AN ABRIDGEMENT OF THE ENGLISH Military Discipline By His Majesties permission LONDON Printed by the Assigns of John Bill and Christopher Barker Printers to the Kings Most Excellent Majesty 1676. AN ABRIDGEMENT OF THE ENGLISH Military Discipline Of the Exercise of the Foot WHen a Body of Men are drawn up to Exercise the distance of their Ranks must be at six Foot and their Files at three Foot that they may have liberty to use their Arms. The Officers of the Body he onely excepted that is to give the Words of Command are to draw off to the Right and Left forming a Rank on each Wing opposite the one to the other The Officer Commanding is to place himself before the Middle of the Pikes about ten Foot distance from them the better to observe what is done and to be the more easily understood by the whole Body The Words of Command must be given Leisurely that the Souldiers may perform their Postures without Confusion The Officer must first Command Silence and then proceed as followeth to the Exercise of the Musquet SHoulder your Musquet Lay your right hand on your Musquet Poyse your Musquet Rest your Musquet Handle your Match Blow your Match Cock and try your Match Guard your Pan. Blow your Match Open your Pan. Present Give Fire Recover your Arms. Return your Match Clean your Pan with your Thumb Handle your Primer Prime your Pan. Shut your Pan with a full Hand Blow off your loose Corns Cast about to Charge Handle your Charger Open it with your Teeth Charge with Powder Draw forth your Scowrer Shorten it to an Inch against your right Breast Charge with Bullet Ram down Powder and Ball. Withdraw your Scowrer Shorten it to a handful Return your Scowrer Poyse your Musquet Shoulder your Musquet Order your Musquet Exercise of the Pike ADvance your Pikes Charge to the Front To the Right To the Right To the Right To the Right To the Right about To the Left about as you were Charge to the Left To the Left To the Left To the Left To the Left about To the Right about as you were Advance your Pikes From Advance Shoulder your Pikes From Shoulder Charge to the Front Shoulder as you were From your Shoulder Charge to the Right Shoulder as you were Charge to the Right about Shoulder as you were Charge to the Left Shoulder as you were To the Left about Shoulder as you were From your Shoulder Port. From your Port Comport From your Comport Charge to the Front From your Charge Trail Facing to the Right about Charge as you were Advance your Pikes Exercise of the Musquet and Pike together SHoulder your Musquet Musqueteers Make ready At which time the Musqueteers must Leisurely and Distinctly perform every particular Posture of the Musquet together The Musqueteers being ready the Pikes are to Charge as the Musqueteers are Faced To the Right To the Right To the Right To the Right To the Right about To the Left about as you were To the Left To the Left To the Left To the Left To the Left about To the Right about as you were Advance your Pikes Return your Matches Shoulder your Musquets Order your Arms. Pikes to your inside Order Lay down your Arms. Which Posture is to be performed with their Left Legs and stooping all together their Arms being upon the ground they must take care to Rise all together every one observing his Right hand man at the Word of Command Quit your Arms. Face all to the Right about March clear off your Arms. To the Left about to your Leader March to your Arms. Handle your Arms. Which must be done stepping forward with their Left Legs and stooping Laying their hands upon their Arms expecting the Word of Command Order your Arms. Pikes to your outside Order Poyse your Musquets Advance your Pikes Shoulder your Musquets March This way of Exercise is not altogether the same with what hath been hitherto in use wherein it was thought fit to make some alteration by leaving out some Words as superfluous and changing some of the Postures for others that are of greater Use and readiness Closings and Openings RRanks close forward to Order Ranks close forward to close Order Ranks open backwards to Order Ranks open backwards to open Order Ranks open backward to double distances The Ranks fall back without changing aspect Files close to the Right Files close to the Left Files close to the Center Files open from the Right Files open from the Left Files open from the Center For performing of which the Body faces to the hand named and moves If to the Right the second File from the right first takes its distance by moving slower then its Leader the rest of the Files do the like successively and the left hand File moves not at all Doublings Ranks to the right hand double March Ranks to the left hand as you were March Ranks to the left hand double March Ranks to the right hand as you were March The Ranks that double are to observe their right hand Man to move at the same time with him They begin their motion with the foot next the hand named and are to come into their places at three steps In this doubling the even Ranks double into the odd And if you would have the odd Ranks also double Face the Body to the Rere and the same Words of Command will perform it To reduce the Ranks The Ranks that doubled are first to Face to the contrary hand then beginning with the contrary foot at three steps to come into their former ground Files doubling is perform'd in the same manner and is the same thing with the reduction of doubled Ranks the reduction of doubled Files is the same thing with doubling Ranks Doubling of half Files with the Reduction Rere half Files to the Right double your Front March To the Left about as you were March Rere half Files to the Left double your Front March To the Right about as you were March If you do it upon a