Bodies in the Field as they are by him in Paper When the Phalanx presented their Pikes by half Files to Front and Rear the Greeks called it in that posture Amphistomus When the General commanded the Wings of the Phalange to advance and the Body to make a Bow or Crescent and in that posture to receive the charge of a Wedge Battel then it was called Antistomus And when by facing either by the Right or Left hand about the Rear was made the Front then the Phalange was called Peristomus And so of others needless to rehearse It may be I mistake in the Greek names as having indeed but very little knowledge in that Language CHAP. IX Of the Grecian March Baggage Encamping Guards and of their Paean ALL these belong to the Art of War of any Nation and none will doubt but the Grecians had set rules and orders for them all and every one of them which they did not alter but according to the circumstances of things and emergency of affairs on which depend most of Military actions Aelian gives us little light or indeed none at all in any of these particulars Most of them forgot by Aelian but leaves us to glean what we can out of History and thereon to build our own conjectures It had been convenient for us to have known the manner of their marching where or how the Horse the heavy and light armed and how far every day all of them were obliged to march as also whether the Chiliarchies which were Regiments of Foot and the Hipparchies which were Regiments of March Horse changed day about or if they march'd constantly in one place according to their Antiquity or Precedency For there is no doubt but their Ephipparchies which were Brigades of Horse and their Myriarchies which were Brigades of Foot might have chang'd Van and Rear every day by turns as easily as our Brigades do But since we are left by our leader Aelian in the dark I shall be of the opinion that being there were by Aelians account four Ephipparchies in the Cavalry and four Phalangarchies in the Phalange of the heavy armed Foot they chang'd day about and each of them had the Van every fourth day as also I think it was most consentaneous to Reason that there being four Chiliarchies in every Phalangarchy and four Talentinarchies in every Ephipparchy they likewise daily changed so that every Talentinarchy had the Van in the Ephipparchy every fourth day as every Chiliarchy had in the Phalangarchy I shall likewise believe that the Cavalry march'd either before behind or on the Flanks of the Foot Phalange according to the Enemies motions and so did the light armed Foot By these conjectures I do not offer to impose on any mans belief but leave him that liberty that I have taken to guess as probably as he can How far the heavy armed Phalange was bound to march in one day as I can assert nothing so I may only guess that they could be bound to march but twenty or five and twenty miles as the Roman Legionaries were and therefore I can hardly believe Polianus who saith Philip made his Phalange march in one day three hundred Stadia or Furlongs which make thirty seven Italian miles and a half you will think this the more incredible when you hear immediately what Baggage they carried Concerning the Baggage of a Grecian Army our Author gives us this account first that it was necessary to appoint a judicious and active person to have the conduct of it he saith well Next he tells us that sometimes the Baggage march'd in the Van of the Army and so I think it should if the Baggage Enemy were in the Rear Sometimes saith he it march'd in the Rear when the Army advanc'd towards an Enemy and good reason it should be so Sometimes saith he it march'd in the middle of the Army and there may be strong enough Reasons for that too But sometimes he saith it was order'd to march in the Flanks of the Army and so it might provided it had good Guards on the Flanks of it And lastly he avers the Grecians sent their Baggage sometimes before their Army when they were to enter iuto a declared Enemies Countrey And here I profess I do not at all understand the mystery of this Stratagem of War But I wish Aelian had clear'd us in this whether the Souldiers or Companies of Horse or Foot had Waggons Carts Beasts of Carriage Drudges and Slaves allow'd them to carry their Meat and Drink and Fardles or if they were obliged to carry all themselves for in my next Essay of the Roman Militia I shall let you see a Legionary carry three Magazines on his Head Back and Shoulders the first of Arms Stakes or Pallisadoes the second of Meat and Clothes and the third of Utensils for a Kitchin If of all these three the Greek was only obliged to carry his Arms he had a great advantage of the Roman in all marches and expeditions Yet I suppose my Reader may hazard with me to believe that before Philip of Macedons time the Grecian Souldiers carried no other burthens than their Arms but had The Grecian Souldiers carry'd no Baggage either Carriage-Beasts or Drudges allow'd them for carrying their Victuals and other necessaries and this conjecture I ground upon what I have read in Thucydides who tells us that at Syracusa after the unfortunate Athenians had lost their Navy in which were all or most of their provisions and that they were to march away by Land from the Siege of that potent City to seek new fortunes their Souldiers were necessitated to carry their meat themselves because saith the Historian they had mostly lost their Slaves and Drudges who were accustom'd to carry it and some few whose Slaves had stay'd still with them durst not trust them with so precious a thing as meat then was lest in that sad disaster they should run away with it and so starve them If then their Slaves ran away from Till Philip of Macedons time them then Slaves were allow'd them And it seems King Philip abrogated this custome for he caus'd all his Foot Souldiers to carry their Meat and Baggage themselves allowing only one Soujat to carry a Hand-mill for the use of ten Souldiers and a Drudge to every Horse-man this caus'd the other Grecians to call the Philippians Jumenta Philippi Philips Beasts of Carriage But for all that I have not Faith enough to believe Frontinus who saith that the same Philip caus'd his Foot to carry at one time Triginta dierum farinam meal for thirty days And if his Son Alexander kept up that custome as it is like he did then his Phalangites needed not to have yielded to the Roman Legionaries for heavy burthens in both long and wearisome marches which you will easily grant to be true if you will consider the indefatigable expeditions of that magnanimous King through Persia and India It seems Aelian hath not
place of the depth that every Prince appoints for his Foot Before the Reign of the Great Gustavus Adolphus for any thing I could ever learn Foot-Companies were marshal'd ten deep almost universally but he marshal'd Ten deep all his Infantry in six ranks And after he had invaded Germany the Emperour with most of the European Kings and Princes kept their Foot still at ten deep but before the end of that War which he began all of them follow'd his way and made the file of their Foot to consist of six men except the Prince of Six deep Orange who still kept ten in file I should except likewise the Earl of Strafford who in his Instructions for the better Discipline of his Army order'd every Eight deep Captain of Foot to draw up his Company eight deep In a business of this nature where there is difference a man may tell his opinion without affectation of singularity and therefore I suppose it will be granted me that the more hands a Captain can bring to fight the more shrewdly Reasons for six deep he will put his enemy to it provided still his Batallions be of that strength as to receive the shock of a resolute Impression and in case of the worst that he have Reserves to come to his rescue Of Reserves I shall speak hereafter Now I am hopeful it will not be deny'd me but that more hands are brought to fight by eight men in a file than by ten and more by six men in a file than by eight Take a second argument The more able you are to save your self from being surrounded or out-wing'd by an enemy or the more able you make your self to surround and out-wing that enemy of yours the greater advantage you have over him Both these are done by a large front now it is undeniable that eight in file enlarge the front more than ten and six more than eight and consequently eight deep contributes more than ten and six more than eight for gaining the victory That more hands are brought to fight is very soon instanced first by a Body The great advantages 1500 Musqueteers six deep have of 1500 Musqueteers ten deep of Musqueteers and next by a Body of Pikemen Let us suppose a Body of fifteen hundred Musqueteers marshal'd ten deep is to fight with a Body of Musqueteers of equal number that is fifteen hundred six deep and that they are equally stout and experienced and equally good Firemen The fifteen hundred ten deep must give fire by ranks as the fifteen hundred six deep must likewise do now the fifteen hundred ten deep can make no more but a hundred and fifty in rank for a hundred and fifty multiplied by ten produceth fifteen hundred but the fifteen hundred six deep make two hundred and fifty in rank for two hundred and fifty multiplied by six produceth fifteen hundred so that the fifteen hundred six deep at every Volley pours one hundred Leaden Bullets more in the Enemies bosom than the fifteen hundred ten deep and consequently when six ranks of both parties have fired the fifteen hundred ten deep have received six hundred Ball more than the fifteen hundred six deep which without all doubt hath made a great many men fall more of the one side than the other Next one hundred and fifty files of the fifteen hundred six deep take just as much ground up in front as the whole Body of the fifteen hundred ten deep and therefore the other hundred files of the fifteen hundred six deep