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28th New York Infantry Regiment

HARDEES SCHOOL OF THE COMPANY

LESSON FOURTH & LESSON FIFTH

LESSON FOURTH ARTICLE FIRST To march by the flank 135. The company being in line of battle, and at a halt, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to march by the right flank, he will command: 1. Company, right-FACE. 2. Forward. 3. MARCH 136. At the first command, the company will face to the right, the covering sergeant will place himself at the head of the front rank the captain having stepped out for the purpose, so, far as to find, himself by the side of the sergeant, and on his left; the front rank will double as is prescribed in the school of the soldier No. 352; the rear rank will, at the same time, side step to the right one pace, and double in the same manner; go that when the movement is completed, the files will be formed of four men aligned, and elbow to elbow. The intervals will be preserved. 137. The file closers will also move by side step to the right, so that when the ranks are formed, they will be two paces from the rearmost rank. 138. At the command march, the company will move off briskly in quick time; the covering sergeant at the head of the front rank; and the captain on his left, will march straight forward. The men of each file will march abreast of their respective front rank men, heads direct to the front; the file closers will march opposite their places in line of battle. 139. The instructor will cause the principles of the march by the flank to be observed, in placing himself pending on the march, as prescribed in the school of the soldier, No. 357. 140. The instructor will cause the march by the left flank to be executed by the same commands, substituting left for right; the ranks will double as has been prescribed in the school for the soldier, No. 354; the rear rank will side-step to the left one pace before doubling. 141. At the instant the company faces to the left, the left guide will place himself at the head of the front rank; the captain will pass rapidly to the left, and place himself by the right side of this guide; the covering sergeant will replace the captain in the front rank, the moment the latter quits it to go to the left. ARTICLE SECOND To change direction by file. 142. The company being faced by the flank, and either in march, or at a halt, when the instructor shall wish to cause it to wheel by file, he will command: 1. By file, left, (or right). 2. MARCH. 143. At the command march, the first file will wheel; if to the side of the front rank man, the latter will take care not to turn at once, but to describe a short are of a circle, shortening a little the first five or six steps in order to give time to the fourth man of this file to conform himself to the movement. If the wheel be to the side of the rear rank, the front rank man will wheel in the step of twenty-eight inches, and the fourth man will conform himself to the movement by describing a short are of a circle as has been explained. Each file will come to wheel on the same ground where that which preceded it wheeled. 144. The instructor will see that the wheel be executed according to these principles, in order that the distance between the files may always be preserved, and that there be no check or hindrance at the wheeling point. ARTICLE THIRD To halt the company marching by the flank, and to face it to the front. 145. To effect these objects, the instructor will command: 1. Company. 2. HALT. 3. FRONT. 146. The second and third commands will be executed as proscribed in the school of the soldier, Nos. 359 and 360. As soon as the files have undoubled, the rear rank will close to its proper distance. The captain and covering sergeant, as well as the left guide, if the march be by the left flank, will return to their habitual places in line at the instant the company faces to the front. 147. The instructor may then align the company by one of the means prescribed, No. 100. ARTICLE FOURTH The company being in march by the flank, to form it on the right (or left) by file into line of battle. 148. To effect these objects, the instructor will command: 1. On the right, by files into line. 2. MARCH. 149. At the command march, the rear rank men doubled will mark time; the captain and the covering sergeant will turn to the right, march straight forward, and be halted by the instructor when they shall have passed at least six paces beyond the rank of file closers; the captain will place himself correctly on the line of battle, and will direct the alignment as the men of the front rank successively arrive; the covering sergeant will place himself behind the captain at the distance of the rear rank; the two men on the right of the front rank doubled, will continue to march, and passing beyond the covering sergeant and the captain, will turn to the right; after turning, they will continue to march elbow to elbow, and direct themselves towards the line of battle, but when they shall arrive at two paces from this line, the even number will shorten the step so that the odd number may precede him on the line, the odd number placing himself by the side and on the left of the captain; the even number will afterwards oblique to the left, and place himself on the left of the odd number; the next two men of the front rank doubled, will pass in the same manner behind the two first, turn then to the right, and place themselves, according to the means just explained, to the left, and by the side of, the two men already established on the line; the remaining files of this rank will follow in succession, and be formed to the left in the same manner. The rear rank doubled will execute the movement in the manner already explained for the front rank, taking care not to commence the movement until four men of the front rank are established on the line of battle; the rear rank men, as they arrive on the line, will cover accurately their file leaders. 