roman Dictator Cossus as Levy hath it in his sixth Book being to joyn Battel with a powerful Army of the Volscians commanded all his Foot to stand still and fix their Javelines in the ground and so receive the Enemies charge which being violent put them out of breath and then the Legionaries clos'd with them and routed them Great Pompey gave the like order at Pharsalia but not with the like success for he was totally beaten But Machiavelli with Machiavelli's opinion his accustomed confidence to give it no worse name in the fourth Book of his Art of War takes upon him to give the definitive sentence and awards the Victory to him who receives the charge And saith also that most Captains chuse rather to receive than give it yet he instances only one of the Fabii who by receiving the charge of the Sanonites and Gauls was Victorious But we must listen to a greater Captain than any he hath named and himself to boot and that is Julius Caesar who by giving the charge in the Thessalian Plains gain'd the Soveraignty of the Roman Empire and blames Pompey for following the bad advice of Triarius to wait till Caesar charged him His words whereby he seems to void this difference you have in the third Book of his Civil War which are these in English But on the contrary says he I think this was done Caesar's judgement of it by Pompey without any shew of reason meaning his keeping his Souldiers from advancing to the charge because there is saith he I know not what galant vigour and natural inclination to courage born in all men which Captains ought rather to cherish stir up and augment than any way mollifie or restrain Thus far Great Caesar But on the other hand if an Army be drawn up in an advantageous ground suppose a Hill or fenced with Marish River To keep advantages or Rock the quitting of which may prove prejudicial as the loss of all advantages especially in matters of War doth it alters clearly the case and those who have done it either in Ancient or Modern Wars to the irrecoverable loss of their Masters have much mistaken Caesar who never practised it and assuredly those who do it had need of good fortune otherwise they may be sure to be branded in true Histories with either perfidy or inexcusable folly and even in Romances with too much generosity In the time of Battel all both Commanders and Souldiers did their duties by punctually obeying the commands of their Generals though to the certain and inevitable loss of their lives if not they were sure to incur those punishments whereof I shall speak hereafter Nor were they obliged to obey the commands given them before the Battel only but all those orders and signs that were given them in the time of Battel These Vegetius in the fifth Chapter of his third Book calls Signs and divides them into three Signs in time of Battel sorts Vocal Semi-vocal and Dumb. The Vocal were the verbal commands of the Officers especially the Consul and Tribunes The Semi-vocal were the several sounds of Classicums Trumpets and Horns as March Charge Retire The Dumb signs were the Ensigns Standards and Eagles as also the elevation of the Hand of a Colours or a Lance or the shaking of a Spear by a Consul or General But these were agreed on before the fight began and were either given to the whole Army or but to a part of it as when you see such a thing done then you are to do so and so These Dumb signs would not do much good in our Battels where the smoak of Powder would render many of them imperceptible And now the Battel is ended and the Romans are either Victorious or have lost the day If the first they were to pursue the Enemy to his Camp To pursue a Victory or clearly out of the Field and not only so but to follow him
divided by a Street fifty foot broad from the Allies who constantly quartered on their right hand You will remember that in my Discourse of the Allies I told you that the third part of their Horse and fifth part of their Foot were taken out to wait on the Consul and were called Extraordinaries whom accordingly I have quartered in the upper part of the Camp near the Consul Their Horse at first were six hundred for every Legion whereof two hundred being lodged in the upper part we have but four hundred to quarter in the lower part of the Camp These being by one third stronger than the Roman Cavalry had of ground a Horse of the Allies first Legion lodged third more in breadth allowed but alike length the quarter then for the Horse of the first Legion of the Allies was a thousand foot in length and 13â—½ foot in breadth which contained them well enough this quarter was equally divided into ten parts for ten Troops each consisting of forty Riders Upon the right hand of these Horse were quartered the Foot of the Allies first Legion remember every one of their Legions at their first coming forth was three thousand heavy armed as the Romans were but the fifth part of that number to wit six hundred being taken away by the Consul and lodged besides him we have now but two thousand four hundred to quarter for whom as much ground was allowed as to both the Principes and Hastati as to the breadth so they had a thousand foot in length and two hundred in breadth multiply the one by the And their Foot all in one Row other the product is two hundred thousand foot which superficial measure of ground contain'd them well enough I must tell you of an oversight I have observed in my Lord Preissack's Roman Castrametation which is that he allows to the Allies Foot as much ground as I have done now but no more ground to their Horse than to the Roman Cavalry which was not fair being the one was stronger by one third than the other It is of little or no consequence to us to know nor is it worth our curiosity whether the Allies quarter'd their Foot by Maniples or by Cohorts concerning which Lipsius to me seems to be very needlesly solicitous Upon the right hand of the Allies Foot was the alarm-place constantly two hundred foot broad and next to it was the Rampart We are in the next place to quarter the second Roman Legion and the second Legion of the Allies which is soon done by allowing to every part and member of them the like quantity of ground for length and breadth as we did to those of the two Legions on the right hand as thus On the left hand of that Street which I told you run from the Decuman to the Prâ—tâ—rian Port and intersecteth The other two Legions quartered the Via principalis were the ten Troops of Horse belonging to the second Roman Legion lodged all in a Row next them the Triarii upon their left hand a Street fifty foot broad on the left hand of which lodged the Principes next them the Hastati on their left hand another Street of fifty foot broad upon the left hand whereof were quarter'd the Horse of the Allies and on the left hand of them their Foot on whose left hand was the Alarm-place and next to it the Rampart and Ditch And now we have our whole Consular Army very formally quarter'd in a Camp of an aequilateral square figure as Lipsâ—â—â— du Prâ—issack and Terduzâ—â— The figure of the Roman Camp will needs have it to be though hereafter upon strict examination we shall find it not to be exactly so And what needs the whole be so where all the parts neither are or can be aequilateral In the upper part of the Camp the Prâ—toâ—â—â—â— and the Tribunes quarters with those of the Prafecti of the Allies were â—quilateral square but so were not the quarters allotted to the Questor Legates Evocati or Extraordinarii In the lower part of the Camp the quatters ordain'd for the several Troops of Horse and for the Maniples of the Roman Hastati and Principes were aequilateral but so were neither the quarters of the Triarii nor of the Allies Horse and Foot In the next place before I go further I shall tell you that in this Camp there were four Ports these were the Praetorian Decuman and the