beene of speciall esteeme for the field and preferred before the other kindes of light-armed Many nations haue beene commended for theire skill in shooting Emongest the Graecians the Cretans were of aâ—ncient time sole archers as Pausanias witnesseth Yet was not theire service aequall with the service of the Persians For Xenophon confesseth that the Persian bowe overreached the Cretan a great way and that the Rhodians with theire sling owt-threw the Cretan bow Of the Carduchans a people through whose Countrey the Graecians passed at theire returne out of Persia Xenophon writeth thus They caried noe other armes then bowes and slinges They were excellent archers and had bowes well nighe three cubits long arrowes more then two Cubits When they shotte they drewe the string applieng theire hand some what toward the neither end of the bowe setting theire left foote foreward With theire arrowes they pierced both targets and Curates The Graecians putting thonges to the middest of theire arrowes sent them back at the enemy in steede of Dartes The same in effect is reported by Diodorus Siculus Of the Parthian horsemen Appian saith When Crassus commaunded the light-armed to disband goe to the charge they went not farre but meeting with many arrowes and being sore galled with them they retired streight and hid themselues emongest the armed and gaue beginning of disorder and feare repraesenting to the sight of the rest the force and violence of the shotte that rent all armes they fell vppon and made way aswell thorough bodies that had the best as the worst furniture defensiue giving mighty and violent strokes from stiffe and great bowes and forcing out the arrowe boisterously with the compasse and bent of the bowe Plutarch hath the very wordes that are in Appian The Indians also were good archers albeit not much praised by Q. Curtius Hee saith theire arrowes were two Cubits long which they deliver out of theire bowes with more labour then effect for as much as the arrow whose whole efficacy is in lightnesse becometh altogether vnwieldy by reason of the weight And yet hee telleth that Alexander at the assault of the principall City of the Mallians was strooke thorough his Curace into the side beneath the pappes with an Indian arrowe with whome Plutarch and Diod. Siculus accord Arrian addeth the wound was so deep that his breath was seene to issue out together with his blood The Gothes and other people of the north that invaded the Roman empire had theire chiefe victories against the Romans by the help of bowes and arrowes Vegetius before alleaged speaketh it plainely So our souldiers saith hee vnarmed both bodies and heads encountring with the Gothes were oftentimes wholy defeated and slaine with the multitude of theire arrowes I may not pretermitte the praise of our nation in this skill Our owne stories testify that the great battailes we gayned against the french were gayned by the ioint-shooting of our archers principally And that the English haue heretofore excelled in archery shooting is cleere by the testimony even of Strangers Cicuta whom I named before commending the vse of bows as necessary for the sâ—rvice of the field that long after gunnes were invented praeferreth the English before all other and setteth him downe as a patterne for other to follow Aâ—d Patritius disputing of the violence of arrows doubteth not to affirme that an English arrowe with a litle waxe put vpoÌ„ the point of the head wil passe through any ordinary Corslette or Curace Howsoever the credit of bowes is lost at this present with many great souldiers yet haue they of auncient time been highly prised Vegetius saith how great advantage good archers bring in fight both Cato in his bookes of military discipline doth shewe evidently and Claudius by augmenting the number of archers and teaching of them the vse of theire bowes overcame the enemy whome before hee was not able to matche Scipâ—o Africanus the yonger being to giue battaile to the Numantines that before had forced a Roman army to passe vnder the yoake thought hee could not otherwise haue the better vnlesse hee mingled chosen archers in euery 〈◊〉 And Leo the Emperour in his Constitutions military hath this Constitution â—ongest other You shall commâ—un â— all the Roman youth till they come to fourty yeares of age whether they haue meane skill in shooting or not to cary bowes quivers of arrowes For since the art of shoo ting hath been neglected many great losses haue befallen the Romans Aâ—d in another place you shall enioyne the Commaunders vnder you in winter to take a view and to signify to the Turmâ—ches Coronells now many horse what kinde of armes the souldiers vnder their commaundes stand in need of that necessary provision bee made the souldiers be furnished in time convenient But specially you are to haue care of archers that they whoe remaine at home haue vacation from warre hold bowes and arrowes in their howses For carelessnesse heerin hath brought great dammage to the Roman State So Leo. This of ould time was the opinion of the Romans concerning archers Howe wee are