may fall on the sides of the fifteen hundred ten deep if they be not flanked either with Pikes or with Horsemen It is the like case mutatis mutandis between fifteen hundred eight deep and fifteen hundred six deep for fifteen hundred eight deep will make but a hundred and eighty eight in rank for a hundred eighty eight multiplied by eight produceth fifteen hundred and four now the fifteen hundred six deep make two hundred and fifty ranks and so shoots at every Volley sixty two Bullets more than the fifteen hundred eight deep Make the like trial of two Batallions of Pikes each of them fifteen hundred The same advantages Pikemen also have strong equally arm'd for the defensive and their Pikes of equal length the hundred files wherewith the fifteen hundred six deep out-wings the fifteen hundred ten deep will likewise enter on their sides and very soon ruin them if they be not flanked by their friends and though they be yet these hundred files of the fifteen hundred Pikemen six deep being otherwise idle may happily give their flanks some work to do Nor hath the fifteen hundred Pikemen ten deep any advantage of the fifteen hundred six deep in the force of the impression for I have demonstrated in one of my Discourses of the Grecian Militia that six ranks of Pikemen may either give or receive the charge abundantly and therefore where Pikemen are ten deep at their charge the last four ranks should keep their Pikes ported because the presenting the points of them is altogether useless Neither was it the apprehension of the weakness of his Body of Musqueteers drawn up six deep that made the King of Sweden make use of his Feathers to defend his Musqueteers against the Polonian Horse for these Feathers may serve a Body of Firemen drawn up ten deep as well as a Body of Firemen drawn up six deep neither indeed is it the deepness of a Body of Musqueteers that can resist a resolute charge of Horse it must be Pikes Halberts or these Feathers or something like them Nor do I think after the Invention of Gunpowder that ten deep was thought fit for Foot in imitation of the Romans as some fancy for I have shewn in another Reasons for ten deep place that Vegetius who is lookt on by many as the Oracle of the old Roman Militia doth make the Roman file to consist of eleven men but I think it was out of this consideration that after the first rank had fired their Guns they could not be ready to fire again till the other nine ranks had all fired and withal a Musquet rest was taken to help with so much wariness did our Ancestors walk when first they made use of the new found Engines of fire We read of a Count of Vaâ—dâ—mont who within thirty years after the Invention of Gunpowder made use of two Culverines in his Wars with the Duke of Bar and by their help defeated his enemy but at every time the Pieces were discharged the Count himself fell to the ground for fear But as Great Câ—sar says Vsus est rerum Magister Use and Custom over-master things and therefore the Cannon is not now so dreadful as it was nor is the Musquet so unmanageable as it was thought daily experience lets us see that the first rank of six can fire make For fine deep ready and stay for the word of Command before the other five
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
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
and thirteen Riders as thus First one behind him three behind them five behind them seven then nine then eleven then thirteen and in the eighth Rank place fifteen from that Rank your number decreaseth for next to fifteen you are to place thirteen behind them eleven then nine then seven then five then three and lastly one This is also a Thessalian Rhombus of Horse a Figure whereof Aelian bestows upon us This Troop I conceive being at open order for it was very requisite it should be so could upon an occasion front any way without wheeling to the Right or Left hand by a half turn of their Horses and to the Rear by two half turns and immediately thereafter serr together either to give or receive the charge This Figure of the Rhombus is call'd by some the Diamond but if so the Diamond which it resembles must be a four-corner'd one Observe here that Aelians number of Horse represented in his Figure of the Simple Rhombus amounts but to forty nine and this I attribute to his neglect for he told us it should consist of sixty four The Wedge Battel which the Latines called Cuneus or Rostrum was a Body The second is the Wedge of men either on Foot or Horse-back drawn up with a sharp point and encreasing in its bigness till it came to that greatness which the maker of it design'd for it and so represented a Wedge from which it hath its denomination or it is like a Dagger sharp at the point growing broader till it come to the haft I told you that Philip of Macedon invented it choosing a Wedge to be the fittest pattern whereby to model his Macedonian Troops by placing his choicest Men and Horses both for strength of body and courage of mind in the formost Ranks the rest behind them serving to bear them forcibly forward Take the description of it thus First one then three then five then seven then nine then eleven then thirteen and lastly fifteen These added together make up Aelian's Macedonian Troop of sixty four Horse-men But in his description of it he oversees himself twice first in A twofold mistake his words for he saith the Wedge is just the half of the number of the great Rhombus but that consists as I just now told you of one hundred and thirteen and the Wedge is of sixty four much more than the half of one hundred and thirteen Next in his Figure which presents us only with thirty six Horse-men twenty eight fewer than King Philips Troop But if you would take a Wedge out of the Rhombus you may do it easily by causing that Rank wherein are fifteen Horse-men with all the Ranks that are before it to stand and all that are behind it to remove and then you have a perfect Macedonian Wedge Troop consisting of sixty four Riders But the manner of embatteling in form of a Wedge was not appropriated Wedge Battels of Foot only to the Cavalry The Infantry both of Grecians and Romans and several other Nations used it in many occasions Epaminondas that famous Theban at the Battel of Mantinea seeing the Lacedaemonians stand stoutly to it after he had routed their Confederates the Athenians chose out a parcel of his gallantest Foot cast them in a Wedge and broke so forcibly in upon their Batallion that he pierc'd it and after brave resistance forc'd them to quit the Field but this prov'd his last action for in it he receiv'd so many mortal wounds that he dyed of them before the next day I shall speak more of this Wedge Battel in my discourses of the Roman Militia Neither it nor the Rhombus have been heard of in the World in many ages since those antient times It is probable the Great Alexander permitted his Thessalians to make use of the Rhombus at Arbela because almost half of their Great Rhombus might face to the Rear and so prevent surrounding by Darius his numerous forces It is also like that his Macedonian Horse might have kept the form of a Wedge both at Issus and Arbela And I find that his great Captains who after his death shar'd his vast Conquests among themselves used it frequently But I believe likewise that both he and they and other Grecians and Asians too made use of the Square Battel The Square form of embattelling was most commonly used by the Grecians The third is the Square in marshalling their Infantry and most of them us'd it in ordering their Cavalry I speak not of an equilateral Square but an oblong one such as we use in our modern Wars Yet I do not deny but the Antients several times used equilateral Square forms of their Batallions as when they made their Ranks and Files consist of equal numbers of men and this we call a Battel Square of men or sometimes Square of ground when the Front was of no greater extent of ground than the Flank but of these I shall speak hereafter when I come to discourse of the Square Root Not only many of the Grecians but the Persians and Sicilians used the Square Horse Battel and many great Preferr'd to the other two Captains preferr'd it to both the Rhombus and the Wedge first because by it the Troops could march with more celerity and convenience and next they could bring more hands to fight at one time As for Example in a Wedge Troop of sixty four the first Rank consists but of one the second of three the third of five and the fourth of seven In these four Ranks there are but sixteen Riders Oppose a Square Battell'd Troop of sixty and marshal it in an oblong fifteen in Rank and four in File you may see that the sixteen Riders in the four first Ranks of the Wedge must fight with all the sixty of the Square Troop this is a very great odds and as much may be said of the Rhombus But Aelian doth not at all tell us how deep the Grecian Square Battels of Horse were This was a great neglect for thereby we might have known how many of Aelian speakâ— nothing of the deepness of Horse Files the Ranks could have reach'd an Enemy with their Lances and whether the rest behind serv'd only to bear forward those before as the ten last Ranks of Pikes did to the six formost Yet as far as I can conjecture by some of his Figures he seems to insinuate that his Countrey-men order'd their Horse to be half as many in File as they were in Rank His Figure of that Phalanx which he calls Quadrata of fifty Horse hath ten in Rank and five in File This manner of Battel whether it be of Horse or Foot is called by the Square Root men a Doubled Batallion of the fashion of which and how it is done I shall shew you in its proper place But I dare not believe that all Grecian Troops were marshall'd so neither indeed doth Aelian aver it I know not then why I may not imagine
