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28th New York Infantry Regiment

HARDEES SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY

TITLE THIRD & LESSON FIRST

TITLE THIRD - SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY General Rules and division of the School of the Soldier. 1. Instruction by company will always precede that by battalion, and the object being to prepare the soldiers for the higher school, the exercises of detail by company will be strictly adhered to, as well in respect to principles, as the order of progression herein proscribed. 2. There will be attached to a company undergoing elementary instruction, a captain, a covering sergeant, and a certain number of file closers, the whole posted in the manner indicated, Title First, and, according to the same title, the, officer charged with the exercise of such company will herein be denominated the instructor. 3. The School of the Company will be divided into six lessons, and each lesson will comprehend five articles, as follows: LESSION I. 1) To open ranks 2) Alignments in open ranks. 3) Manual of arms. 4) To close ranks. 5) Alignments, and manual of arms in closed ranks. LESSON II. 1) To load in four times and at will. 2) To fire by company 3) To fire by file. 4) To fire by rank. 5) To fire by the rear rank. LESSON III. 1) To march in line of battle. 2) To halt the company marching in line of battle, and to align it. 3) Oblique march in line of battle. 4) To mark time, to march in double quick time, and the back step. 5) To march in retreat in line of battle. LESSON IV. 1) To march by the flank. 2) To change direction by file. 3) To halt the company marching by the flank, and to face it to the front. 4) The company being in march by the flank, to form it on the right or left by file into line of battle. 5) The company marching by the flank, to form it by company or platoon into line, and cause it to face to the right and left in marching. LESSON V. 1) To break into column by platoon either at a halt, or while marching. 2) To march in column. 3) To change direction. 4) To halt the column. 5) Being in column by platoon, to form to the right or left into line of battle, either at a halt or marching. LESSON VI. 1) To break into platoons, and to re-form the company. 2) To break files to the rear, and to cause them to re-enter into line. 3) To march in column in route, and to execute the movements incident thereto. 4) Countermarch.. 5) Being in column by platoon, to form on the right or left into line of battle. 4. The company will always be formed in two ranks. The instructor will then cause the files to be numbered, and for this purpose will command: In each rank - count twos. 5. At this command, the men count in each rank, from right to left, pronouncing in a loud and distinct voice, in the same tone, without hurry and without turning the head, one, two, according to the place which each one occupies. He will also cause the company divided into platoons and sections, taking care that the first platoon is always composed of an even number of files. 6. The instructor will be as clear and concise as possible in his explanations; he will cause faults of detail to be rectified by the captain, to whom he will indicate them, if the captain should not have himself observed them; and the instructor will not otherwise interfere, unless the captain should not well comprehend, or should badly execute his intentions. 7. Composure, or presence of mind, in him who commands, and in those who obey, being the first means of order in a body of troops, the instructor will labor to habituate the company to this essential quality, and will himself give the example. LESSON FIRST. ARTICLE FIRST To open ranks. 8. The company being at ordered arms, the ranks and file closers well aligned, when the instructor shall wish to cause the ranks to be opened, be will direct the left guide to place himself on the left of the front rank, which being executed, he will command: 1. Attention. 2. Company. 3. Shoulder-ARMS. 4. To the rear open order. 9. At the fourth command, the covering sergeant, and the left guide, will step off smartly to the rear, four paces from the front rank, in order to mark the alignment of the rear rank. They will judge this distance by the eye, without counting the steps. 10. The instructor will place himself at the same time on the right flank, in order to observe if these two non-commissioned officers are on a line parallel to the front rank, and if necessary, to correct their positions, which being executed, he will command: 5. MARCH. 11. At this command, the front rank will stand fast. 12. The rear rank will step to the rear, without counting the steps, and will place themselves on the alignment marked for this rank, conforming to what is prescribed in the school of the soldier, No. 321. 13. The covering sergeant will align the rear rank on the left guide placed to mark the left of this rank. 14. The file closers will march to the rear at the same time with the rear rank, and will place themselves two paces from this rank when it is aligned. 15. The instructor seeing the rear rank aligned, will command: 5. FRONT. 16. At this command, the sergeant on the left of the rear rank will return to his place as a file closer. 