March let your Rere half Files move into the Front with a quicker motion the Front half Files still continuing theirs And for Reduction let the Rere half Files without facing about stand till the Front half Files have passed them and then fall after their proper Leaders Fireings THe Commander in chief gives no Command nor Direction besides Make ready Present Give fire And the first of these he uses but once The Souldiers are to be instructed and minded by subaltern Officers that when the two first Ranks make ready and advance forward the Body of Musqueteers is to make good the Front of Pikes and the two next Ranks unshoulder and make ready without any Word of Command and when the last Rank presents or both if both fire together to advance and this also without any Word of Command If the Ranks be at six Foot they are also at their advancing to close forward to three Foot without any Word of Command If
to their degrees The Lieutenants are to be Placed two in the Front two in the Rere and one on each Flank The Colours are to be in the Center of the Pikes The Serjeants are to be Placed one on the Right and Left of each Rank If a Battalion consist of more then Six Companies the respective Officers are to be Placed according to the discretion of the Commander of the Battalion It were not amiss to Place the Company of the Captain that Commands the left Wing of Shot on the left of all that Wing unless the Battalion be the outermost on the Line for then the Collonels Company is to be on the Left of all in this case the Right and Left Exchanging In a Battel the Captains and other Officers are to March in a Line but coming within Shot of the Enemy and the Musqueteers Marching ready with their Pans guarded the whole Line of Captains and other Officers is to retire each of them into the Intervals of his Files next after his Post yet so as they may look to the Right and Left of the Battalion Whilst they are Marching towards the Enemy they are to be very careful to keep themselves in this Posture and neither to be forwarder nor backwarder neither without the Battalion nor within it And when they begin to March with their Pikes Charged and that the Musqueteers are ready the Ranks are to be closed forward to one small Pace Assoon as the Battalion comes to thirty Paces distance from the Enemy let the Musqueteers Fire the manner of which Firing shall be ordered them before The Captain Commanding the Rere is to observe that the Battalion March still to cause the Souldiers to close forward easily and without noise or confusion His chief care ought to be to Command the Pikes ever to March even with the Wings of Musqueteers For it often happens that in Marching any considerable time in Battel the Wings Advance and form a Half-moon and the Pikes in the middle being extremely pressed upon the Battalion is broken Provided the motion of the Pikes be equal on the Right and Left the Battalion cannot be disordered by its March Above all we are carefully to preserve the distance of Ranks and Files according to what hath been said already The Grenadeers when there are any are to be drawn up on the Right of the Battalion and to augment it without intermixing with it or troubling the Order of it they being a separate number of Men that are to be always ready for whatever shall be Commanded them The Commander of a Battalion may be on Horsback at the Head of it when the Captains are on Foot with their Pikes in their hands in consideration that he is to be stirring to all parts to see that the distances be observed and above all that none speak except himself or the Major by his Order The Commander of a Battalion is to alight when the Musqueteers make ready and is to March with his Pike charged against the Enemy When an Army is Drawn up for Battel the distance between the Lines must be of three hundred Paces the same as is in a Camp Of Defiles TO pass a narrow Defile the readiest way to perform it and draw up again in Order assoon as past is to make the Ranks File if to the Right the Right-hand man Files first and the rest of his Rank follow him till the Defile be past then they Rank again as they were this seems better then Files fileing because it immediately makes a Front to the Enemy If the Rank be great let it File two abreast beginning with the two middlemost Files For larger Defiles the Commander draws off as he judges the way will easily receive in order to which the Battalion is divided before it Marches Serjeants taking care of the Subdivisions The places of the Lieutenants may be according to these Figures Captains and Ensigns keeping their places FINIS LONDON Printed by the Assigns of John Bill and Christopher Barker Printers to the Kings most Excellent Majesty 1676. * Note after they have given Fire they must still keep their Hands up till the Word of Command be given to Return their Pistols