a Grecian Troop of Horse consisting of sixty four to be marshall'd three deep as most of our Modern Troops now are and so there should have been in it twenty one Files for 21 multiplied by three produceth sixty three and he who shall make the sixty fourth shall be the Trumpeter with whom we could not meet before in Aelian's enumeration of the Officers of a Troop What distances were kept between Ranks or Files between several Troops or yet between greater Bodies of the Horse Aelian tells us not Yet writing of the right ordering of Batallions I think he was obliged to speak of Distances for who can marshal an Army unless those be condescended Nor of Distances on I conceive that assuredly the Rhombus was oblig'd to keep a great Distance both between its Ranks and its Files otherwise it could not turn to either Right or Left hand or to the Rear without Wheeling and this if I mistake not was one of the advantages the Thessalians proposed to themselves by that form of Horse Battel But when either it or the Wedge was to charge they were oblig'd to serr together as close as they could otherwise they could not pierce so home as was expected by those who cast them in those moulds It is probable that the Square Bodies of the Grecian Horse were exercis'd did march and fight at those distances used now in our Modern Militia Our Author makes the number of the Cavalry in a Macedonian Army to be half the number of their Velites or light armed Foot I told you those were eight thousand one hundred ninety two therefore the Horse must be four thousand ninety six The smaller Bodies of which he composeth this Cavalry are shortly these Sixty four Horse-men made a Denominations of the several Bodies of the Horâ—e Troop and were called an Elarchy its Commander Elarchas our Ritmaster Two Troops made an Epilarchy of one hundred twenty eight Horse-men its Commander Epilarchas for whom we have no Officer unless a Major and I find no such man among the Macedonians Four Troops made a Talentinarchy of two hundred fifty six Horse its Commander Talentinarchâ— is represented by our Lieutenant Colonel Two Talentinarchies made one Hipparchy of five hundred and twelve Horse he was called Hipparcha our Colonel Two Hipparchies made an Ephipparchy its Commander Ephipparchâ— had under him one thousand twenty four Riders our Brigadieer may resemble him Two Ephipparchies made a Telos which consisted of two thousand forty eight Horse its Commander was called Telarcha whom if you please our Major General of Horse shall represent Two Telarchies made up an Epitagma and this consisted of four thousand one hundred ninety six Horse-men which compos'd the whole Phalange of the Macedonian Cavalry its Commander was called Epitagmarcha for him our Modern Militia furnisheth us with a Lieutenant General or if you will a General of the Horse Now though our Author hath given us the exact number of both the smaller and greater Bodies of the Macedonian Cavalry Inexcusable omission yet he hath not at all told us how many of them were heavy armed and how many light armed for which he is inexcusably to blame CHAP. VIII Of the Great Macedonian Phalanx of its number and how marshall'd with some Observations on both APhalanx signifieth a number of men great or small Train'd and Instructed The signification of Phalanx in Military Duties and order'd in Ranks and Files By this Definition any Foot Company or Horse Troop is a Phalanx as well as an Army and a whole Army is a Phalanx as well as a particular Company or Troop It is true in Authors the word Phalanx is ordinarily taken for the great Body of sixteen thousand three hundred eighty four heavy armed Foot which formerly I have out of Aelian described to you of which I shall tell you thus much more that he saith it had two Horns for so the Translator renders the word Kâ—ras and those were the Right and Left hand Horn which we either simply call the Right or Left hand or the Right and Left Wing But indeed I wonder why Aelian divides the whole Phalange of Foot into two Horns Right and Left and why so many of our Commanders in the Modern Wars imitate him in dividing a whole Body into the Right or Left Wing never considering that naturally and really there is a Body between two Wings and the same error is committed in dividing a whole Batallion of armed men into two Flanks very ordinarily done by some Drill-masters And here no doubt Aelian forgot himself for the Phalange of the heavy armed Foot was divided as I â—old you before into four lesser Phalanges or Phalangarchies two whereof made the two Wings which he calls Horns and the other two compos'd the Body These four Phalangarchies made three Intervals how great we know not out of Phalangarchies which before the fight issued the light armed and if they prevail'd they pursued their Victory being followed by the Phalange but if they were beaten as for most part they were they retired to the Rear the same way they came and then the four Phalangarchies closed together to give or receive the charge according as they were ordered by their Superiours But now I am to speak of the whole Macedonian Army which was called The great Macedonian Phalanx of both Horse and Foot the Great Phalanx consisting of heavy and light armed Foot and Horse not reckoning their Chariots and Elephants Their heavy armed Foot were sixteen thousand three hundred eighty four the Velites were eight thousand one hundred ninety two the Horse four thousand ninety six Add all these together you will find the Macedonian great Phalanx to consist of twenty eight thousand six hundred seventy two Combatants A Story goes that either the Great Alexander or Julius Câ—sar or both should have said That they desired no more than thirty thousand men to conquer the whole World Certainly if either of them or both said so they meant that that number should still be kept compleat and full for though they should have been constantly Victorious and never have lost one man in Battel or Skirmish yet sickness and toyl would have made all that number to have moulder'd away before they could have march'd over the tenth part of the then habitable World But I do not at all believe that either of them said so for true Histories if there be any truth in Histories assure us that both of them had Armies which far exceeded that number At Arbelâ— Alexander had more than double the number of a Macedonian Army and yet Aelians numbers did noâ— always hold at that same time when he fear'd to be surrounded I suppose he wish'd his forces to be more numerous than they were Neither do I believe that his Father Philip who was the framer of the Phalanx did keep himself precisely within that number for at Cherâ—nea where he routed the Confederated Greeks he exceeded
Principes came back to their assistance but by this argument they needed not have been so many as six hundred because both the Hastati and Principes came back to their assistance and by this Reason the Principes should have been but six hundred because the Hastati came back to their help before they were obliged to fight But his second Reason speaks And why better sense which is That the Consul who ordinarily stood near the Triarii came with the Evocati of the Romans and the Extraordinarii of the Socii or Allies and joyn'd with the Triarii What these Extraordinarii were shall be told you in my Discourse of the Allies and what the Evocati were I shall tell you just now If you will believe Lipsius the Evocati were only of the Roman Nation but Evocati what I think I am obliged rather to believe Caesar who saith he had his Evocatâ— out of Gaule and at that time of his Civil War the Gauls were either Enemies or Auxiliaries at best Those of the Evocatâ— who were Romans were such as had serv'd out their time and by the Laws of their Militia were not bound to follow the War yet upon the Intreaty or Letters of the Consul Pro-Consul or General came without constraint to wait upon him or them in that expedition Some of them sery'd on Horse some on Foot and were put in Troops and Companies and had their Officers and Pay but were exempted from all manner of Military duties except fighting and attending on him who commanded in chief A great many of them went with Scipio to Africk three thousand of them went to Macedon with Titus Flaminius two thousand went with Pompey against Caesar And Augustus in one expedition had ten thousand of them Besides these Evocati there were Volunteers Roman Volunteers who having serv'd out their time were not ordinary Souldiers and not being call'd out by the Consul were not properly Evocati neither had they any pay but went to the War meerly of their own motion and free-will either to do their Countrey service or to acquire Riches or Honour to themselves and families or for all these three respects together Now there were besides all these Foot which I have mention'd some of Proletarâ—i what the poorer sort called Proletarii and Capite censi that were not admitted by Servius Tullius King of Rome to be enrolled for the War but were left to serve at Sea which at that time was esteem'd dishonourable in comparison of the Land service Yet in time of danger they were bound to take Arms which were given them out of the publick Magazines for the defence of the Walls of the City But in process of time they came to be enrolled in Legions particularly with Marius against the Tâ—utâ—nâ—s and the Cimbrians Livius in his eighth Book writing of that War which the Romans had with Rorarii and Accensi the Latines mentions Rorarii and Accensi in two several Bodies and he places them behind the Triarii they were call'd from the Rear according as the Consul or General had use for them They were the light armed Foot and had those names till the Romans besieged Capua in Hannibal's time then and there it seems they got the name of Velites and that they kept They were called Accensi because they were the meanest in the Cense and Rorarii à rore from Dew because in skirmishing they scatter'd themselves as Dew doth on Grass I