right hand principal Port and the left hand principal Port. The two first were at the two ends of the Camp and the other two at the two sides The first had its name because it was nearest the Praetorium and out of it the Consul marched The Decuman serv'd for bringing in provisions and â—odder for taking Beasts out to Four Ports in the Roman Camp water as also out of it were carried the Soldiers that were ordain'd to be punished from whence some think it hath the name Decumana from the Decimating Soldiers alike guilty and punishing the tenth But we read in Livies thirty fourth Book that the Gauls assaulted Consul Sempronius his Camp and enter'd it at the Port Quâ—storia and committed great slaughter till they were beat out We read also oâ— a Port called Quintana which some think was all one with that called Quâ—storia and had this name from the Questor or Treasurer who lodged neer it and the other from the Street Quintana near which that Port was but the Questors quarters being afterward remov'd to the superior part of the Camp to be near the Consul that Port was shut up Observe next that in the Roman Camp there were eight Streets five whereof went in the length of the Camp from the one end of it to the other and were Eight Streets in the Roman Camp called Viâ— Directâ— or direct and straight Streets the other three traverst or crost the Camp in the breadth of it and were called Viâ— transversâ— or cross Streets Of the five direct Streets one divided the length of the Camp equally into two halves and on each side of it as I told you lay the half of the Consular Army Encamped Between the Triarii and Principes of the first Roman Legion was the second direct Five direct ones Street between the Roman Hastati of the first Legion and the Allies first Legion was the third direct Street Between the Triarii and Principes of the second Roman Legion was the fourth direct Street and between the Roman Hastati of the second Legion and the Allies second Legion was the fifth direct Street All these five Streets were each of them fifty foot broad But all five of them Three â—raverse Streets either never had names or have lost them The three cross Streets traversed the latitude of the Camp The one of them was in the upper part of the Camp and divided the Praetorium from the quarters of the Extraordinaries and was of one hundred foot broad and hath lost its name The second cross
in other places Rumor master General is more than I have learned His charge is to ride with a Guard of Horse and some Hangmen on the Van and Flanks of the Army and in a Retreat in the Reer to save all the several Quarters and Country from being pillaged or plunder'd and the Country people from being wrong'd and many times he is commanded to use Summary Justice and execution on the offenders in the place where they are taken but for most part only to apprehend them and deliver them over to the Marshal General The Laws and Articles of War of every Prince and State ought to be promulgated to all the Armies and read over to every particular Regiment Troop and Company every month or at least every quarter of a year that none may have reason to pretend ignorance In all Courts of War higher or lower Officers How the members of a Court of War give their sentence of equal quality as Major-Generals Colonels Majors Captains Serjeants and Corporals after a full examination and hearing of parties and witnesses go apart by themselves and after some debate agree upon the sentence which he who hath the Precedency among them whispers in the ear of the Clerk who after he hath written all the several sentences gives them to the Auditor whether General or Particular of a Regiment and he observing wherein most agree makes that the sentence of the Court which is sign'd by the President and so sent to the General if he have not presided himself In Regiment-Courts of War such inferior Officers suppose Serjeants and Corporals ought to be chosen â—o sit as know in some measure what it is to judg according to equity and reason for I have seen many of them in several places of the world who thought they gave their verdict like wise men and gallant fellows even when Articles of War were clear when by their sentence they refer'd an offender guilty of a Capital crime to the mercy of the Lord General or the Colonel The French Councils of War now may consist of seven Officers and in them Lieutenants sub-Lieutenants and Ensigns must only stand with their hats off but give no sentence CHAP. X. Of Exercising Drilling and Training the several Bodies of the Cavalry and the Infantry HAving levied and arm'd our Soldiers both of Horse and Foot and sufficiently entertain'd them with goodly promises of Pay Proviant Service and free Quarter and shown them under what Laws and Discipline they are to live it will be time to teach them the Duties of Soldiers and this is done by Exercising and Drilling them What kinds of Exercise Officers and Soldiers were inur'd to in ancient times hath been abundantly told you in my Discourses of the Gracian and Roman Art of War Wrestling Running Leaping Swimming all which harden and enable a mans Body and render the Soldier active and dexterous in Battel at Storms and Assaults in pursuit of his enemy and sometimes in flight to save his own life were the duties imposed in ancient times and to them properly belongs Exercises properly so called the word of Exercise But this kind of Exercise is now rather permitted than commanded The using the Spade and Mattock in making Ramparts and Ditches building Walls Sconces Forts and Castles constantly practised in time of peace by the Ancients especially the Romans is not now at all thought of till either the Siege or defence of a Town or the necessity to fortifie a Camp render it necessary and then six Soldiers not accustom'd before to that manner of Exercise are not able to work so much as one Country-fellow newly taken from the Plow The custom of shooting at Butts with Bow and Arrow in Scotland and England is much if not wholly worn out In foreign places their shooting with Firelocks and riâ—â—ed Guns at Marks every Holy-day may make them good Firemen and good Marks-men but doth not strengthen the nerves and arms of men as the Bow did But to bring these Exercises so much conducing to the health and strength of an Army in fashion again must be the work of no private person but of a Prince or State Another part of Military Exercise consists in teaching the Soldiers both Training and Drilling divided into two parts of Horse and Foot to fight orderly and readily with an Enemy and this is that which properly we call Training and Drilling It consists of two parts the first is to teach them to handle and manage their offensive Arms whatsoever they be handsomely readily and dexterously and this is ordinarily called the Postures The second is to make them when they are in a Body to cast themselves in such a figure or order as shall be commanded them and this is commonly called the Motions and Evolutions Before I speak any more on this Subject I shall say that though this Drilling and Training be not so much forgot as those other Exercises are whereof I have but just now spoken yet it is too much neglected in many places Much neglected neither do I think it is so much used in any place of Europe as in his Majesties Dominions in which the Ancients are well imitated who train'd their Armies very punctually in time of Peace as well as in time of War I wish all Companies who otherwise are well enough train'd were accustom'd to make Marches when they are exercised as I said in my Discourse of Defensive Arms. For though I do not desire they should be made to run or walk twenty or five and twenty miles in five or six hours time and in full Arms as the Romans did yet I think they would be much strengthen'd and Marching a necessary point