fallen out with them in our dayes the skill of the bowe being a quality so commendable and so proper to our nation I knowe not vnlesse fire-weapons perhaps haue put them out of countenaâ—nce And surely it may not bee denied that the force of fireweapons of our time doth farre exceed the height of all old inventions for anoyeng the enemy And when I haue given them the first place I will not doubt to giue the second to bowes and arrowes being so farre from casting them of that I would rather follow the wisdome of the Graecians whoe albeit they esteemed arrowes the best flieng weapons yet thought it not amisse to hold in vse slinges and dartes Every weapon hath it property and that which is fitte for one service is not so fitte for another The fire-weapons haue theire advantages They haue also theire disadvantages Theire advantage is they pierce all defence of armour and lighting vpon a place of the body the wound whereof endaungereth life they bring with them certeine death Theire disadvantages are they are not alwayes certeine sometimes for want of charging sometimes through over charging sometimes the bullet rowling out sometimes for want of good powder or of dryed powder sometimes because of an ill dryed matche not fitte to coale or not well cocked Besides they are somewhat long in charging while the musketier takes downe his musket vncockes the matche blowes proynes shuttes casts of the pan castes about the musket opens his charges chargeth drawes out his 〈◊〉 sticke rammes in the powder drawes out againe and puts vp his skowring stick layes the musket on the rest blowes of the matche cockes and tryes it gardes the pan and so makes ready All which actions must necessarily bee observed if you will not faile of the true vse of a musket In raine snowe fogges or when the enemy hath gayned the winde they haue small vse Adde that but one ranke that is the first can giue vpon the enemy at once For the rest behinde discharging shall either wound theire owne Companions before or else shoote at randon and so nothing endaunger the enemy the force of a musket being
thus To your Pike turne your face that is we ought to set the particular before and then inferre the generall Like reason is if you say turne about your face or countermarch For these are also generall words And therefore wee should do well to set the particular before As to the Pike turne your face about or to the Target turne your face about Likewise the Lacedemonian countermarch not the Countermarch Lacedemonian For if you place the word Countermarch first some of the Souldiers will happily fall to one kind other to another kinde of Countermarch For which cause words of double sense are to be auoided and the speciall to be set before the generall Of silence to be vsed by Souldiers CHAP. LIII BVt aboue all things silence is to bee commanded and that beed be giuen to directions As Homere specially signifieth in his discriptions of the Graecian and Troian fights The skilfull Cheef-taines pressed on guiding with carefull eie Their Armed troupes who followed their Leaders silently You surely would haue deem'd each one of all that mighty thronge Had been bereft of speach so bride led he his heedfull tongue Fearing the dread Commanders checke and awfull hest's among Thus march't the Greekes in silence breathing flames of high desire And feruent zeale to backe their friends on foes to wreake their ire As for the disorder of the Barbarians he resembleth it to birdes saying As sholes of fowle geese cranes and swannes with necks far stretched out Which in the slimy fennes Caïsters winding streames about Sheare here and there the liquid skie sporting on wanton wing Then fall to ground with clanging noise the fennes all ouer ring None otherwise the Troians fill the field with heaped sounds Of broken and confused cries each where tumult abounds And againe The Captaines marshall out their Troupes ranged in goodly guise And foâ—rth the Troians pace like birds which lade the aire with cries Not so the Greekes whose silence breathed flames of high desire Fernent in zeale to back their friends on foes to wreake their ire The words of Command CHAP. LIIII Thus then are we to command TO your Armes Stand by your Armes Cariage away from the battaile Marke your directions Seperate your selues Aduance your Pikes File and ranke your selues Looke to your Leader Reare Commander order your file Keepe your first distances Faces to the Pike moue a little further stand so as you were Faces to the Target moue a little further stand so Faces about to the Pike moue a little further stand so Double your Depth To your first posture Double your Length To your first posture The Lacedemonian countermarch To your first posture The Macedonian countermarch To your first posture The Choraan countermarch To your first posture Battaile wheele to the Pike To your first posture Battaile wheele about to the Pike To your first posture These precepts of the Art Tacticke most inuincible Caesar I haue laide out to your Matie which will be a meanes of safety to such as shall vse them and of â—he ouerthrow