shall tell you more of them in my Discourses of a Roman Legion Each of these three Classes of the heavy armed Foot was divided into Centuries Two Centuries made a Maniple three Maniples made a Cohort and ten Cohorts made up a Legion A Roman Legion was of greater or lesser Legion number according to the pleasure of the King Senate People or Emperour who was invested with the Soveraignty or as the exigency of the present condition of affairs seem'd to require Romulus ordain'd it to consist of three thousand men one thousand of each Tribe whereof there were but three in his time though afterward they came to be thirty five Whether the Kings who succeeded Romulus kept the Legion at three thousand Foot I know not but after Monarchy was banish'd the City Legions came to be four thousand strong sometimes five thousand and twice if I mistake not six thousand and two hundred Let us now speak of the several Bodies of a Legion and first of a Century A Centuriate and Centurion At the first constitution I doubt not but a Centuriate consisted of one hundred men and its Commander was called Centurion both the words being deriv'd from Centum a hundred But thereafter that band of men called a Centuriate in Legions of four thousand or four thousand two hundred which was most ordinary came to consist but of sixty men in the two Classes of the Hastati and Principes and but of thirty in the third Class of the Triarii In the Class of the Hastati there were twenty Centuriates at sixty men each of them and those were twelve hundred Just as many Centuriates and of that same number for the Principes made twelve hundred more In the Class of the Triarii there were likewise twenty Centuriates but each of these consisted but of thirty men which made six hundred in all three thousand heavy armed The other thousand or twelve hundred were Velites But though each of those Bands were but sixty or thirty strong yet they and their principal Commander kept their ancient denomâ—nations of Centuriate and Centurion There were sixty Centuriates in a Legion though Vegetius speaks of but fifty five which shall hereafter be examin'd The Centurion was chosen by the Tribune as I formerly told you and he had liberty to chuse his own Sub-Centurion A Sub-Centurion whose station was in the Rear and was indeed nothing but ouâ— Bringer up Polybius his Interpreter calls the Centurions Ordinum Dâ—ctores Leaders of Files or of Centuriates if Ordo be taken for a Centuriate as perhaps it was the Sub-Centurion he calls Agminis Coactorem and that is directly our Rear-man This will not make a Centurion and Sub-Centurion to be our Captain and Lieutenant as some would have them to be and if you will be pleas'd to consider that a Roman Centurion commanded but sixty some of them but thirty men and was himself no otherwise arm'd than the rest of the Centuriate only distinguished by his Crest and that he stood in Rank and File with the rest either on the Right or Left hand of the Front of the Maniple I suppose you will think with me that the Roman Centurions for the matter of either Power or Honour were no other than our Corporals Centurions our Corporals and their Sub-Centurions such as Lancespesats especially where Foot Companies are as in our own time they were in several places of Europe three hundred strong and consequently every Corporalship sixty men The Centurions badge was a
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
it long after the invention of the Pistol Whether the Lance be laid aside as useless in Germany England Scotland France Denmark and Sweden by the command of several Princes or only worn out by time I know not but that it is not used in these places is certain enough And truly I wonder why it should not now rather be used when the nakedness of mens breasts without defensive Arms renders them more obnoxious to the stroke or push of a Lance than in former times when few or no Horsemen were to be seen without a Corslet I shall not doubt but there be strong reasons though I know them not why our European Generals for most part have abandon'd the use of the Lance yet it will not be deny'd but it hath been a serviceable weapon heretofore even since Gun-powder and all manner of Guns were found out I shall The Lance made useless by many Nations give but one instance at that memorable Battel of Dreux fought about an hundred years ago the Prince of Conde and Admiral Chastillon who conducted the Protestant Army by the reiterated Charges of their men of Arms with Lances after strong opposition broke the great Batallion of the Switzers which was composed of Pikemen and was thought Invincible and kill'd on the place seventeen of their Captains After the death of the Marshal St. Andre and the taking of the great Constable Montmorancy two of the French Kings Generals the Prince of Conde was likewise made Prisoner by the Royal party and the Admiral forced out of the field by the Duke of Guise and his Cavalry The Admiral rallies and that night proposed to his German Reuters who had each of them a Case of Pistols and many of them Carrabines to march back and fall on the Duke of Guise then both weary and secure But though that German Body of Horse was whole and intire yet did the Commanders of it A very remarkable passage remonstrate to the Admiral that it was impossible for them to break the French Batallion of Foot which had kept the Field with the Duke and I pray you observe the reason they gave for it Because said they we have no Lances which are only proper for that for the French men at Arms who had with Lances broke the Switzers were then dissipated or over-wearied and all their Lances broken If this be true it would seem that the manner of the Milice then and the Milice now are very different though both Modern A Cavalry then arm'd with Lances acknowledged to be able to break an arm'd Batallion of Foot whereof it gave a perfect demonstration and a Cavalry then arm'd offensively with Carrabine Pistol and Sword and not without defensive Arms declares it self uncapable for it And now the Carrabiners or Harquebusiers are thought only proper for Rencounters and the Lanciers are laid aside as useless But the Lance meets with better usage from other Nations even to this hour Hungarians use the Lance. And the Aâ—yssens As also the Persians The Polonians and Hungarians use it and so doth the Turk The Abyssens on horseback use strong Lances pointed at both ends and great Maces of Iron The Persians accounted the best Horsemen in the world carry Lances very strong they are pointed at both ends they carry them in the middle and manage them with great strength and dexterity Giovio tells us that at Scyrus a Persian Arms excellent great City of Mesopotamia the Persians had many Shops wherein the best Arms of the World were to be sold and that not far from it at Charmaum were Swords and Points of Lances made of so well temper'd Steel that our European Corslets and Head-pieces could hardly resist the stroke of the first and push of the other and that all Arms either for man or horse whether offensive or defensive were of Steel and Iron well boil'd with the juice of certain herbs only known to the forgers which made them so excellent He adds that these Arms are bought by the Turks at excessive rates but truly I think it was no good policy to suffer them to be sold at any rate to so dangerous an enemy and so malignant a neighbour but perhaps no inhibition would serve the turn for Auri sacra fames hearkens to no Law John Petyt tells us in the foremention'd place that the General Estates of the The Hollander rejects the Lance. United Provinces in the year 1599 forbad their Cavalry to make use any more of the Lance but I find in Bentivoglio the use of it was retain'd in the Spanish Armies by Archduke Albert and Marquis Spinola in the year 1612 after the Truce with the Hollanders But the States commanded their Horsemen to wear Coats above their Armour these Coats according to the quality of him or them who wore them were fine rich and glistering and are ordinarily called Coats of Arms. The Grecians call'd them Ephaestries and the Romans Chlamides But now since few men are armed for the Defensive few need Coats of Arms. The Ancients made use of Bow and Arrow on horseback and so in later Archers on Horseback times have the Walacbians and Transylvanians and so did the French till the practice of Hand guns made them useless and yet with them Horsemen arm'd with Pistols are still called Archers An hundred years ago the French Archers who attended the Gens d'Armes carried in their hand a half Lance and one Pistol at their Saddle and a Sword French Arms. at their side the Arms of the light Horsemen differ'd little from these The Harquebusiers had Swords at their sides and Harquebusses at their Saddles the Barrels whereof were three foot long About seventy years ago the Estates of Holland order'd these Horse-men whom they called Carabiners to carry Hollanders Arms for Horse each of them a Piece three foot long and their other Horse-men Pistols at their Saddles the Barrels whereof were two foot long Generally now all Horse-men whether Câ—â—rassiers or Harquebusiers carry Swords at their sides and a case of Pistols at their Saddles and these are mostly all their Offensive Weapons except that some carry Carabines some whereof have Barrels of four foot long but ordinarily only three The Pistol was invented first by Camillo Vitelli an Italian when Ferdinand of The Pistol when invented Arragon reign'd in Spain Charles the Eighth and Lewis the Twelfth in France Henry the Eighth in England and James the Fifth in Scotland not above one hundred and fifty years ago and consequently more than two hundred years after the German Monk had found out Gun-powder The Harquebuss is of an older date The bore of the Pistol long ago was made for twenty It s â—ore Bullets in one pound of Lead but it being found that the Ball enter'd not easily generally they cast one pound of Lead in four and twenty Pistol-ball The half of the weight of powder serves if it be good if not they take two