of Military Exercisâ— made more healthful and more able to endure fatigue if they were made twice a week march in a Summer-morning seven or eight miles and back again in the afternoon and proportionably as far in the Winter This being frequently practised in time of peace would make long and speedy Marches which often are necessary in the time of War even with Defensive Arms very easie and it would accustom the Soldiers to keep their ranks and files punctually provided Officers be attentive to see them do it on that March This would be to some better purpose than for Commanders to march with Squads with half or whole Regiments a half hour it may be a whole one up and down to and again upon one spot of ground a right Mockmarch A Mockmarch whereby some Officers contrary to their intention for they think they are doing a very handsome feat make themselves ridiculous to both the spectators and their own Soldiers The Grecians and Romans in time of War drill'd their Armies in the Fields but Training is lookt upon now as an unnecessary thing not only in the Field but in Towns and Garrisons likewise This is not the Prince or States fault but is an inexcusable neglect and carelesness of Colonels who
as the Regiments or Brigades march If any Waggons or Baggage-horses press to be before these behind whom the Waggon-master General hath ordered them to march he may safely make prize of them owe them who will When the Waggons come to a Heath or a Champaign field the Waggon-master should order the Waggons to draw up two four or five in rank and to drive in that order so long as the ground permits them to do so and this saves time and makes dispatch and when they come to strait ground they are to fall off by the right hand in that order wherein they were before The same course he is to take with Baggage horses This Baggage-master General is allowed to have two Lieutenants so that if the Army march three several ways aâ— Waggon-master hath Deputies sometimes it doth himself and his two Deputies serve to marshal the Baggage of all the three If the Army is divided into two or the Cavalry march alone one of his Lieutenants goes along with the Horse the other stays with himself and he is constantly to be there where the General of the Army and Train of Artillery either marcheth or quartereth Many times Waggons are commanded to be burnt and destroyed sometimes all the Women and most of the Baggage are left behind at some Garrison and fortified place or with the Body of the Infantry and Artillery when expedition calls away all the Horse Dragoons and as many Foot as are able to march lustily In some of these occasions Officers go fair to lose their Waggons and some of their moveables Women following an Army divided into three Classes First Women who follow an Army may be ordered if they can be ordered in three ranks or rather in Classes one below another The first shall be of those who are Ladies and are the Wives of the General and other principal Commanders of the Army who for most part are carried in Coaches but those Coaches must drive according to the quality of them to whom the Ladies belong and as the Baggage of their Husbands is appointed to march by the Waggon-master General The second Classe is of those who ride on Horseback Second and these must ride in no other place than where the Baggage of the Regiment to whom they belong marcheth but they are very oft extravagant gadding here and there and therefore in some places they are put in Companies and have one or more to command and over-see them and these are called in Germany Hureweibles Rulers or Marshals of the Whores I have seen them ride keep Troop rank and file very well after that Captain of theirs who led them and a Banner with them which one of the Women carried The third Third Classe is of those who walk on foot and are the wives of inferiour Officers and Souldiers these must walk besides the Baggage of the several Regiments to whom they belong and over them the several Regiment Marshals have inspection As woman was created to be a helper to man so women are great helpers Women helpful to their Husbands in Armieâ— in Armies to their husbands especially those of the lower condition neither should they be rashly banisht out of Armies sent away they may be sometimes for weighty considerations they provide buy and dress their husbands meat when their husbands are on duty or newly come from it they bring in fewel for fire and wash their linnens and in such manner of employments a Souldiers wife may be helpful to others and gain money to her husband and her self especially they are useful in Camps and Leaguers being permitted which should not be refused them to go some miles from the Camp to buy Victuals and other Useful in Camps Necessaries At the long Siege of Breda made by Spinola it was observ'd that the married Souldiers fared better look'd more vigorously and were able to do more duty than the Batchellors and all the spite was done the poor women was to be called their husbands mules by those who would have been glad to have had such mules themselves Among all these kinds of Women in well order'd Armies there are none but those who are married If there be any else upon examination made by the Minister Priest or Consistory they are put away with ignominy at least should be conformable to all Articles of War But a strange story is writ by good Authors of that famous Duke of Alvâ— whose name is yet so hateful to most of the Netherlands They say at that time he marched from Italy to the Low-Countries to reduce them to the obedience of his Master the King of Spain a permission was given to Courtizans to follow his Army but they were to ride in Troops with Banners They had their several A strange story of Courtizans Capitanesses and Alfieras or she-Cornets and other Officers who kept among them an exact Discipline in all points that concern'd their profession They were divided into several Squadrons according to their quality and that was distinguisht no otherwise but by the difference of their beauties faces and features Those of the best sort were permitted only to traffick with men of the highest quality those of the second rank with Commanders of great note those of the third with Officers of a lower condition and those of the fourth degree with Officers who were of the meanest quality and Souldiers whom those of the other three ranks rejected An excellent Commonwealth where it was prohibited under all grievous pains not to suffer themselves to be Courted by any An abominable Common-Wealth either above or below the rank wherein they were placed and that was impartially done according to the Talent nature had bestowed upon them so that every common Souldier inferior person or low Officer Ensign Captain Colonel or General Commander knew to whom they might address themselves and from whom they might buy repentance A practice which I suppose never had a Precedent in either Christian or Pagan Army and which with an impudent face loudly cry'd defyance to both Religion and Moral honesty CHAP. XIX Of the March of an Army IF there be any confusion in the march of an Army or that the right ordering it be neglected by general persons in appointing every Regiment or Brigade its own place with the Train of Artillery and Baggage or that Colonels Majors and Captains be careless to obey their orders in their march A careless march the ruin of an Army and suffer their Souldiers to run straggle and lag behind it not only gives an enemy a wished advantage but is enough of it self to ruin an Army even without the help of an enemy In a march an Army may be surprized in passing a River whether that be by Foord Bridg or Boat or when it marcheth thorough marsh grounds or close Countries when it ascends or descends Hills to all these inconveniences a careful General should advert and according to the Intelligence he hath either