17. The rear rank being aligned, the instructor will direct the captain and the covering sergeant to observe the men in their respective ranks, and to correct, if necessary, the positions of persons and pieces. ARTICLE SECOND Alignments in open ranks. 18. The ranks being open, the instructor will, in the first exercises, align the ranks, man by man the better to inculcate the principles. 19. To effect this, he will cause two or four men on the right or left of each rank to march two or three paces forward, and, after having aligned them, command: By file right (or left)-DRESS. 20. At this, the men of each rank will move up successively on the alignment, each man being preceded by his neighbor in the same rank, towards the basis, by two paces, and having correctly aligned himself, will cast his eyes to the front. 21. Successive alignments having habituated the soldiers to dress correctly, the instructor will cause the ranks to align themselves at once, forward and backward, sometimes in a direction parallel, and sometimes in one oblique, to the original direction, giving, in each case, two or four men to serve as a basis of alignment to each rank. To effect which, he will command: 1. Right (or left)- DRESS. 2. FRONT. or 1. Right (or left) backward- DRESS 2. FRONT. 22. In oblique alignments, in opened ranks, the men of the rear rank will not seek to cover their file leaders, as the sole object of the exercise is to teach them to align themselves correctly in their respective ranks, in the different directions. 23. In the several alignments, the captain will superintend the front rank, and the covering sergeant the rear rank. For this purpose, they will place themselves on the side by which the ranks are dressed. 24. In oblique alignments, the men will conform the line of their shoulders to the new direction of their rank, and will place themselves on the alignment as has been prescribed in the school of the soldier, No. 317 or No. 321, according as the new direction shall be in front or rear of the original one. 25. At the end of each alignment, the captain and the covering sergeant will pass along the front of the ranks to correct the positions of persons and arms. ARTICLE THIRD Manual of arms. 26. The ranks being open, the instructor will place himself in a position to see the ranks, and will command the manual of arms in the following order: Present arms. Order Arms. Ground arms. Raise arms. Support arms. Fix bayonet. Charge bayonet. Trail arms. Unfix bayonet. Secure arms. Shoulder arms. Shoulder arms. Shoulder arms. Shoulder arms. Shoulder arms. Shoulder arms. Shoulder arms. Shoulder arms. Load in nine times. 27. The instructor will take care that the position of the body, of the feet, and of the piece, be always exact, and that the times be briskly executed and close to the person. ARTICLE FOURTH To close ranks. 28. The ranks being open, the instructor will, in the first exercises, align the ranks, man by man the better to inculcate the principles. 1. Close order. 2. MARCH. 29. At the command march, the rear rank will close up in quick time, each man directing himself on his file leader. ARTICLE FIFTH Alignments, and manual of arms in closed ranks. 30. The ranks being closed, the instructor will cause to be executed parallel and oblique alignments by the right and left, forward and backward, observing to place always two or four files to serve as a basis of alignment. He will give the commands prescribed, No. 21. 31. In alignments in closed ranks, the captain will superintend the front rank, and the covering sergeant the rear rank. They will habituate themselves to judge the alignment by the lines of the eyes and shoulders, in casting a glance of the eye along the front and rear of the ranks. 32. The moment the captain perceives the greater number 'of the front rank aligned, he will command FRONT, and rectify, afterwards, if necessary, the alignment of the other men by the means prescribed in the school of the soldier, No. 320. The rear rank will conform to the alignment of the front rank, superintended by the covering sergeant. 33. The ranks being steady, the instructor will place himself on the flank to verify their alignment. He will also see that each rear rank man covers accurately his file leader. 34. In oblique alignments, the instructor will observe what is prescribed No. 24. 35. In all alignments, the file closers will preserve the distance of two paces from the rear rank. 36. The alignments being ended, the instructor will cause to be executed the manual of arms. 37. The instructor, wishing to rest the men, without deranging the alignment, will first cause arms to be supported, or ordered, and then command: In place - REST. 38. At this command, the men will no longer be constrained to preserve silence or steadiness of position; but they will always keep one or other heel on the alignment. 39. If, on the contrary, the instructor should wish to rest the men without constraining them to preserve the alignment, he will command: REST. 40. At which command, the men will not be required to preserve immobility, or to remain in their places. 41. The instructor may, also, when he shall judge proper, cause arms to be stacked, which will be executed as prescribed, school of the soldier.