of their enemies THE EXERCISE OF THE ENGLISH IN the seruice of the high and mighty Lords the LORDS the ESTATES of the vnited PROVINCES in the Low COVNTRIES THE Soldiers are diuided into two kindes Foote and Horse The Foote againe are of two kindes Pikemen and Musketiers Pikemen are armed with a head-peece a Curace and Tases defensiue and with a Pike of fifteene foote long and a Rapier offen siue The Armour is all yron the Pike of Ashen wood for the Steale and at the vpper end an yron head of about a handfull long with cheekes about the length of two foote and at the butt-end a round strong socket of yron ending in a pike that is blunt yet sharpe enough to fixe to the ground The forme thereof is expressed in the grauen figure The Musketier hath a head-peece for defence a Musket the barrell of the length of 4 foote the bore of 12 bullets to the pound a Bandelier to which are fastned a convenient number of charges for powder sometimes as many as 15 or 16 a lether bagge for bullets with a pruning yron a Rest for the Musket with an yron forke on the vpper end to support it in discharging and a pike on the nether end to sticke into the ground lastly a Rapier The figure of this armour also is here inserted These soldiors both Pike-men and Musketiers are diuided into Companies and euery Company consisteth halfe of Pikes halfe Musketiers The Companies are some more in number some lesse Some reach to 300 men some 200 some 100 some 90 some 80 some 70. Euery Company hath these officers of the field A Captaine a Lieutenant an Ensigne 2 Serieants 3 Corporalls two Drommes and for other vses a Clerke a Surgion and a Prouost Companies are compacted into Regiments and the Regiments commanded by Coronells Regiments conteine not alwaies a like number of Companies some hauing 10 some 11 12 13 14 15 some 30 Companies and aboue In euery Regiment are a Coronell a Lieutenant Coronell a Serieant Maior all officers of the field a Quarter-master and a Prouost-martiall for other imployments It shall not be greatly to the purpose to mention higher officers then Coronells my principall intent being no other then to set downe the armes and exercise of our Nation in the said vnited Provinces Their armes are spoken of Their exercise followes FIrst both Pikes and Muskets are ordered into files of 10 deepe The Musketiers are sometime placed before sometime in flanke sometimes in the reare of the pikes To exercise the motions there are two distances to be obserued The first is when euery one is distant from his fellow 6 foote square that is in file and ranke 6. The second is when euery Souldier is 3 foote distant one from the other aswell in file as in Ranke And because the measure of such distances cannot be taken so iustly by the eye the distance of 6 foot betwixt the files is measured when the Souldiers stretching out their armes doe touch one an others hands and betwixt the Rankes when the ends of their pikes come well nigh to the heeles of them that march before And the measure of 3 foote betwixt the files is when their elbowes touch one another betwixt the rankes when they come to touch the ends of one anothers Rapiers For to march in the field the distance of 3 foote from file to file is kept and of 6 foote from Ranke to Ranke To order themselues in Battaile as also to goe towards the enemy the distance of 3 foote in file and ranke is obserued and likewise to conversion or wheeling The Musquettiers also going for to shoote by Rankes keep the same distance of 3 foot but going to skirmish they goe a la Disbandade which is out of order There is yet another sort of distance which is not vsed but for to receiue the enemy with a firme stand
and serueth for the pikes onely for the Musquettiers cannot be so close in files because they must haue their Armes at liberty that is when euery one is distant from file to file a foote and a halfe and 3 foote from Ranke to Ranke And this last distance is thus commanded Close your selues throughly But it is not to be taught the Souldiers for that when necessitie shall require it they will close themselues but too much of their owne accord without command To begin therefore to doe the exercises the Company is set in the first distance to wit of 6 foote in file and ranke and thus is said These are the generall words of Command which are often to be vsed Stand right in your files Stand right in your rankes Silence To the right hand As you were To the left hand As you were To the right hand about To the left hand as you were To the left hand about To the right hand as you were You must note that when they are commanded to be as they were they must returne thither from whence they parted and if they turned to the right hand they must returne to the left and so in countermarch The headpiece The forepart The headpiece close The backe the right gantlet The left vambrace The left cuishe The brest The backe the gard the left â—â—â—â—let The Armour of the Pikman The Gorget The Brest The Tales The Hedpiece The Back The Pike To the right double your rankes Rankes as you were To the left hand double your rankes