he is to advance his march speedily to gain a pass or advantage of ground or stop his march and encamp and fortifie and if nothing else will help he should draw up in Battel either fronting that same way as he was marching or facing about to fight the enemy whether he be in his front or reer and let God dispose of the Victory as seems good in his eyes Our Modern Armies have marched and do still march one of three several An Army may â—arch in three several manners ways these are first by dividing an Army into three several Bodies Van-guard Battel and Arrier-guard secondly by marching in two distinct Bodies as they use to fight and these are commonly called Battel and Reserve Thirdly all in one Battel whereby is meant the half of the Cavalry in the Van the other half in the Reer and the Foot between them To clear all these three ways of marching let us suppose our Army to consist of six Brigades of Horse and eight of Foot These are divided after the first way thus In the Van-guard First manner in three Bodies three Brigades of Horse and out of these a strong party of three or four hundred Horse to go before to search the ways and discover That party should be about one English mile before the three Brigades of Horse and out of it should be small parties sent out about half an English mile which should constantly acquaint the great party and it the Brigades behind and so from hand Van-guard to hand till the Intelligence of all they learn comes to the General After these forlorn Troops of Horse follow commanded Musqueteers with Pioneers to smooth and make plain the ways for the Artillery whether it be by cutting Trees or hedges or filling hollow grounds or Ditches After the three Brigades of Horse follow some Field-pieces suppose the half of those that are with the Army and some Waggons loaded with Ammunition immediately after them march two Brigades of Foot these are follow'd by the Baggage of the whole Van-guard and behind it a commanded party of Horse and Foot so you see this Van-guard is a petty Army of it self In the next place comes the Battel in this order First two Brigades of Foot after them the Prince or his Battel General in person attended with the Guard of his Body and Servants behind these the General or Colonel of the Artillery who is followed by the great Ordnance and whole Train of Artillery after it cometh in due order the Baggage belonging to the General Officers and to all the four Brigades which compose the Battel in the Reer whereof march two more Brigades of Foot and these sometimes are brought up by a party of Horse After the Battel comes the Reerguard of our Army and that is the Reverse of the Van-guard for first Reer-guard marcheth its Baggage with a commanded party of Horse and Foot next follow two Brigades of Foot then some Field-pieces behind them the other three Brigades of Horse who have a party behind them at the distance at least of one English mile to give them advertisement if an enemy be following And this is the first and a very commendable manner of the march of an Army But observe to make the greater expedition especially if an Army be numerous these three great Bodies may march three several ways if the Country conveniently Thâ—se three Bodies may march three several ways afford them and this makes a speedy march but in this case the Battel must have two Brigades of Horse which it had not before and consequently the Van guard and Reer-guard each of them but two whereas by our former marshalling each of them had three when they divide they are appointed to meet at such a time and place as the General shall appoint whether that be every night or every third fourth or fifth night this is done when an enemy is not near The Commander in chief marcheth and â—dgeth constantly with the Body of the Infantry and the Artillery And these great Officers who command the Van-guard and Arrier-guard have Majors attending them every day and night besides Ordinance-Horsemen to receive their Directions and bring them speedily to them in regard some new intelligence may rationally move them to alter the manner of the march or any Orders they gave concerning it The second manner of the march of an Army is in two Bodies Battel and Second manner in two Bodies Reserve You will be pleased to remember that the Army we now speak of consists of six Brigades of Horse and eight of Foot which I thus order In the Battel shall first march 400 commanded Horse who shall have a smaller party before them to discover next them Pioneers or Country people with a party of Musqueteers or Fire-locks to plain the ways then four Brigades of Horse Next them Field-pieces then three Brigades of Foot after them the Prince or he who commands by his authority the General or Colonel of the Artillery follows after whom comes the great Ordnance and whole Train which is followed by the Coaches and Waggons belonging to the General and all the other General Officers after them comes the Baggage belonging to all the Brigades of the Battel in that same order that the Brigades themselves march after which come two Brigades of Foot and then a party of Horse brings up the reer of the Battel The Reserve follows in this order First a Commanded party of Horse and Reserve Foot then the whole Baggage that belongs to the Reserve next to it Field-pieces with their Waggons of Ammunition after them three Brigades of Foot and then two Brigades of Horse about one English mile behind them follows the Reer-guard of Commanded Horse These two great bodies for expedition These two Bodies may march two several ways sake may likewise march two several ways if the General have no apprehension of an enemy and join when he gives order for it Observe when an enemy is in the reer the Battel is the Reserve and the Reserve is the Battel and consequently more Brigades should be in the Reer than in the Van and in the Reer at such an occasion the Commander in chief of the Army should be The third manner of an Armies march is when it neither marcheth in two Third manner in one Body nor three distinct Bodies but in one intire Body which is frequently practised let me then once more refresh your memory by telling you our Army consists of six Brigades of Horse and eight of Foot Three Brigades of Horse march first and make the Van-guard these have before them commanded Horse Pioneers and Musqueteers as the others had Then follow four Brigades of Foot the General after them next him the General of the Artillery with his whole Train after it marcheth the other four Brigades of Foot and these eight Brigades of Foot compose the Battel of the Army the other three Brigades of