make not their Captains do their duty in so necessary a point of War I have seen in Germany and Denmark Regiments newly raised and some also sent out of Sweden in the time of the long War before the Peace of Munster only exercised and drill'd three or four times and that was enough for them Supine carelesness of Colonels for the whole time they were to serve for a man would have made himself ridiculous if he had spoken of drilling old Soldiers to keep them in mind of their Postures and Motions this would have been lookt on as a disparagement to them for it would have been presupposed that they stood in need of Exerciseing as in truth most of them did It is a pity and sometimes matter of sport to hear men glory that they are old Soldiers who either never have learned Old Soldiers or have forgot what belongs to their profession and so upon the matter prove themselves to be old fools Nay I have seen in these same Wars many new levied Companies Troops and Regiments never Train'd or Exercised at all nay not so much as one lesson given to a Soldier for the handling his Arms. It is true most of those who were levied in my time had serv'd in those Wars which were before my time but all had not and therefore some were raw and unexperienced and the oldest Soldiers of them needed exceedingly to have had their memories refresht This was the condition of five thousand Foot and three Troops of Horse which the City of Dantzick levied and entertain'd in the time of the late Swedish War against Poland from the year 1656 till the year 1660. I have not seen braver men nor better equipp'd in any Militia than these were but in one whole Summer that I was there I never saw one Company or one man of a Company drill'd or exercis'd Since the Estates of the Vnited Provinces made their Peace with the King of Spain their Officers have been negligent enough of this duty which might have been easily observ'd in most of their Garrisons wherein I have been But I suppose their late alarms have made them resume their ancient care and diligence These Military Exercises were so far worn out of use that I knew Count Koningsmark in the year 1655 when he raised some new Regiments for his Master the King of Sweden take some old Officers to be Drill-masters to the Drill-masters new levied Companies which notwithstanding were provided with all the Officers belonging to them and these Drill-masters he entertain'd with Monthly wages which I thought was not done without some blemish to the reputation of all the Officers especially of the Colonels and Captains That part of Training which teacheth the handling Arms is different to wit that which teacheth a Horseman to manage handsomely and readly his Pistol Carbine and Sword whether he be a Curiassier or Harquebusier and that which teacheth a Foot soldier to handle his Musquet and Pike and his Swedes Feather if he have one And as a Horseman is obliged to learn to Saddle and Drilling of Horsemen Bridle his Horse quickly and well to mount and dismount handsomely to ride decently and carry his body well or as it is called to have a good seat in his Saddle and how to use his voice his hand his leg and his spur so he is obliged to teach his Horse to obey him whether it be in trotting galloping running standing stopping turning or wheeling The Horseman ought to be taught how to keep his Pistols and Carbine fixt and bright without rust how to charge them quickly and prime them how to fire them and readily charge again And he must be especially careful not to ride a shie-horse for such a one may not only bring his Rider in danger and disgrace but disorder the whole Troop Exercise and accustoming his Horse to all feats of Horsemanship especially to see fire to stand when a Pistol or Carbine are discharg'd close by him and to hear the Trumpet will by degrees banish shieness from him and therefore frequent Drilling-troops of Horse teacheth both man and horse their duties Troops should in some points be exercised by sound of Trumpet that Horsemen may know the several points of War by their several names as to the Watch to Saddle to Horse to March to Charge to Râ—tire The particular words of command for Drilling a single Horsemâ—â— that is to teach him the right and true use of his Arms whether he be a Curiaâ—â—â—â—r Harquebusier or Carbiner are too tedious to be set down here and indeed needless for they are vulgarly known and so are those for the Arms of the Infantry whether for the Pike or the Musquet To teach either Horsemen or Foot-Soldiers their Motions and Evolutions Motions or Evolutions of Bodies both of Horse and Foot when they are in Bodies greater or smaller is the second part of Training or Drilling The words of command for both Horse and Foot in these Motions are the very same only the Distances are different Three Foot are allowed between files of Foot and that is order six is open order and twelve is open open order or double double distance and these you may make use of in Exercising Marching or Fighting as you think convenient In Marches the length of the Pike requires six foot of distance between ranks Some allow in Distances exercising Bodies of Horse six foot for single distance between ranks and files and twelve for double distance The Germans ordinarily allow ten for the one and twenty for the other All these Motions and Evolutions may be reduced to four kinds these are Facings Doublings Countermarchings and Wheelings I do not intend to trouble either my Reader or my self with the several words of command ordinary Drill-masters have most of them though not all But he who would have those for Horse exactly may find them in the Supplement to the Compleat Body of the Art Military and both for Foot and Horse in the famous Earl of Straffords Instructions for the Discipline of his Army And those for the Foot alone very well done by Sir Thâ—mas Kâ—lliâ— and compleatly indeed by Lieutenant Colonel Elâ—on in his compleat Body of the Art Observations concerning Training of War Yet I shall desire my Reader with me to observe in Exercises of Foot and Horse these few Particulars First That none of the three ordinary ways used for doubling of ranks in First Observation Bodies of Foot can be made use of in exercising Bodies of Horse as now they are Marshalled in most places of Europe that is three deep or three in file nor can it be where they are five in file as in some places they were all odd numbers being improper for doublings either of ranks or files Secondly That the Facing of a great Body of Horse to either right or left Second hand or about by either right or left hand is a difficult work though with
have discharged their shot even in the hottest Piece of service and without the help of Musquet-rests And I suppose it needs be thought no Paradox in me to say that five ranks of Musqueteers can fire one after another without intermission and Five deep the first of the five be ready to fire again before the last have discharged let any Commander try it with expert Firemen he will find it will be done easily enough And that you may see that this is no new conceit of mine I shall tell you that Giovio informs us that at Vienna the twenty thousand Harquebusiers that were in the Christian Army were all marshal'd five deep and so made four thousand files It is without all peradventure that the best Commanders then in Europe were there who would not have permitted this if they had not known that the first rank could have fired and made ready again before all the other four had discharged neither must you impute this to the ignorance of the Historian as being a Churchman for he is so punctual as to write nothing of any Military action but what he had from the relation of the greatest Captains that were upon the place And truly if you will consider all I have said or all that may be said on this subject Reasons for it you may perhaps think with me that both Musqueteers and Pikemen may be marshal'd five deep with no inconvenience at all to the service I think I hear some speculative persons cry out that this is against the rules of all Tacticks who reject odd numbers as unfit for doubling But stay do you exercise for shew only or for use If only for shew I grant you should neither have odd ranks Objections against it nor files but if for use I say that five deep is better than six deep for those very reasons that made six deep better than eight deep and eight better than ten You say you cannot double your ranks at five deep what then I say you need not for I would have your ranks no fewer than five when you are ten Answered deep why double you your ranks is it not to make them five and thereby to enlarge your front and why then may you not be five ranks at first and thereby save your self the labour of doubling And as it is not at all necessary to double your ranks when your Batallion consists of no more but five ranks so I conceive the doubling of ranks not necessary when your Battel is but six deep for three ranks of Pikes is not strong enough either to give or receive a Charge nor are they numerous enough for Musqueteers to fire one rank after another without interruption it not being feasible for the first rank to fire and be ready before the third rank have discharged so that when six ranks are made three it is only for a parting blow for the Musqueteers to fire kneeling stooping and standing Now you may order the first three ranks of five to fire in the same fashion kneeling stooping and standing and you have by the bargain two ranks in reserve till the first three recover and those two ranks may afterward fire the first rank kneeling and the second standing and then all the five ranks have fired and are as ready either with Buts of Musquets or Swords to receive the enemy if he