150. If the company be marching by the left flank, the instructor Will cause it to form by file on the left into line of battle, according to the same principles and by the same commands, substituting the indication left for right. In this case, the odd numbers will shorten the step, so that the even numbers may precede them on the line. The captain, placed on the left of the front rank, and the left guide, will return to their places in line of battle, by order of the instructor, after the company shall be formed and aligned. 151. To enable the, men the better to comprehend the mechanism of this movement, the instructor will at first cause it to be executed separately by each rank doubled, and afterwards by the two ranks united and doubled. 152. The instructor will place himself on the line of battle, and without the point where, the right or left is to rest, in order to establish the base of the alignment, and afterwards, he will follow up the movement to assure himself that each file conforms itself to what is prescribed No. 149. ARTICLE FIFTH The company being in march by the flank, to form it by company, or by platoon, into line, and to cause it to face to the right and left in marching. 153. The company being in march by the right flank, the instructor will order the captain to form it into line; the captain will immediately command: 1. By company, into line. 2. MARCH. 154. At the command march, the covering sergeant will continue to march straight forward; the men will advance the right shoulder, take the double quick step, and move into line, by the shortest route, taking care to undouble the files, and to come on the line one after the other. 155. As the front rank men successively arrive in line with the covering sergeant, they will take from him the step, and then turn their eyes to the front. 156. The men of the rear rank will conform to the movements of their respective file leaders, but without endeavoring to arrive in line at the same time with the latter 157. At the instant the movement begins, the captain will face to his company in order to follow up the execution; and, as soon as, the company is formed, he will command, guide left, place himself two paces before the centre, face to the front, and take the step of the company. 158. At the command guide left, the second sergeant will promptly place himself in the front rank, on the left, to serve as guide, and the covering sergeant who is on the opposite flank will remain there. 159. When the company marches by the left flank, this movement will be executed by the same commands, and according to the same principles; the company being formed, the captain will command guide right, and place himself in front of his company as above; the covering sergeant who is on the right of the front rank will serve as guide, and the second sergeant placed on the left flank will remain there. 160. Thus, in a column by company, right or left in front, the covering sergeant and the second sergeant of each company will always to placed on the right and left, respectively, of the front rank; they will be denominated right guide and left guide, and the one or the other charged with the direction. 161. The company being in march by the flank, if it be the wish of the instructor to cause it to form platoons, he will give an order to that effect to the captain, who will command: 1. By platoon, into line. 2. MARCH. 162. The movement will be executed by each platoon according to the above principles. The captain will place himself before the centre of the first platoon, and the first lieutenant before the centre of the second, passing through the opening made in the centre of the company, if the march be by the right flank, and around the left of his platoon, it the march be by the left; in this last case the captain will also pass around the left of the second platoon in order to place himself in front of the first. Both the captain and lieutenant, without waiting for each other, will command guide left (or right), at the instant their respective platoons are formed. 163. At the command guide left (or right) the guide of each platoon will pass rapidly to the indicated flank of the platoon, if not already there. 164. The right guide of the company will always serve as the guide of the right or left of the first platoon, and the left guide of the company will serve, in like manner, as the guide of the second platoon. 165. Thus in a column, by platoon, there will be but one guide to each platoon; he will always be placed on its left flank, if the right be in front, and on the right flank, if the left be in front. 