must every Interval between Brigades have now in six Brigades there are 5 Intervals 5 times 600 make 3000 allow for three ranks and two Intervals in every Brigade marching in breast 36 foot and multiply 36 by 6 which is the number of the Brigades the product is 216 add 216 to 3000 the aggregate is 3216 add that to 8688 the aggregate is 11904 divide this number by 5 to make paces the Quotient will be 2380 paces and four foot this will be two Italian miles and more than one third An intollerable distance between the first rank of the Cavalry and the last rank of it the Infantry marching in the middle a thing intollerable that there should be so vast a distance between the Front and Reer of an Army of 18000 Horse and Foot marching in Brigades and every Brigade marching in breast and neither piece of Ordnance Waggon or Baggage-horse among them And this leads me to another speculation which is that all who have the conduct of Armies should in a march allow as little Interval between either greater or smaller Bodies as possible may be in regard Woods Waters Passes close Countries Straits and narrow ways will make a greater distance between the Vans and Reers of their Armies than is in their power Distance between Van and Reer of an Army marching to make less To verifie which let us suppose with Bockler a late German Author that 10000 Foot and 1000 Horse are upon a march where the Foot may march ten in breast and the Horse five and have only ten half Cannon with Powder and Bullets for one day and only some necessary Baggage with them he passeth his word to us that this little Army when it is marching shall take up of ground between Van and Reer 28000 foot this is more than five Italian miles and one half I have a little examined the computation and I believe his reckoning to be right But if you please let us not trust his word but try our selves what distance there may be between the Van of an Army consisting of 15000 Foot and 3000 Horse with which shall be no more Ordnance than ten Demi-cannon Instanced in an Army of 18000 men and twenty Field-pieces and a less Train if any you cannot allow to an Army of 18000 fighting men And with this Army we shall suffer no more Waggons to be than 1200 for carrying all the Ammunition Instruments for Fortification and Artillery Proviant and Baggage belonging to the General Officers and the whole Horse and Foot whereas twice that number may be well enough allowed and to make the distance the less we shall allow but two horses for every Waggon without having any regard to Coaches or great Rust-Waggons drawn ordinarily by six horses whereof there be but too many in every Army Let us imagin we march not in a Champaign but in a close Country yet not so close but the Horse shall march five in breast and the Foot ten and there be many ways which will not permit so much and to spare ground I shall allow no Intervals between Regiments or Brigades of Foot only Intervals between Divisions shall be allowed and no Interval at all between either Regiments or Divisions of the Cavalry shall be allowed but the whole 3000 shall march five in breast all in one row The Foot being six deep and ten in front will march 60 men in each Division 15000 Foot marching ten in front or breast We must see how many such Divisions will be in 15000 men To know this divide 15000 by 60 the Quotient will be 250 so you have 250 divisions allow as you must 36 foot for the 6 ranks of every Division that is 6 foot for the ranks to stand on and 30 foot for the 5 Intervals therefore you must multiply 250 by 36 which is the number of your Divisions and the product will be 9000. For an Interval between two Divisions I shall only allow 12 foot whereas many allow 18 now there be 249 Intervals multiply therefore 249 by 12 the product is 2988. Add 2988 to 9000 the aggregate is 11988 And so many foot of ground must 15000 Foot have from Van to Reer when they march ten in breast Being our 3000 Horse are to march five in breast you are to divide 3000 3000 horse marching five in Breast by 5 and the Quotient will be 600 so you have 600 ranks we must allow every Rider ten foot for the length of his Horse multiply then 600 by 10 the Product is 6000. Ordinarily a Horses length is allow'd for an Interval between ranks of Horse but because we would march close we shall allow but the half of that to wit five foot now there be in 600 ranks 599 Intervals multiply then 599 by 5 the Product will be 2995. Add 2995 to 6000 the aggregate is 8995 so many foot of ground 3000 Horse take up in their marching five in breast We have ten Demi-cannon which shoot each of them a bullet of 24 pound at least each of them shall weigh no more but 4400 pound of metal though the Germans allow more than 5000. Allow then one Horse to draw 250 pound of this Piece you shall need 18 Horses at least to draw one Demicannon with her Carriage Leaver Sponge and Laddle these 18 Horses being Ten Demi-Cannon drawn one after another coupled make nine couple allow then for nine couple of Horses for the length of the Piece and her Carriage 110 foot and it will be little enough multiply then 110 by 10 which is the number of your Demi-cannon the Product is 1100 so much ground they must have when they are drawn one after another and here is no allowance for distance between them nor shall we give any between the 20 Field-pieces but shall allow each of them to be drawn by two Horses nor shall we give more ground to the Horses Piece And twenty Field-pieces and Carriage than 20 foot that is for all the twenty 400 foot Our 1200 Waggons will take up much ground nor is it possible to help it Nor can we allow less ground for a Waggon drawn with two Horses and a convenient distance between it and the Waggon which follows it than 1200 Waggons drawn one after another 22 foot multiply then 1200 by 22 the Product will be 26400 so much ground require twelve hundred Waggons when they are drawn one after another The Foot then require 11988 foot the Horse 8995 the Demi-cannon 1100 the Field-pieces 400 the Wagons 26400 add these numbers together the aggregate will be 48883. These make in paces 9776 and three foot about nine Italian miles and three quarters If you suspect I have cast up a wrong account be pleased to work your self and mend it at your pleasure By this you may see if the Army be stronger than this of ours as many be or the Train greater as indeed it should be or your Waggons more numerous as assuredly they
Captain of Arms under him the Furer and below the Furer the second Tambour and under him the other fifty huts for the other fifty Soldiers all in one row all these having a proportion of ground allowed equal to the first row on the right hand In the reer of the Souldiers huts there must be a Street 20 foot broad for Waggons and Carts to pass and repass and this Street traverseth the whole breadth of both Company and Regiment as the other of 10 foot doth at the Van of the Inferior Officers huts Next to this traverse Street in the reer there is a place for Waggons and Sutlers 10 foot long and behind that there is another place 10 foot long likewise for fires and dressing meat for there must be no fire among the huts and both these places enjoy the full breadth of the Company which is 24 foot Be pleased then to remember that 40 foot in length are allowed for the Captain 10 for the Lieutenant 10 for the first traverse Street 200 for the rows of under Officers and Souldiers huts 20 for the second traverse Street 10 for Sutlers and 10 for fire add these together the aggregate will be 300 which is the length of the quarter Remember also that 8 foot are allowed for the breadth of all Officers and common Souldiers huts except the Captains Then two rows of huts require 16 foot in breadth between these rows there must be a direct Street running from the back of the Captains Tent to the reer as I told you before and it is 8 foot broad add 8 to 16 makes 24 and so much ground the Captains Length and breadth of a Foot companies quarter Tents possesseth and it is the breadth of the Companies quarter Multiply the length by the breadth that is 300 by 24 the Product is 7200 foot near one Italian mile and a half within the Circumference of this Companies quarter Let us in the next place quarter the Colonel with his Field and Staff Officers which shall be done thus There shall be a place in the middle of the Regiment which shall be 300 foot long and 64 broad on the right hand of this place five Companies shall lodg and on the left hand of it the other five Of this place Quarter for the Staff of a Foot Regiment the whole breadth to wit 64 foot shall be allowed to the Colonels Lodgings and 50 foot in length by which means he shall have all the Tents and Huts of his Captains Lieutenants and Ensigns in a parallel line with his own Beâ—ind the Colonels Lodgings is that Street whereof I spoke before of 10 foot broad which traverseth the breadth of the whole Regiment and in which most Castrametators will have the Colours and Arms to stand but Tents and