advance as the six ranks doubled in three and in far better order Either then your doubling of ranks is unnecessary in service or five deep at first is as good if not better as ten ranks to be doubled in five or six ranks doubled in three And though five ranks cannot be doubled the inconvenience of that is not so great as the advantages it hath of a large front and bringing many hands to fight and if upon any emergency which will fall out very seldom you conceive your front too large you may quickly help it The Authors private opinion by causing your files to double and then you are ten deep But I shall quickly part with this opinion when I hear a stronger argument against it than that which says that thereby ranks cannot be doubled for the truth is it is my private opinion that there be many superfluous words in Exercise and though I think doubling of ranks and files too sometimes convenient before the near approach of an enemy yet I hope none will deny that both of them are very improper in the time of service But Loquendum cum vulgo is a Golden sentence Well we have our Foot-Company no stronger than one hundred men and Seventeen Files in a Company of one hundred men divided into three parts whereof two are Musqueteers and Pikemen are glad to be admitted to make the third These must be marshal'd six in one file now seventeen times six is more than one hundred and sixteen times six is less than one hundred Add therefore three Corporals to the hundred Soldiers you shall have seventeen compleat files and one man over whom you may appoint to help the Ensign to carry his Colours for a Furer is not allow'd him in all establishments A Company being thus marshal'd in seventeen files eleven must be Musqueteers and six Pikemen to wit on the right hand of the Pikemen six files of Musqueteers and on the left hand five files The Captain is to teach his Soldiers to keep their just distances between file The several kinds of Distances and file end between rank and rank Distances are ordinarily threefold Order open Order and close Order The first of three foot the second of six the third of one foot and a half to which in some case is added open open order which is of twelve foot At Exercisings both ranks and files should stand at open order in Marches the files at order but the ranks at open order because of the Pikes which must have more ground than Musqueteers require and in service both the files and ranks of Musqueteers must be at order that is three foot distance but the Pikemen both in file and rank at close order that is at the distance of one foot and a half I must tell you in this place of a general mistake Mistakes in reckoning Distances and is the very same I accused Vegetius of in the Roman Militia and it is this All say that the files when they stand in Battel should be at order that is at the distance of three foot as indeed they should But if you ask how many foot of ground seventeen files whereof our Company consists possess in front they will immediately answer you fifty and one And here there is a double Distance of Files error first no ground is allowed for the Combatants to stand on for the distance of three foot between files takes up that one and fifty foot or very near it Secondly they make seventeen files to have seventeen distances whereas they have but sixteen This oversight I
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
Protestant War in France 100 years ago Charles the Ninth and his Brother Henry the Third they managed them at as small an expence as possibly they could yet they obliged every man at Arms to keep three Horses two strong Coursers and one Gelding every Archer and Light-Horse-man two a good Horse and a good Nag And I suppose you will really think it strange how they could keep so many when I tell you what allowance of pay they had Every man of Arms had 45 French Livres in the Month about Three pound fifteen shillings Sterling every Archor and Light-Horse-man had Thirty Livres about Two pound ten shillings A Captain of all three had five Riders pay allow'd him the Lieutenant four the Cornet three and the Quartermaster two very inconsiderable wages but assuredly they had either other shifts or things were at easier rates in France then than they have been since In the times of the Emperours Ferdinand the First Maximilian the Second Rodolph the Second and Matthias I find that the German Establishment was Old German Companies of Horse particularly Curiassiers that no Ritmaster or Captain of Horse should have any Rider in his Troop but Gentlemen and that every Troop of Curiassiers should consist of Three-hundred Riders many whereof were bound to maintan three serviceable Horses and all the rest two at least and every one of these Gentlemen who kept either two or three Horses were to keep a lusty fellow well Hors'd in quality of a servant armed with a long Gun wherewith they rode when commanded before the Troop and fired on the Enemy and immediately retired behind the Troop as I told you the Carabineers did these being equal in number to their Masters made up Three hundred and resembled the French Archers These Dutch Servants had the Emperours pay or that of some German Prince but their Masters received it with their own nor had the Masters power to put away these Servants or the Servants to go from the Masters so long as the War lasted but if any difference arose between them it was voided by the Ritmaster or Marshal of the Army These German Companies of Horse had for Officers a Captain a Lieutenant a Cornet a Quartermaster Their Officers and six Corporals whom they called Ritmasters which is to say File-leaders each whereof had fifty Troops under his command two Trumpeters There was likewise allowed to every Troop a Priest a Clerk a Chirurgion a Dagmaker a Saddler and a Smith All these Curiassiers were armed for offence with two Pistols a Sword and a Lance so long as this last was in fashion so if you will reckon all that belonged to this German Troop both Masters and those who attended them who were all obliged to fight you will find it consisted of six hundred fighting men and of nine hundred Horses at least But since that time I have seen four Regiments in that same Country who were not all of them together so strong In later times Commissions have been given for levying Regiments free Squads and Troops but all Regiments did not nor do not consist of alike Troops and Regiment of those times number of Companies nor all Companies of alike number of Riders nay not under one Prince you shall see a Lieutenant Colonel have four Troops in his Squadron which he calls free because he acknowledgeth no Colonel or other Commander under the Major General and each of these Troops to have fifty or sixty Riders being oblig'd to have no more by their Ritmasters Capitulation You may see in that same Army a Regiment of six Companies each of Seventy men another of eight Troops each of fifty horse so little is an uniformity in equal numbers of Troops or of Horsemen in every Troop regarded or look'd after I saw one Regiment in the Sweedish service I may say one for I saw not such another in any of their Armies in which were according to Capitulation twelve Troops each of them consisting of one hundred Riders effectively but four of the Regiments of that Army were not so strong as that Regiment was alone Troops Squads and Regiments of Horse in our Modern Wars are not cast into Wedges or Rhombs as some of the Ancient ones were at which manner of figures Aelian makes his Grecian Companies to be very dexterous The Square front being now only in use The number of Ranks of either Regiments or Troops whether they be strong or weak are alike in all because the depth of the Battel is determined by the Prince or State to be alike in all and in the matter of this depth there hath been great variance among those who assume to themselves the title of Tacticks who teach the rules of War Many would have the file of Horsemen to be five deep others will not hear of How deep Horse should be marshaled Difference of opinions that because thereby ranks cannot double an objection which I have answer'd already in my discourse of Exercise Others will have six because that admits doubling of ranks but that is rejected because if six deep be enough for the Foot it will be too much for the Horse There be others who would have every Troop of Horse to consist of sixty and four Riders and these being Marshall'd eight deep and eight in front according to the square root make a perfect square of men and Horse and this speculation seems very pretty but I Square Root reserve my answer to it till I speak of the square root it self for the present let it suffice that if six deep be too many for a Cavalry eight deep will be very far out of purpose The late Earl of Strafford as he appointed in his Military Instructions the foot to be eight deep so he order'd his Troops of Horse to be four in File But Universally now for any thing I know unless it be in the Low-Countries the Horse are Marshall'd three deep without Three deep regard to doubling of ranks whereof I have already spoken and assuredly this of all others brings most hands to fight When you have known how deep the Troop is to be drawn up you should cause to be set down in paper in what order you will Marshal your Horsemen whom you ordain to be Leaders and whom Bringers up and whom for the right and left hand files that all your Riders may be placed according to their dignity then it will be an easie matter to draw up your Troop and for the Major to draw up the Regiment for being that all the Horsemen are arm'd alike there is no separation to be made of one part of the Troop from another as there is of separating the Pikemâ—n from the Musqueteers in Foot-Companies the Major giving every Ritmaster his place of dignity according to his antiquity or Commission and those intervals being kept that are appointed the several Troops be they few or many are very soon cast into the mould of a Regiment In my discourse