166. In these movements, the file closers will follow the platoons to which they are attached. 167. The instructor may cause the company, marching by the flank, to form by company, or by platoon, into line, by his own direct commands, using those prescribed for the captain, No. 153 or 161. 168. The instructor will exercise the company in passing, without a halt, from the march by the front, to the march by the flank, and reciprocally. In either case, he will employ the commands prescribed in the school of the soldier, No. 363, and substituting company for squad. The company will face to the right or left, in marching, and the captain, the guides, and file closers will conform themselves to what is prescribed for each in the march by the flank, or in the march by the front of a company supposed to be a subdivision of a column. 169. If, after facing to the right or left, in marching, the company find itself faced by the rear rank, the captain will place himself two paces behind the center of the front rank, now in the rear, the guides will pass to the rear rank, now leading, and the file closers will march in front of this rank. 170. The instructor, in order to avoid fatiguing the men, and to prevent them from being negligent in the position of shoulder arms, will sometimes order support arms in marching by the flank, and. arms on the right shoulder, when marching in line. LESSON FIFTH ARTICLE FIRST To break into column by platoon, either at a halt or in march. 171. The company being at a halt, in line of battle, the instructor, wishing to break it into column, by platoon to the right, will command: 1. By platoon, right wheel. 2. MARCH. 172. At the first command, the chiefs of platoon will place themselves rapidly two paces before the centers of their respective platoons, the lieutenant passing around the left of the company. They need not occupy themselves with dressing, one upon the other. The covering sergeant will replace the captain in the front rank. 173. At the command march, the right front rank man of each platoon will face to the right, the covering sergeant standing fast; the chief of each platoon will move quickly by the shortest line, a little beyond the point at which the marching flank will rest when the wheel shall be completed, face to the late rear, and place himself so that the line which he forms with the man on the right (who had faced,) shall be perpendicular to that occupied by the company in line of battle; each platoon will wheel according to the principles prescribed for the wheel on a fixed pivot, and when the man who conducts the marching flank shall approach to near to the perpendicular, its chief will command: 1. Platoon. 2. HALT. 174. At the command halt, which will be given at the instant the man who conducts the marching flank shall have arrived at three paces from the perpendicular, the platoon will halt; the covering sergeant will move to the point where the left of the first platoon is to rest, passing by the front rank; the second sergeant will place himself, in like manner, in respect to the second platoon. Each will take care to leave between himself and the man on the right of his platoon, a space equal to its front; the captain and first lieutenant will look to this, and each take care to align the sergeant between himself and the man of the platoon who had faced to the right. 175. The guide of each platoon being thus established on the perpendicular, each chief will place himself two paces outside of is guide, and facing towards him, will command: 3. Left-DRESS. 176. The alignment being ended, each chief of platoon will command, FRONT, and place himself two paces before its centre. 177. The file closers will conform themselves to the movement of their respective platoons, preserving always the distance of two paces from the rear rank. 178. The company will break by platoon to the left, according to the same principles. The instructor will command: 1. By platoon, left wheel. 2. MARCH. 179. The first command will be executed in the same manner as if breaking by platoon to the right. 180. At the command march, the left front rank man of each platoon will face to the left, and the platoons will wheel to the left, according to the principles prescribed for the wheel on a fixed pivot; the chiefs of platoon will conform to the principles indicated Nos. 173 and 174. 181. At the command halt, given by the chief of each platoon, the covering sergeant on the right of the front rank of the first platoon, and the second sergeant near the left of the second platoon, will each move to the points where the right of his platoon is to rest. The chief of each platoon should be careful to align the sergeant between himself and the man of the platoon who had faced to the left, and will then command: 3. Right-DRESS. 182. The platoons being aligned, each chief of platoon will command, FRONT, and place himself opposite its centre. 183. The instructor wishing to break the company by platoon to the right and to move the column forward after the wheel is completed, will caution the company to that effect, and command: 1. By platoon, right wheel. 2. MARCH. 