huts before that Street will make it in my judgment very improper for that use Below that Street there shall be a plot of ground 40 foot in length and 64 broad to be equally divided between the Lieutenant Colonel and Major if they do not quarter besides their Companies and behind them a Street 20 foot broad Below that Street shall be a quarter 50 foot long and 64 broad to be divided among the Minister Quarter-master Auditor Secretary Chirurgeon and Marshal and below them the third Street 20 foot broad Next to that shall be a place 70 foot long and 64 broad for Waggons and Baggage behind that the fourth Street of 20 foot broad which is at the reer of all the Souldiers huts and traverseth the breadth of the whole Regiment Next to that are the two places formerly mention'd for Sutlers and fire one behind the other each 10 foot long and 64 broad If you then remember that the length of the Colonels Lodgings is 50 foot 10 for a Street 40 for the Lieutenant Colonel and Major 20 for a second Street 50 for the Staff-Officers and 20 for a third Street 70 for Waggons 20 for the fourth Street and 20 for Sutlers and fires It 's length and breadth when you add these numbers together the aggregate will be 300 which is the length of this quarter as it is of all other quarters of our Camp the breadth of this particular one being 64 foot as I told you before In the quartering the ten Companies of the Regiment five on the Colonels right hand and five on his left respect would be had to the dignity antiquity and precedency of the Captains my own opinion is they should be quarter'd according to that order wherein they were marshal'd in the field and what that is you may find in the Eleventh Chapter Let us then take a view of the whole breadth of this Regiments quarter for doing whereof we must first consider that the ten Companies make ten distinct Bodies and the quarter for the Colonel and his Staff the eleventh Eleven Bodies must have ten Intervals for every one whereof we shall allow 16 foot that one Waggon may pass by another multiply then 10 by 16 the aggregate is 160 this much is allowed for the ten Intervals every Company hath 24 foot for its Length and breadth of a Regiment of Foot 's quarter breadth inde for 10 Companies 240 foot the Colonel and Staff hath 64 add 160 to 240 and both these to 64 the aggregate is 464 and that is the latitude of a Regiment of Foot 's quarter If you would know the superficial measure of this quarter multiply the length of it which is 300 foot by the breadth of it which is 464 foot the Product will prove to be 139200 foot near â—ts Superficiâ—l measure 28 Italian miles By what hath been said it will be easie to know how any Troop Company or Regiment either of Horse or Foot of what strength soever may be quarter'd as if the Colonels Company be stronger by fifty men than the rest as in some places they be it may have a row of Huts more than others have In the Low Country Wars the Princes of Orange allowed four foot for the length of every Foot-Souldiers Hut but the Germans for most part allow but 3½ whom in this Princes of Orangâ— their allowance for Souldiers huts point I have followed in this Castrametation By the account oâ— four foot long for every Hut a row of Huts for fifty men should have the allowance of 200 foot but in our days Henry Prince of Orangâ— took away 20 of that leaving but 180 and these 20 foot he join'd to the breadth of the traverse Street in the reer of the Huts which before was but 20 but by this addition came to be 40 foot broad that Waggons and Provisions might have more room to go out and in and pass and repass The 300 foot which I have allow'd for the length of every Companies quarter may be abridged or enlarged as the General shall find occasion for it but an uniformity in the length of the whole Camp is both decent and requisite He who
Equilateral work of four sides and four Angles for most part equilateral each side 40 50 or 60. foot long And sometimes but very seldome Redouts are built of an oblong figure and then the longest side may be of 120 100. and the shortest An oblong one 40 50 or 60. foot From that Redout another approach runs 5 6 or 700. foot long to the other hand in the same manner and at the end thereof another Redout or Battery should be made from whence begins the third running Line to that hand that the first Trench did run and so alternately till Batteries be made and the Zap begin Observe that the ground without on which the approaches are to be made is divided by the Generals appointment into several Posts The approaches whereof to the Besieged Fort go equally on and therefore all the Redouts and Batteries of them should defend flank and secure one another against the outfalls and Sallies of the Besieged The nearer the approach come to the Ditch of the Fort the deeper and broader it should be the better to defend the Souldiers and the deeper any work be that requires a Breast-work the higher will the top of that Breast-work Breast-works and Foot-banks be for that reason many times three steps of a foot bank will be necessary for Souldiers to ascend to the defence of their Breast-works either in case of Sallies or yet to give fire upon the Parapets of the Towns Fortifications In such convenient places of these approaches as either the General of the Artillery or Quartermaster General for to their charges and inspection belong the Approaches shall think fit some of these Sconces should be made which commonly are called Batteries for properly a Battery is nothing else but A Battery the Platform on which the Ordnance stand which is also called the Bed of the Cannon and on these Batteries such Pieces are planted as are thought necessary ordinarily whole and Demi-Cannon and whole and Demi-Culverine In making these Redouts Trenches consideration should be had of the nature of the Earth that is digged if it be good black Earth it will serve without help for Breast-works but if not then must Baskets be made and filled with Earth or Sand compactly But whether the Breast-work be of Earth or made of Gabions it is necessary it be ten or twelve foot thick If the ground be marish no doubt it will Gabions and Baskets exceedingly retard the Approaches for Wooden palls must be struck in the Earth and Wit hs Straw and Rubbish laid upon them for a foundation to a Battery and upon the Battery Gabions and Baskets filled with Earth as was done by Prince Henry of Orange at the Siege of the Busch and there he was well helped in that marish Ground by a dry Summer Where a running Some running Trenches direct some oblique some Serpentine Trench is made if the ground be tollerably good and yet marish on both sides it must be made in a streight and direct Line and not an oblique one as the other whereof I spoke and for the defence of the Souldiers there must be blinds and the Trench it self should be two foot deeper than an approach which is either crooked or serpentine When the Approaches are brought near the Ditch of the Besieged place the Counter-scarp which is the shield of the Fortress is in danger and then the Zappe begins This Sappe or Zappe is nothing else but a digging as all Zappe why so called the rest of the Approaches are but men have appropriated it to that digging which is near to or in the Counter-scarp We have borrowed it from the Italian in which Language Zappa signifies a Mattock Zapare to dig or delve and Zappamento a digging or delving The Sappe then begins at both sides or faces of the Bulwark towards which the approaches have been made sometimes but on one side the Souldiers Zappe under favour of the Canon which should play lustily from the several Batteries and of the Musketeers who should incessantly fire upon the Flanks and Parapets of the Bastion from both Batteries and Redouts the manner of Sapping is this Against that part The manner of