of drilling I said that in exercising a Body of Horse whether one Troop or more some allow for order six foot some ten and for open order some allow twelve foot and some twenty others conclude six Distance foot between rank and rank and file and file sufficient but in marching there should be the length of a Horse between rank and rank but so much is not at all needful between files now it seems the Germans allow ten foot for the length of a Horse in marching and exercising as well as in their Castrametation for when Horse are orderly quarter'd in the field ten foot of ground are allowed for a Horse to stand on between his head and his tail But for all this I say six foot are not to be allowed in all motions of exercise as in Wheeling which is the poper motion of the Cavalry you cannot make it till your ranks and files be at close order and in this motion of Wheeling observe that the Wheeling to the left hand being the Bridle hand is more proper than Wheeling to the right Observe also that after your body hath Wheel'd you are to reduce them to their first order by making the ranks open which they must do by advancing and not by stepping back as the foot do The stronger the Troop be it should have the more Corporals who begin now to be qualified with the Title of Brigadeers for it seems not proportionable for a Troop of One Hundred and Twenty to have no more Corporals than a Troop of sixty or seventy yet for most part now all Troops have a like number of Officers and these are the Captain or Ritmaster The Lieutenant the Cornet the Quartermaster three Corporals or Brigadeers two Trumpeters some have three and some four a Saddler and a Smith and some allow a Chirurgion and a Clerk Many Troops have no allowance for the last four though all four Officers of a Troop are very necessary In some places if a Chirurgion be allowed for every Regiment it is thought very fair many Ritmasters entertain a Saddler and a Smith in their Troops allowing them the pay of Troopers and what benefit else they can make by their several Trades But if all who ride in the Troop be Gentlemen they will not permit these two Mechanicks to ride with them yet my opinion is since all who ride now in Troops are not Gentlemen they may without any disparagement suffer a Smith and a Saddler to ride in rank with them being they are profitable members of that little Commonwealth It is I think an oversight that a Clerk is not allow'd for every Company of Horse for a Quarter master hath enough to doth otherwise though he be not bound to officiate for the Clerk to receive the Pay of the Troop and give it out and keep the accounts of it unless you will say that the paying Money to a Troop falls out so seldom that the receiving it will be rather a divertisement than a trouble to the Quartermaster Having spoke to the Duties of a Captain Lieutenant and Ensign-bearer of a Foot Company I have nothing to add to the Duties of a Ritmaster Lieutenant and Cornet but between the Quartermasters of Foot and Horse there is this difference that the first hath no command but the second hath in Quarter-master of Horse other duties there is none But I shall tell the Quatermasters of Horse that they should have skill in Castrametation as much as the Foot Quartermasters have and rather more for the last look only to the regular quartering of Men in the Field the first to the quartering of both Men and Horses A Corporal Corporals of Brigadeers of Horse should have experience for he either assists the Lieutenant in placing and setting the Guards or he doth it himself without his Lieutenant he sets the Sentinels and sees them reliev'd and orders the Patrovils which are Rounds He is to ride in Rank and if the Troop march not in breast but in three several Squadrons then there is a Corporal on the right hand of every Squadron but in absence of higher Officers Corporals lead Divisions so do they those parties which they are to command if there be none to command above them When a Troop is divided into three Squadrons they have not their denominations from the Corporals or Brigadeers but the first is called the Captains Squadron the second the Lieutenants the third the Cornets and if there be a fourth it is called the Quartermasters When a Troop marcheth the March of a Troop Captain leads the first division the Cornet with his Standard the second the Quartermaster leads the third and the Lieutenant brings up yet some will have the eldest Corporal to lead the last division and the Quartermaster to bring up on the Lieutenants left hand for which I see very small reason or rather none at all Some French Troops and ours likewise have besides these Officers whom I have nam'd a Sub-Lieutenant or under Lieutenant who Sub-Lieutenant hath no command in the Lieutenants presence but in his absence he commands over the Cornet the French have likewise a Guidon to whom perhaps may Guidon answer he who in other places is appointed to carry the Standard either in the Cornets absence or when he pleaseth to appoint him to carry it As to the Officers of the Regiment-Staff of the Cavalry they are the same with those of the Foot and their Duties are the same But now methinks I hear a Trumpeter sound a Call Of Trumpets and of Trumpeters I have spoke in my Discourses of the Roman Art of War That which I have now to add is Trumpeters should be skilful to sound all the Trumpeters points of War and in the Fields they should seldom want their Trumpets about them for sudden Alarms And because they are frequently sent to an Enemy they ought to be both witty and discreet and must drink but little that so they may be rather apt to circumvent others than be circumvented they should be cunning and whereever they are sent they should be careful to observe warily the Works Guards and Sentinels of an Enemy and give an account of them at their return to him who sent them One Trumpeter should constantly lodge where the Standard quarters The German Trumpeters assume to themselves a great deal of liberty and have in a manner set up Pretended priviledges of the German Trumpeters a Republick of their own independent of that Discipline by which the Army of which they are members is governed They pretend to have their own Laws whereby they punish crimes very severely especially such faults that any of their number commits against the Articles of War of that Prince whom they serve and endeavour to vindicate themselves from any punishment inflicted by others than those of their own Common-wealth If any Trumpeter be abus'd or disgrac'd whether by his own Ritmaster or any other Officer
the rest resent it as an injury done to the whole fraternity for which they will very readily make him march a whole week without a Trumpeter to sound before him None may sound a Trumpet before a Troop but he who is master of their Art and he must prove himself to be so by producing a Certificate sign'd by a certain number of Master Trumpeters with their Seals annexed to it and this in their Language they call a Lerbrief If any wanting this offer to sound before a Company of Horse the Masters may come and take him away with disgrace in spite of the Ritmaster Those who have not yet got Lerbriefs they call Boys who must serve the Master Trumpeters in all manner of drudgery though they could sound all the points of War never so well They pretend to have got these priviledges from the Emperour Charles the Fifth under his Manual Subscription and Imperial Seal Ask them where this Patent of theirs lyeth some of them will tell you at Augsburg others say at Strasburg and a third will say at Nuremburg I have not seen any of them punished by their Officers and whatever discipline of their own they have I know not but I have not heard of any of their gross misdemeaners I knew one Colonel Boy an ancient Gentleman who for many years had commanded Horse in whose Regiment no sound of Trumpet was heard for none of them would serve under him because in his younger years he had kill'd a Trumpeter with his own hand But it is well these pretended priviledges of theirs are confin'd within the bounds of the German Empire There is another Martial Instrument used with the Cavalry which they call a Kettle-drum there be two of them which hang upon the Horse before the Kettle-drum Drummers Saddle on both which he beats They are not ordinary Princes Dukes and Earls may have them with those Troops which ordinarily are called their Life-guards so may Generals and Lieutenant Generals though they be not Noble-men The Germans Danes and Sweedes permit none to have them under a Lord Baron unless they have taken them from an Enemy and in that case any Ritmaster whatever extraction he be of may make them beat beside his Trumpeters They are used also for State by the Princes of Germany when they go to meat and I have seen them ordinarily beat and Trumpets sound at the Courts of Sweden and Denmark when either of the two Kings went to Dinner or Supper Dragoons are Musketeers mounted on Horses appointed to march with the Dragoons Cavalry in regard there are not only many occasions wherein Foot can assist the Horse but that seldome there is any occasion of service against an Enemy but wherein it is both fit and necessary to joyn some Foot with the Horse Dragoons then go not only before to guard Passes as some imagine but to fight in open Field for if an Enemy rencounter with a Cavalry in a champaign or open Heath the Dragoons are obliged to alight and mix themselves with the Squads of Horse as they shall be commanded and their continuate Firing before the Horse come to the charge will no doubt be very hurtful to the Enemy If the encounter be in a close Countrey they serve well to line Hedges and possess Enclosures they serve for defending Passes and Bridges whether it be in the Advance or a Retreat of an Army