184. At the first command, the chiefs of platoon will move rapidly in front of their respective platoons, conforming to what has been prescribed No. 172, and will remain in this position during the continuance of the wheel. The covering sergeant will replace the chief of the first platoon in the front rank. 185. At the command march, the platoons will wheel to the right, conforming to the principles herein prescribed; the man on the pivot will not face to the right, but will mark time, conforming himself to the movement of the marching flank; and when the man who is on the left of this flank shall arrive near the perpendicular, the instructor will command: 3. Forward. 4. MARCH. 5. Guide left. 186. At the fourth command, which will be given at the instant the wheel is completed, the platoons will move straight to the front, all the men taking the step of twenty-eight inches. The covering sergeant and the second sergeant will move rapidly to the left of their respective platoons, the former passing before the front rank. The leading guide will immediately take points on the ground in the direction which may be indicated to him by the instructor. 187. At the fifth command, the men will take the touch of elbows lightly to the left. 188. If the guide of the second platoon should lose his distance, or the line of direction, he will conform to the principles herein prescribed, Nos. 202 and 203. 189. If the company be marching in line to the front, the instructor will cause it to break by platoon to the right by the same commands. At the command march, the platoons will wheel in the manner already explained, the man on the pivot will take care to mark time in his place, without advancing or receding; the instructor, the chiefs of platoon, and the guides, will conform to what has been prescribed Nos. 184 and following. 190. The company may be broken by platoons to the left, according to the same principles, and by inverse means, the instructor giving the commands prescribed Nos. 183 and 185, substituting left for right, and reciprocally. 191. The movements explained in Nos. 183 and 189 will only be executed after the company has become well established in the principles of the march in column, Articles Second and Third. Remarks. 192. The instructor, placed in front of the company, will observe whether the movement be executed according to the principles prescribed above; whether the platoons, after breaking into column, are perpendicular to the line of battle just occupied; and whether the guide, who placed himself where the marching flank of his platoon had to rest, has left, between himself and the front rank man on the right (or left), the space necessary to contain the front of the platoon. 193. After the platoons have broken, if the rearmost guard should not accurately cover the leading one, be will not seek to correct his position till the column be put in march, unless the instructor, wishing to wheel immediately into line, should think it necessary to rectify the direction of the guides, which would be executed as will be hereinafter explained in Article Fifth of this lesson. 194. The instructor will observe, that the man on the right or left) of each platoon, who, at the command march, faces to go right (or left) being the true pivot of the wheel, the front rank man next to him ought to gain it little ground to the front in wheeling, so as clear the pivot-man. ARTICLE SECOND To march in column. 195. The company having broken by platoon, right (or left) in front, the instructor, wishing to cause the column to march, will throw himself twenty-five or thirty paces in front, face to the guides, place himself correctly, on their direction, and caution the leading guide to take points on the ground. 196. The instructor being thus placed, the guide of the leading platoon will take two points on the ground in the straight line passing between his own and the heels of his instructor. 197. These dispositions being made, the instructor will step aside and command: 1. Column, forward. 2. Guide left (or right). 3. MARCH. 198. At the command march, promptly repeated by the chiefs of platoon, they, as well as the guides, will lead off, by a decided step, their respective platoons in order that the whole may move smartly, and at the same moment. 199. The men will each feel lightly the elbow of his neighbor toward the guide, and conform himself, in marching, to the principles prescribed in the school of the soldier, No. 327. The man next to the guide, in each platoon, will take care never to pass him, and also to march always about six inches to the right (or left) from him, in order not to push him out of the direction. 200. The leading guide will observe, with the greatest precision, the length and cadence of the step, and maintain the direction of his march by the means prescribed No. 89. 201. The following guide will march exactly in the trace of the leading one, preserving between the latter and himself a distance precisely equal to the front of his platoon, and marching in the same step with the leading guide. 202. If the following guide lose his distance from the one leading, (which can only happen by his own fault,) he will correct himself by slightly lengthening or shortening a few steps, in order that there may not be sudden quickenings or slackenings in the march of his platoon. 