Encamping of a Battalion consisting in sixteen Companies and fifty Men in each Company There must be allowed fifty Paces for a Squadron consisting in three Troops and fifty Men in each Troop From the Head of the First Line to the Head of the Second there is commonly allowed three hundred Paces whereof One hundred and twenty are for the Encamping of the first Line So that there remains One hundred and eighty Paces for the distance between the last Tents of the first Line and the Head of the Second It is to be observed that this measure of ground aforesaid is meant onely for the Encamping of an Army For if it was to be ranged in Battel in case of Service the distances between the Battalions or Squadrons must be greater than in a Camp It must be endeavoured as much as may be that the Second Line be equal to the First keeping the same Distance upon the Right and Left All Troops or Companies of Horse or Foot consisting but of fifty Men are to be Encamped on one Row of Baraques or Hutts But when the Troops or Companies consist in more Men there must be two or three Rows of Baraques or Hutts It is to be observed that in each Squadron or Battalion the Collonels Company is always upon the Right or Left and there make their Row of Hutts behind them must be left a space for the Street then the Second Company makes their Row of Hutts near to which the Third makes theirs leaving the space of two Foot onely between their Hutts which is called the By-Street And the same thing is observed by the Horse The Hutts of the Foot always open towards the Street The Baraques of the Cavalry always open towards the Horses Heads The Particulars of Encamping of a Battalion WHen the Adjutant or Quartermaster hath his Ground allotted to him for the Encamping of a Battalion which is commonly One hundred Paces he is to divide it in the manner following viz. He must allow Seven Foot Square to each Hutt Two Foot to the By-streets and Fifteen Foot to the great Streets Every Company consisting of Fifty Men ought to have Ten Hutts and there must be the distance of Two Foot between the Hutts The Kitchens must be marked out at Twelve Foot distance from the last Row of Hutts and must be Placed just over against them so that the Streets may be open quite through for the Officers to pass easily to the Head of the Camp as there shall be occasion The length of the Kitchens is to be of Nine Foot and the breadth of Six Foot There must be thirty Paces distance between the Souldiers Kitchens and the Front of the Captains Tents There must be distance of fourty Paces between the Captains Tents and the Front of the Tents of the Subaltern Officers and the remaining Ground is for the Encamping of the Captains Equipage The Sutlers are to Encamp behind the Officers Tents By this account there remains Fifteen or Twenty Paces which makes the distance from one Battalion to another which is always left upon the Left hand The Pikes whether they are Placed against a Cross or in a Stand must be allowed at Eighteen Foot distance from the Hutts The Musquets must be at Eighteen Foot distance from the Pikes or they may be Placed upon the same Line with them The Particulars of Encamping of a Squadron WHen a Quartermaster of Horse hath his Ground allotted to him for a Squadron which is commonly fifty Paces he is to divide it in the following manner viz. He must allow three Paces for the length of a Baraque and two Paces distance from the Opening of the Baraque to the Stakes to which the Horses are fastened and three Paces for each Horses standing and ten Paces for the Street To the Second Troop is to be allowed two Paces distance three Paces for their Baraques and one Pace distance for the By-street The third Troop must have two Paces distance three Paces for the Baraques and three Paces for the Horses After which there will remain fifteen Paces which makes the distance from one Squadron to another If the Squadrons are stronger they must have more Ground And this is onely for a Squadron of one hundred and fifty Men in three Troops each Troop making but one Row of Baraques The Colours must be Placed at eighten Foot distance from the Front of the Baraques in the same Line with the Pikes There are commonly ten or twelve Baraques on a Row for every Troop of fifty Men And there must be at least two Paces distance from one Baraque to another For the Troops Kitchens the Officers Tents and the Sutlers which attend upon the Troops the same measures are to be observed in proportion as are used for Encamping of Foot By a Pace here is meant three Foot Orders for Battel THough there can be no certain Rules given for any Order of Battel which depend chiefly upon the circumstances of Place and other Accidents that may happen yet I shall set down some which may serve for an Example to shew the nature of the Thing You must then first of all Command Silence next to March very Leisurely To observe the right in Marching and preserve the Intervals which are always to be fifty or sixty Paces at least that fifty of a Battalion may pass through them None to speak but the Commander in chief or the Major by his Order Advancing against the Enemy in Battel out of Musquet Shot the Captains and other Officers at the head of the Battalion are all to March in a Line with their Pikes in their Hands two good Paces before the Men and are often to look behind them Because otherwise they may insensibly get too much before the Body And the Souldiers by following too fast fall into disorder whereof great care is to be taken in Marching against an Enemy At which time the Ranks are to be two great Paces distant and the Files closed in such a manner that every Souldier may March at his ease and so Charge and Fire which will be effected if he have liberty of moving his Elbows as he Marcheth When the Musqueteers come within Shot and March ready with their Pans guarded the Ranks should be closed forward to the Swords point But to avoid talking which usually happens at this instant it is better to leave the distance of one Pace between the Ranks so the Souldiers will not press one upon another which ordinarily causes breach of Silence in a Battalion The distance of Files is to be preserved as hath been said already He that Commands a Battalion is to be in the Center of it at the Head of the Pikes the Officer next in degree is to be in the Rere of the Pikes the third in degree at the Right Wing of Shot in the Front the fourth at the Left Wing of Shot in the Front The rest of the Captains are to be in the Rere on the Wings of Shot according