and for Serve on foot beating the Enemy from them Their service is on foot and is no other than that of Musketeers but because they are mounted on Horse-back and ride with the Horse either before in the Van or behind in the Rear of an Army they are reckon'd as a part of the Cavalry and are subordinate to the Yet are part of the Cavalry General Lieutenant General or Major General of the Horse and not to those of the foot And being that sometimes they are forced to retire from a powerful and prevailing Enemy they ought to be taught to give Fire on Horse-back that in an open field they may keep an Enemy at a distance till they get the advantage of a closer Countrey a Straight a Pass a Bridge a Hedge or a Ditch and then they are bound to alight and defend that advantage that thereby though perhaps with the loss of the Dragoons themselves the Cavalry may be saved When they alight they cast their Bridle Reins over the necks of their side-mens Horses and leave them in that same order as they marched Of ten Dragoons nine fight and the tenth man keeps the ten Horses For what they have got the denomination of Dragoons Whence they have their denomination is not so easie to be told but because in all languages they are called so we may suppose they may borrow their name from Dragon because a Musketeer on Horse back with his burning Match riding at a gallop as many times he doth may something resemble that Beast which Naturalists call a Fiery Dragon Since then a Dragoon when he alights and a Musqueteer are all one I have The several services of a Musqueteer forborn hitherto to speak of the several ways how the ranks of Musqueteers fire having reserv'd it to this as a proper place Take them then thus If the enemy be upon one of your flanks that hand file fires that is nearest How he fires in the flank and falls off the danger and the next standing still to do the like that which hath fired marches thorough the rest of the files till it be beyond the furthest file of that wing of Musqueteers But if you be charg'd on both flanks then your right and left-hand files fire both and immediately march into the middle of the Body room being made for them and in such pieces of service as these Officers must be attentive dexterous and ready to see all things done orderly otherwise confusion first and immediately after a total rout will inevitably follow If your Body be retiring from an enemy who pursues you in the reer the two last How iâ— the reer ranks stand whereof one having fired it divides it self into two the one half by the right the other half by the left-hand marcheth up to the Van making ready all the while this way is much practised especially in the Low-Countries but with submission to their better judgments I should think it more easie for these ranks that have fired to march every man of them up to their Leaders and then step before them thorough these Intervals of three foot that is between files and this may be done without any trouble either to themselves or their neighbours If the service with the enemy be in the Van as mostly it is Musqueteers after firing fall off two several ways ranks may after they have fired fall off two several ways First the rank which hath fired divides it self into two and the half goes to the right hand and the other half to the left
and give me Pedantick Insolence your Military Laws that I may examine them and compare them with those of the Romans Why do you whisper Have you none Or have you but a few Yea these few are made in vain and signifie nothing you live so as if your Lust were your Law and that your Sword usurps the place of Justice Who is it this day that punisheth Theâ—ts who is it that punisheth Robberies Rapes and Murthers Whoredomes and Adulteries are accounted Military gallantries and such as deserve the reward of some Crown Assuredly if all this be true it must be granted Lipsius hath reason enough to cry down the Modern Discipline But before you believe that Armies either were in his time or have been since so Lawless and void of Discipline I shall desire you to examine History and daily practice and then I doubt not but you will find this Author of ours was not always guided by exact truth in his assertions Too many crimes have been and are committed daily in our Armies and so it was among the Romans too Too many of them pass unpunish'd by the misunderstanding of great Commanders and the carelesness and neglect of Inferiour Officers and so it was among the Romans too Nor dare Lipsius say that all crimes were punish'd among them Too many crimes unpunish'd both now and of old no even in their severest times These faults mention'd by him as Thefts Robberies Murthers Whoredomes and Adulteries are punish'd as severely now as when Rome was in her growing condition and then she was in her purest times Nor can Lipsius or any for him produce more severe Laws of War among his Ancient Romans than Military constitutions were in his time and yet are under most European Princes and States as you may see in my Discourse of the Modern Laws of War nor were punishments more frequent in their Armies or more severe than in ours at this day as you may likewise see in my discourse of Punishments and Rewards And indeed those Mutinies which fell out in the Spanish Armies after the Duke of Parma's Death and some before it were infamous and inexcusable yet no worse nor so bad by half as many were among the Romans some whereof you may remember I have observed in another place Our Author in the close of his Comparison joyns with Vegetius and crys To deposite half pay is now ridiculous up the Roman custome in causing the Roman Souldiers to deposite at their Colours the half of their Pay to be a stock to them after they had obtain'd their Dimissions I think indeed the custome and institution was good and commendable enough but it is ridiculous to propose the imitation of it now when for most part Princes and States detain without the consent of the Souldiers The reasonâ— in their own hand some the half some the third part and some two parts of three of both Officers and Souldiers Wages some Proviant-bread and now and then a bit of Cheese being deduced To conclude upon the whole matter of this Comparison Justus Lipsius hath shown himself a good Antiquary well travell'd abroad but to be Peregrinus domi a great stranger at home And so I take my leave of him CHAP. XXIX Whether the profession of a Souldier be lawful WAR being the subject of my Military Discourses and therein I being necessitated to speak frequently of Souldiers because without those who either truly have or profess to have skill in Military affairs War cannot be managed it will be fit to enquire Whether the profession of a Souldier be lawful that is Whether it have any warrant in either Divine or Humane Law or which is the same if it be against any of them I do not here intend to question the lawfulness of War for having spoke something of that I shall take it for granted that War grounded on justifiable causes is lawful Nor do I make it a question Whether Subjects that are able to bear Arms are bound to serve their Princes in the Wars as Souldiers But the Quaere shall be Whether it be lawful to make a trade of Souldiery that is to learn no other Art either Liberal or Mechanical except to serve in the Wars for Pay and thereby to gain a livelihood The affirmative whereof I maintain my opinion being grounded on the reasons mention'd in this following discourse But first to shun cavilling I shall easily grant that it were much more commendable to learn some other Art that when a lawful War is at an end those who have serv'd in it may work with their hands as the Apostle says and so get their livelihood than to rove from Country to Country to look for imployment in foreign Wars And without all doubt many of those who do so cannot but be subject to very uncharitable thoughts and unlawful desires for whereas not only Christians but all men even as men should desire and pray for Peace as the greatest Earthly blessing mortals can enjoy those who know not how to get a livelihood in time of Peace long for War and wish and pray for it which cannot be done without great sin both against God and Humane Society But I answer all this is by accident it is but the wickedness of the Souldier not the profession of Souldiery that makes him pray for War for pious and morally honest Souldiers in time of Peace may put themselves in Domestick service of either Gentlemen or Country Farmers and so earn their bread till they have a fair call to follow the Wars But truly their condition for most part is very deplorable for when they become lame or so old that they can serve no longer in the Wars they are good for nothing but Hospitals and because few of them can get into any of these the rest must be contented to beg as Troops of them do over all Christendome In several great Towns of Germany I have seen Captains begging alms and at Bruxels and Antwerp I have known those who could testifie by their Passes they had been Lieutenant-Colonels and Majors much more others of a lower degree begging Charity in the Streets But I find nothing that occurs to my memory either in the Old or New Testament that dischargeth the profession of Souldiery that is to serve for Pay in the Wars whether these Souldiers have learn'd any other trade or not yea on the contrary there be several passages that confirm me in my opinion I shall not instance Abner Joab Amasa Benajah and others who were meer Prov'd to be lawful Souldiers and manag'd the Wars of Saul Ishbosheth David and Solomon for it may be told me these were Gentlemen who had Estates and needed learn no other Trade but I shall say That Jephte had no Estate having been banish'd from his patrimony by his Brethren because he was a Bastard He I say knew no other trade but Souldiery and thereby maintain'd himself and his followers and in the Land of Tob he