a Zappe of the Bulwark which the Besiegers intend to undermine which ordinarily is the capital point or that angle that coupleth the two faces of the Bastion one man kneeling or bowing digs three foot deep and three foot broad throwing the Earth both before and on both sides of him and still advanceth another follows him close and makes it three foot broader and deeper if the Ground permit it to him succeeds the third who adds three foot more to the depth and breadth so that a man may walk covered In this manner the Zappers being often reliev'd by turns the Zap is continued till they have digg'd through the Counterscarp which must be done though it be lin'd with Stone and Mortar otherwise all their labour is lost When this is finish'd the Besiegers are to fight with the two merciless Enemies and Elements of Fire and Water the first from the Walls of the Fort the second from the Ditch over which they must be before they come to the Wall for doing whereof all the Earth and rubbish that hath been cast out in Zapping must be cast in How to fill the Moat the Foss and with it a world of Fascines which are bundles or knitchels of the twigs and smaller branches of Trees in every one whereof should be Sâ—oâ—es to make them sink they should be six or seven foot long for this reason at Sieges Souldiers when they are not on other duty are order'd to make many thousands of them There must likewise use be made of great logs of Timber great Stones and sacks full of Sand or any thing else that may be thought fitting to fill the Ditch and this is continued without intermission your Ordnance and Musket firing incessantly on the Flanks and Parapets of the besieged till a damm be made to the place you would be at suppose it be that angle of a Bulwark I just now spoke of because it hath no other defence but from that part of the Curtain which is called the second Flank which for that reason the Besiegers should make as useless as may be with Cannon and Culverine Observe in passing since you are passing over the Ditch that if there be any Casemates as now they are not much used they must be destroy'd before the Casemates damm be begun Upon this damm whiâ—h must run more to one side of the angle than the other that so it may be subject but to one Flank a Gallery A Gallery must be made the one side whereof which is in greatest danger must according to the dammage it is to expect from the Artillery be seven eight nine or ten foot thick of strong Balks coupled together in manner of a gallows covered above with Boards above which is to be laid Earth three foot thick
are the Cut-throats of Fortresses all Mills Houses of pleasure Trees Yards Gardens Barns Enclosures Hedges or any thing else under or by which he conceives an Enemy may be shelter'd or make his Approaches more easie And this he should do betimes that before an Enemies arrival all within two hundred paces of the Counterscarp may be an Esplanad for truly when the besieging Army advanceth near the Town I To make all plain without the Fort. know not what good it is or can do to burn houses which indeed is quickly done but the Walls of those Houses standing gives as good and as easie shelter though not so good an accommodation as the Houses did Next the Governour is to divide all his men into several Posts allowing so many to the To divide it in several Posts defence of each according to the strength or weakness of the place changing nightly if he can for fear of Treachery withal he should keep a strong Reserve constantly in the Market-place to make use of as he shall think fit to give direction At the beginning of the Siege he is to discharge all private Parleys To discharge private Parleys and Discourses with those who are without some discharge all Songs and Whistlings the striking of Clocks and ringing of Bells that thereby no secret signs or advertizements formerly agreed on may be given He is bound To spare the Souldiers from unnecessary toil to spare his Souldiers from toyl and fatigue as much as possibly he may and it is well if he can order the matter so that they may watch one day work the second and rest the third If the Governour have Horse in his Garrison when the Enemy advanceth towards it he may send them out with foot behind to sustain them to make Sallies some light skirmishes and to bring back with them Prisoners if they can But before the Approaches be advanc'd so long as an Enemy is fresh and in great Bodies Sallies do him small or no hurt and the loss of one man of the Besieged doth the Governour more hurt and prejudice than the loss of ten can do the Besieger Sallies are necessary then when they are undertaken to When necessary hinder the making or the finishing of a Battery or if made to ruine it or to hinder the progress of a Zap or to nail Ordnance or Mortars Sallies should be resolutely made and the Retreat from them orderly In the time of them the Ordnance from the Bastions of the Town should play lustily upon the Approaches where the Salliers are not and over all the Approaches upon the Fields to hinder succourse to come from the leaguer or quarters and feints made at other Ports of the Town as if the Besiegers were to Sally out of them likewise Those who Sally will not do well to amuse themselves with taking many To take few Prisoners aâ— Sallies Prisoners one or two may serve their turn to bring to the Governour to give him intelligence and those they take should be but common Souldiers for they will be more apt to tell what they know than others of better quality nor is it to be imagin'd that those will be taken in the Approaches who are upon the Generals Secrets unless it be very accidentally What Prisoners you carry into a besieged place you must resolve to entertain them for back you must not send them and guard them that they escape not this will be both burthensom and troublesom to you and to allow them no maintenance is inhumanity And this was the Governour of Brisac's fault for which he was like to pay dear as you may hear in the next Chapter If by a Sally the Besiegers be beat out of a Battery the Pieces of Ordnance and Mortars that are in it should be immediately cloy'd and nail'd What is to be done in the time of a Sally or if the Sallyers have some time to put Powder under the platform or a train with a burning match to the Powder Chamber which is ordinarily beside the Appareill it may much endanger and endammage the Besiegers when they return to repossess their Battery But a careful Enemy having Reserves to attend all accidents many times pursues the Sallyers so furiously in their Retreat that the Besieged are forc'd to shut their Gates against their own people therefore it were not amiss to have Ladders at the Counterscarp whereby they may descend to the Ditch if it be dry and so get into the Casemates but these are for most part left out in our latest Fortifications I know not for what reason or if there be Water in the Moats in that case little Boats may receive those Souldiers that cannot enter at the Sally Port. In all or any of these Sallies the Governour ought not to hazzard his person or offer to stir out of his A Governour not to sally Fort let the pretence be never so specious or plausible I know many gallant men have done it to their irrecoverable loss When a Governour perceives where an Enemy intends to batter or to lodge whether it be in Curtain or Bulwark he is oblig'd immediately to begin a Retrenchment behind the place aim'd at but for all that â—e is to dispute that A Retrenchment Curtain or Bulwark or any part of them to the uttermost he must defend it to extremity by Sallies Counter-batteries by sinking Cannon to destroy the Galleries and by Counter-mines to blow up those who lodge in the breaches and if he must quit it he is to do it by inches But all this while the Governour is busie working at his Retrenchment