203. If the same guide, having neglected to march exactly in the trace of the preceding one, find himself sensibly out of the direction, he will remedy this fault by advancing more or less the shoulder opposite to the true direction, and thus, in a few steps, insensibly regain it, without the inconvenience of the oblique step, which would cause a loss of distance. In all cases, each chief of platoon will cause it to conform to the movements of its guide. Remarks on the march in column. 204. If the chiefs and guides of subdivisions neglect to lead off and to decide the march from the first step, the march will be begun in uncertainty, which will cause waverings, a loss of step and a loss of distance. 205. If the leading guide take unequal steps, the march of his subdivision, and that which follows, will be uncertain; there will be undulations, quickenings, and slackenings in the march. 206. If the same guide be not habituated to prolong a given direction, without deviation, he will describe a crooked line, and the column must wind to conform itself to such line. 207. If the following guide be not habituated to march in the trace of the preceding one, he will lose his distance at every moment in endeavors to regain the trace, the preservation of which is the most important principle in the march in column. 208. The guide of each subdivision in column will be responsible for the direction, distance and step; the chief of the subdivision for the order and conformity of his subdivision with the movements of the guide. Accordingly, the chief will frequently turn, in the march, to observe his subdivision. 209. The instructor placed on the flank of the guides, will watch over the execution of all the principles prescribed; he will, also, sometimes place himself in the rear, align himself on the guides, and halt, pending some thirty paces together, to verify the accuracy of the guides. 210. In column, chiefs of subdivision will always repeat, with the greatest promptitude, the commands march and halt, no chief waiting for another, but each repeating the command the moment he catches it from the instructor. They will repeat no other command given by him; but will explain, if necessary, to their subdivisions, in an under tone of voice, what they will have to execute, as indicated by the commands of caution. ARTICLE THIRD To change direction. 211. The changes of direction of a column while marching, will be executed according to the principles prescribed for wheeling on the march. Whenever, therefore, a column is to change direction, the instructor will change the guide, if not already there, to the flank opposite the side to which the change is to be made. 212. The column being in march right in front, if it be the wish of the instructor to change direction to the right, he will give the order to the chief of the first platoon, and immediately go himself, or send a marker to the point at which the change of direction is to be made; the instructor, or marker, will place himself on the direction of the guides, so as to present the breast to that flank of the column. 213. The leading guide will direct his march on that person, so that, in passing, his left arm may just graze his breast. When the leading guide shall have approached near to the marker, the chief of his platoon will command: 1. Right wheel. 2. MARCH. 214. The first command will be given when the platoon is at the distance of four paces from the marker. 215. At the command march, which will be pronounced at the instant the guide shall have arrived opposite the marker, the platoon win wheel to the right, conforming to what is prescribed in the school of the soldier, No. 396. 216. The wheel being finished, the chief of each platoon will command: 3. Forward. 4. MARCH. 217. These commands will be pronounced and executed as is prescribed in the school of the soldier, Nos. 398 and 399. The guide of the first platoon will take points on the ground in the new direction, in order the better to regulate the march. 218. The second platoon will continue to march straight forward till up with the marker, when it will wheel to the right, and retake the direct march by the same commands and the same means which governed the first platoon. 219. The column being in march right in front, if the instructor should wish to change direction to the left, he will command, guide right. At this command, the two guides will move rapidly to the right of their respective platoons, each passing in front of his subdivision; the men will take the touch of elbows to the right; the instructor will afterwards conform to what is prescribed No. 212. 220. The change of direction to the left will then be executed according to the same principles as the change of direction to the right, but by inverse means. 221. When the change of direction is completed, the instructor will command, guide left. 222. The changes of direction in a column, left in front, will be executed according to the same principles. 223. In changes of direction in double quick time, the platoons will wheel according to the principles prescribed in the school of the soldier, No. 404. 224. In order to prepare the men for those formations in line, which can be executed only by turning to the right or the left, the instructor will sometimes cause the column to change direction to the side of the guide. In this case, the chief of the leading platoon will command: left (or right) turn, instead of left (or right) wheel. The subdivisions will each turn, in succession, conforming to what is prescribed in the school of the soldier, No, 402. The leading guide, as soon as he has turned, will take points on the ground the better to regulate the direction of the march. 