ManualofArmsforInfantryAReexaminationPart……

1、Kentucky Swing (E.E. Ellsworth) Stacking Arms Hardees 1855 edition used ramrods for stacking 2-banders. His method of stacking for 3-banders, using the bayonets, has an interesting history. Many reenactors call this method the Ken-tucky Stack or Kentucky Swing, mainly because when it was introduced

2、in the First Confederate Brigade in 1986, the source was an 1861 manual of arms for the Kentucky State Guard. (See note 12) However, evidence indicates that this method was in use at least as early as 1857 (possibly even 1855) by E. E. Ellsworths Zouave drill demonstration units, and Ellsworth was g

3、iven credit for inventing it. Hardee may have picked this method up while at West Point, and subsequently used it in his Confederate revisions. (See note 13) Basically, this method hooks the shanks of the bayonets together, and locks them by swinging the butt of one of the muskets out to the front.

4、This results in a very stable musket stack. The method is similar to the arms stacking found in Scotts musket drill, but it is easier and quicker. Each group of four men, front and rear ranks Numbers One and Two (the comrades in battle of skirmishing), forms a separate stack. In detail, the stack is

5、 formed as follows: The men being at ordered arms, the instructor will command: Stack - ARMS.First Motion - At this command, Number Two of the front rank will pass his piece before him, seize it with the left hand about the middle band, slope it across the body, barrel to the rear, the butt three in

6、ches above the right toe of the man on his left, muzzle six inches to the right of his shoulder (para. 410). Second Motion - Number Two of the rear rank will turn his piece, lock square to the front, and pass it to his front rank man. who will seize it with his right hand about the middle band and i

7、ncline it forward, resting the neck of the bayonet on that of his own bayonet and close to the blade. Number One of the front rank will turn the barrel of his piece square to the front, slope it across the body, place the neck at his bayonet, above the necks, and between the blades of the other two

8、bayonets, holding the piece with the right hand at the middle band, the butt three inches from the ground in front of his right toe (para. 411). Third Motion - Number Two of the front rank will throw the butt of the rear rank mans piece about 30 inches to the front, at the same time resting the butt

9、 of his own piece on the ground on the left, and a little in rear of his left toe. At the same instant, Number One of the front rank will rest the butt of his piece on the ground a little in front of his right toe. Number One of the rear rank will incline his piece on the stack thus formed (para. 41

10、2). File closers are apparently to lean their muskets against the nearest stack, without waiting for command to do so (see Note 14). To Resume Arms - Both ranks being reformed in rear of their stacks, the instructor will command: Take - ARMS. At this command Number One of the rear rank will retake h

11、is piece file closers will also retake their leaners, if they did not do so upon falling in. Number Two of the front rank will seize his own piece with his left hand, at the middle band, and his rear rank mans piece in the same manner in his right hand; and Number One of the front rank will seize hi

12、s piece with his right hand in the same manner. These two men will raise the stack, bring the butts toward each other, and disengage the bayonets. Number Two of the rear rank will receive his piece from his front rank man, and all will resume the position of ordered arms (para. 415). For those who a

13、re not familiar with this method, it sounds very complicated. It can be simplified somewhat by memorizing the barrel position for each man within each group of four, in the order that each places his musket onto the stack. We have used the fol-lowing method: Rear, Right, Front. That is, the barrel o

14、f the first musket (Front Rank Number 2) is turned to the rear, the barrel of the second mus-ket (Rear Rank Number 2) is turned to the right (as the bayonet shank is placed on top of the first muskets shank), and the barrel of the third musket (Front Rank Number 1) is turned to the front (as its bay

15、onet shank is placed on top of the Second bayonet). The second musket is then thrown to the front, and the fourth musket is leaned in place. Note that the Front Rank Number Two does most of the work. Practice in this method makes it easy to form a very steady arms stack in a few seconds. For those w

16、ho are familiar with the Kentucky Stack, note that in Hardees version the stacks are not aligned after they have been formed and there is no command Prepare to Take Arms (see Note 14). Many readers familiar with Scotts and similar arms manuals (musket drill in Gilhams manual, the U.S. Infantry Tacti

17、cs, &c.) will note the similarities in some of Hardees revised movements, particularly in the position of the musket during loading and fixing the bayonet. Hardees revisions should not, however, be taken as a simple return to an older musket manual. The placement of the piece on the left is the easi

18、est way to negate the effects of its greater length. None of the other distinctive movements of the old musket drill, such as Shoulder Arms on the left, cast about during loading, or the older method of arms stacking, were brought back. Hardee saw his revisions as improvements, not sim-ply falling b

19、ack on some older system because his 1855 -manual was not suited to 3-banders. For this reason we do not advocate a return to the older style drill, but a change to Hardees revised drill appropriate to 3-banders. (See note 15) Conclusions There is evidence that Hardee instituted the revisions to his

20、 manual of arms beginning with the forces under his command in 1861. The First Georgia Regulars, Hardees Savannah regiment that completed its organization after his departure, was armed with muskets, and drilled in Hardees tactics for heavy infantry in July l861 (see note 16). Since there was no suc

21、h heavy infantry manual (Hardees re-vised manual being applicable to all infantry, no matter how armed), this apparently referred to Hardees own re-visions for 3-banders. It is quite probable that Hardees revisions received wide dissemination, particularly in the western theatre, due to Hardees earl

22、y assignments. Following his posting in Mobile, he was promoted to Brigadier General and sent to Arkansas to organize the Confederate forces there. Hardee brought these troops to Bowling Green, Kentucky, in the fall of 1861, to the force that would become the nucleus of the future Army of Tennessee.

23、 Wherever he went, Hardees fame as the author of the Army Tactics manual brought demand for his ervices as a drill instructor. There is ev-ery reason to believe that the manual of arms he taught contained his revisions for 3-banders. (See note 17) Hardees revisions were also taught in the east. Nort

24、h Carolina published an edition, by order of the Governor, for the use of North Carolina troops. This edition was al-most a verbatim copy of Goetzels version, complete with all the revisions for 3-banders. Original copies of Goetzels manual have also been identified as being used in the east. (See n

25、ote 18) In addition, all officers who had been at West Point since 1855 were intimately familiar with Hardees methods, as his new drill manual was first tested there in 1854. Hardee himself was Commandant of Cadets from 1856-1860, during which period his manual was the primary infantry drill instruc

26、tion. Even the Virginia Military Institute cadets weze familiar with Hardees drill after his visit to their annual examination in July l860. (See note 19) Adopting Hardees revised manual of arms would have been a simple procedure for those already familiar with his 1855 manual. In conclusion, it app

27、ears that the infantry drill manual of choice in the Confederate army was Hardees Tactics. In the almost total absence of period sources specifically naming other manuals, Hardees was the most likely taught throughout the South-ern military. It is probable that Hardees own revisions were wide-spread, not only where he served in the western theatre, but also among eastern troops. Evidence points to this being the most common manual of arms throughout the Confed