that when he is forc'd to part with that for which he hath fought so well he may retire his men to his Countermure where the Besiegers shall have a new work to begin A Retrenchment What it is is a new line as regularly drawn and fortified with Flanks as the conveniency of the place may permit It is made up of stone earth rubbish boards balks and planks feather-beds woollen or straw sacks dung or what can be had whereof store should be provided before hand If there be ground enough for it between the Rampart and the Town it is well if not as many Houses owe them who will must be pull'd down as may serve the turn The Ancients used Called a Countermure these Retrenchments frequently and call'd them Countermures The Germans call them Absueid that is a cutting off because by it they cut off the rest of the Fort from that part the Enemy hath taken Many times they are made in a very short time and so they may in a Town where no serviceable Creature is exempted from work young nor old man nor woman except whom childhood or old age or sickness excuseth Yet I think that which Monluc writes concerning a Retrenchment is very strange He says he was in Henry Great celerity the Second of France his time with the Count of Brisac
Captains unless he have a Company himself The Swedes of a long time allowed him no company yet allow'd him the command over Captains but it is now many years ago since they were permitted to have companies hence perhaps it is that when they have no companies they may be called Serjeant-Majors as when they have companies the Germans call them Captain-Majors but the English use frequently the words of Serjeant Major and Serjeant-Major General none of them are used either by German Swede or Dane A Lieutenant-Colonel is that in a Regiment that a Lieutenant is in a company Lieutenant-Colonel and therefore when the Colonel is present the Lieutenant-Colonel hath no command and since in the Colonels absence the other commands the Regiment I think he should be endued with all those qualifications that are required to be in a Colonel and what these are I shall tell you as others have told me with my own sense of them A Colonel say some should be a Gentleman of great experience in Military Colonel Affairs bold and resolute courteous affable liberal judicious and religious But such descriptions of Military Officers seem to proceed from those Philosophers who teach men to conform their lives and actions to the strict and severe rules of Moral vertue for my part I would not only have a Colonel to be pious and religious but his whole Regiment likewise but because this may rather be wisht than expected I say if he be not exemplarily pious he may notwithstanding be a Colonel good enough so he be not a profest Atheist I would have a Colonel to be affable and liberal but though His Qualifications he be both churlish and Parsimonious he may be a Colonel good enough I would have a Colonel to be experienced in most of the points of War yet though he be not and hath seen but little if he be of a ready wit and good judgment he may be a Colonel good enough for Princes and States when they raise Armies think it fit to make choice of Colonels who can levy Regiments for which employment without question men of good birth and quality are most proper But courage an aptitude to learn and proneness to follow advice are qualities very essential and requisite in all men of that charge it is little matter how avaritious a Colonel be so he offer not to meddle with any part of the pay of his Regiment except his own It is the less matter though he be ignorant in some points belonging to his command so he be willing to be advised by those of his Officers who understand them But those who fancy that the Title of Colonels entails a right upon them to command what they please and to pay their Regiments as they like and by their wilful ignorance confound matters of Government and Discipline and introduce and frame Customs in their Regiments which no others use should be chac'd out of all Armies as presumptuous arrogant and impertinent if not worse Having spoken now sufficiently of all the Officers belonging to a Company and Regiment of Foot it will be time to put the several Companies in one Body thereby to make a Regiment but I will first tell the Captains that after they have for some time exercis'd their Companies and thereby known the abilities of their several Soldiers they must be careful to put them in ranks and files according as they find they deserve the properest tallest and strongest men they should arm with Pikes the rest with Musquets Next to the Corporal 's the most deserving should be File-leaders the next place of dignity is the To marshal a Company in ranks and files reer the third is the middle or fourth rank the fourth dignity is the second rank as being next the Van the fifth place of dignity is the fifth rank as that which is next the reer the sixth and last place is the third rank All this is meant where all Companies and Batallions of Foot are marshal'd six deep Next to this the Captain should have regard to the right and left hand files and having drawn up his men as he thinks each of them deserves he is to command his Clerk to write down the names of all that are in Arms just as they stand in files and thereafter when he draws out his Company let him constantly put them in Battel according to that Roll this being done four or five days the Soldiers by custom knowing their places their Leaders and their Sidemen will be able without the help of their Officers to marshal themselves When all the Companies are to be join'd in one Body every Captain should cast his odd men in the reer and it is impossible there can be above five odd men in one Company that the Major may make files and so join them to the Regiment in such places as he thinks fitting There be several ways of drawing up Regiments of Foot and they may vary according to the several opinions of men and yet all of them may be good enough But a Major should not marshal the Regiment according to his own fancy or yet that of his Colonels but according to the known practice of the Prince or State in whose Service he is for Uniformity is required in Military Uniformity in Marshalling Regiments in one Prince his Service Customs as much or rather more than in other things The pleasure of the Prince or of his General in matters which depend on their own judgments ought not to be debated or disputed I will not trouble my Reader with the difference of opinions in marshalling the several Companies according to the Precedency of those to whom they belong whether these be Officers of the Field or private Captains when they are to be join'd in one Body But shall lay down three grounds wherein I suppose all our Modern Commanders agree These are First That the Regiment should be marshal'd in a Square front the Wedg Rhombus and Ring-Battels not being now made use of except for show Secondly That the Pikemen make the Body and the Musqueteers the wings Thirdly That the Colonels Company ought to have constantly the right hand whether the Regiment be drawn up in one two or three divisions When Regiments were two or three thousand strong it was thought fit to marshal them in three Batallions or Divisions and these were called the Colonels the Lieutenant-Colonels and the Majors Divisions but being to speak of a Regiment consisting only of one thousand and composed of ten Companies I shall tell you how I have seen such a one marshal'd both in one and in two Divisions the manner whereof pleaseth me better than any other that I have either seen or read of leaving notwithstanding every man free to his own choice for I offer not to impose The Major of the Regiment having either chused the ground himself or got it assign'd to him by the Major-General if he be to draw up in one Division