225. It is highly important, in order to preserve distances and the direction, that all the subdivisions of the column should change direction precisely at the point where the leading subdivision changed; it is for this reason that that point ought to be marked in advance, and that it is prescribed that the guides direct their march on the marker, also that each chief of subdivision shall not cause the change to commence till the guide of his subdivision has grazed the breast of this marker. 226. Each chief will take care that his subdivision arrives at the point of change in a square with the line of direction; with this view, he will face to his subdivision when the one which precedes has commenced to turn or to wheel, and he will be watchful that it continues to march squarely until it arrives at the point where the change of direction is to commence. 227. If, in changes of direction, the pivot of the subdivision which wheels should not clear the wheeling point, the next subdivision would be arrested and distances lost; for the guide who conducts the marching flank having to describe an arc, in length about a half greater than the front of the subdivision, the second subdivision would be already up with the wheeling point, whilst the first which wheels has yet the half of its front to execute, and hence would be obliged to mark time until that half be executed. It is therefore prescribed, that the pivot of each subdivision should take steps of nine or eleven inches in length, according to the swiftness of the gait, in order not to arrest the march of the next subdivision. The chiefs of subdivision will look well to the step of the pivot, and cause his step to be lengthened or shortened as may be judged necessary. By the nature of this movement, the centre of each subdivision will bend a little to the rear. 228. The guides will never alter the length or the cadence of the step, whether the change of direction be to the side of the guide or to the opposite side. 229. The marker, placed at the wheeling point, will always present his breast to the flank of the column. The instructor will take the greatest pains in causing the prescribed principles to be observed; he will see that each subdivision only commences the change of direction when the guide, grazing the breast of the marker, has nearly passed him, and, that the marching flank does not describe the arc of too large a circle, in order that it may not be thrown beyond the new direction. 230. In change of direction by wheel, the guide of the wheeling flank will cast his eyes over the ground at the moment of commencing the wheel, and will describe an arc of a circle whose radius is equal to the front of the subdivision. ARTICLE FOURTH To halt the column. 231. The column being in march, when the instructor shall wish to halt it, he will command: 1. Column. 2. HALT. 232. At the second command, promptly repeated by the chiefs of platoon, the column will halt; the guides will also stand fast, although they may have lost both distance and direction. 233. If the command halt, be not repeated with the greatest vivacity, and executed at the same instant, distances will be lost. 234. If a guide, having lost his distance, seek to recover it after that command, be will only throw his fault on the following guide, who, if he have marched well, will no longer be at his proper distance; and if the latter regain what he has thus lost, the movement will be propagated to the rear of the column. ARTICLE FIFTH Being in column by platoon, to form to the right or left into line of battle, either at a halt or on the march. 235. The instructor having halted the column, right in front, and wishing to form it into line of battle, will place himself at platoon distance in front of the leading guide, face to him, and rectify, if necessary, the position of the guide beyond; which being executed, he will command: Left - DRESS. 236. At this command, which will not be repeated by the chiefs of platoon, each of them will place himself briskly two paces outside of his guide, and direct the alignment of the platoon perpendicularly to the direction of the column. 237. Each chief having aligned his platoon, will command FRONT, and return quickly to his place in column. 238. This disposition being made, the instructor will command: 1. Left into line, wheel. 2. MARCH. 239. At the command march, briskly repeated by chiefs of platoon, the front rank man on the left of each platoon will face to the left, and place his breast lightly against the arm of the guide by his side, who stands fast; the platoons will wheel to the left on the principle of wheels from a halt, and in conformity to what is prescribed No. 194. Each chief will turn to his platoon, to observe its movement, and when the marching flank has approached near the line of battle, he will command: 1. Platoon. 2. HALT. 240. The command halt will be given when the marching flank of the platoon is three paces from the line of battle. 241. The chief of the second platoon, having halted it, will return to his place as a file closer, passing around the left of his subdivision. 