Rankes as you were To the right hand double your files Files as you were To the left hand double your files Files as you were With halfe files to the right hand double your Rankes Halfe files as you were With halfe files to the left hand double your Rankes Halfe files as you were Files to the right hand countermarch Files to the left hand countermarch To the right hand or left at discretion as you were Rankes to the right hand countermarch Rankes to the left hand countermarch To the right or left hand as you were Close your Files to 3 foote distance Close your Rankes to 3 foote distance Vnderstand that in Closing from the outsides to the middle the Soldier is â—stand in his distance of 3 foote in file and not closer To the right hand wheele To the left hand wheele Open your Rankes backwards in your double distance to wit at 12 foote and this for a single Company Rankes as you were sc. at the first In opening Rankes or Files you must keepe them closed vntill the second Ranke or File beginning from the outsides haue taken their distances and so shall the rest remaine close vntill euery Ranke or File haue taken their distanceâ— in order Open your files to wit to the first distance of 6 foote If you will command to close files to the right hand or left hand the outmost file standeth still and the rest close to that file For the Pike with a firme stand Advance your Pikes Order your Pikes Slope your Pikes Charge your Pikes Order your Pikes Traile your Pikes Cheeeke your Pikes More for the Pikes first with a firme stand and then marching Charge your Pikes Slope your Pikes To the right hand charge your Pikes Slope your Pikes To the left hand charge your Pikes Slope your Pikes Charge your Pikes to the Reare Slope your Pikes Order your Pikes This must be obserued charging your Pikes with a firme stand to set the right foote behind and charging the Pikes marching to set the left foote before For the Musquet THe Postures in his Excellencies Booke are to be obserued but in exercisinâ— you must onely vse these three termes of direction Make ready Present Giue fire Your Musquettiers must obserue in all their motions to turne to the right hand and that they carry the mouth of their peeces high aswell when they are shouldred as in pruning and also when they hold their pannes garded and come vp to giue fire In advancing towards an Enemy when they doe not skirmish loose and disbanded they must giue fire by Rankes after this manner Two Rankes must alwaies make ready together and aduance ten paces forward before the body at which distance a Sergeant or when the body is great some other officer must stand to whom the Musquettiers are to come vp before they present and giue fire first the firstranke And whilest the first giues fire the second Ranke keepe their Musquets close to their Rests and their pannes garded and assoone as the first are fallen away the second presently present and giue fire and fall after them Now assoone as the first two Rankes doe moue from their places in the front The two Rankes next them must vnshoulder their Musquets and make ready so as they may aduance forward ten paces as before assoone as euer the two first rankes are fallen away and are to doe in all points as the former And all the other Rankes through the whole diuision must doe the same by twoes one after another A manner there is to giue fire retyring from an Enemy which is performed after this sorâ—t As the Troope marcheth the hindermost ranke of all keeping still with the Troope is to make ready and being ready the souldiers in that ranke turne altogether to the right hand and giue fire marching presently away a good round pace to the front and there place themselues in ranke together iust before the front As soone as the first ranke turne to giue fire the ranke next makes ready and doth as the former and so the rest We giue fire by the flanks thus The vppermost file next the Enemy must be commanded to make ready keeping still along with the body till such time as they be ready and then they turne to the right or left hand according to the sight of their enemies either vpon the right or left flanke and giue fire altogether When they haue discharged they stirre not but keepe their ground and charge their Peeces againe in the same place they stand Now as soone as the foresaid file doth turne to giue fire the vttermost next it makes ready alwaies keeping along with the Troope till the Bringer-vp be past a little beyond the Leader of that file that gaue fire last and then the whole file must turne and giue fire and doe in all points as the first did and so the rest one after the other A Sergeant or if the Troope be great some other better qualified Officer must stand at the head of the first file and assoone as the second file hath giuen fire and hath charged he is to lead forward the first file vp to the second file and so to the rest one after another till he hath gathered vp againe the whole wing and then he is to ioyne them againe in equall front with the pikes Last of all the Troope or whole wing of Musquettiers makes ready altogether and