242. The captain having halted the first platoon, will move rapidly to the point at which the right of the company will rest in line of battle, and command: Right - DRESS. 243. At this command, the two platoons will dress up on the alignment; the front rank man on the right of the leading platoon, who finds himself opposite the instructor established on the direction of the guides, will place his breast lightly against the left arm of this officer. The captain will direct the alignment from the right on the man on the opposite flank of the company. 244. The company being aligned, the captain will command: FRONT. 245. The instructor, seeing the company in line of battle, will command: Guides - POSTS. 246. At this command, the covering sergeant will cover the captain, and the left guide will return to his place as a file closer. 247. If the column be left in front, and the instructor should wish to form it to the right into line of battle, he will place himself at platoon distance in front of the leading guide, face to him, and rectify, if necessary, the position of the guide beyond; which being executed, he will command: 1. Right into line, wheel 2. MARCH. 248. At the command march, the front rank man on the right of each platoon will face to the right and place his breast lightly against the left arm of the guide by his side, who stands fast; each platoon will wheel to the right, and will be halted by its chief, when the marching flank has approached near the line of battle; for this purpose, the chief of each platoon will command: 1. Platoon. 2. HALT. 249. The command halt will be given when the marching flank of the platoon is three paces from the line of battle. The chief of the second platoon having halted his platoon, will resume his place in the rank of file closers. 250. The captain having halted the first platoon, will move briskly to the point at which the left of the company will rest, and command: Left - DRESS. 251. At this command, the two platoons will dress up on the alignment; the man on the left of the second platoon, opposite the instructor, will place his breast lightly against the right arm of this officer, and the captain will direct the alignment from the left on the man on the opposite flank of the company. 252. The company being aligned, the captain will command: FRONT. 253. The instructor will afterwards command: Guides - POSTS. 254. At this command, the captain will move to the right of his company, the covering sergeant will cover him and the left guide will return to his place as a file closer. 255. The instructor may omit the command left or right dress, previous to commanding left or right into line, wheel, unless, after rectifying the position of the guides, it should become necessary to dress the platoons, or one of them, laterally to the right or left. 256. The instructor, before the command left (or right) into line, wheel, will assure himself that the rearmost platoon is at its exact wheeling distance from the one in front. This attention is important, in order to detect negligence on the part of guides in this essential point. 257. If the column be marching right in front, and the instructor should wish to form it into line without halting the column, he will give the commands prescribed No. 238, and move rapidly to platoon, distance in front of the leading guide. 258. At the command march, briskly repeated by the chiefs of platoon the left guides will halt short, the instructor, the chiefs of platoon: and the platoons, will conform to what is prescribed No. 239 and following. 259. If the column be in march left in front, this formation will be made according to the same principles, and by inverse means. 260. If the column be marching, right in front and the instructor should wish to form it into line without halting the column, and to march the company in line to the front, be will command: 1. By platoons left wheel. 2. MARCH. 261. At the command march, briskly repeated by the chiefs of platoon, the left guides will halt; the man next to the left guide in each platoon will mark time; the platoons will wheel to the left, conforming to the principles of a wheel on a fixed pivot. When the right of the platoons shall arrive near the line of battle, the instructor will command: 262. At the fourth command, given at the instant the wheel is completed, all the men of the company will move off together with the step of twenty-eight inches; the captain, the chief of the second platoon, the covering sergeant, and the left guide will take their positions as in line of battle. 3. Forward. 4. MARCH. 5. Guide right (or left). 263. At the fifth command, which will be given immediately after the fourth, the captain and covering sergeant, if not already there, will move briskly to the side on which the guide is designated. The non-commissioned officer charged with the direction will move rapidly in front of the guide, and will be assured in his line of march by the instructor, as is prescribed No. 104. That non-commissioned officer will immediately take points on the ground as indicated in the same number. The men will take the touch of elbows to the side of the guide, conforming themselves to the principles of the march in line. 264. The same principles are applicable to a column left in front.