The concept of a nation or realm’s citizens being called upon to bear arms and march to combat predates history. An emperor or king’s strength depended not only on his or her professional soldiers’ training into an effective fighting force, but the use of and ease to call upon additional assets provided by the land’s residents or ‘amateur’ soldiers. Every male resident of the land was required to attain some skill in the use of weapons. In war, a King turned to the generals when confronted by invasion or the desire to claim another land. The trained soldiers marched, but they did so with others by their side, those summoned from the fields and merchant houses. The key to their effectiveness as a fighting unit was their organization. Every kingdom of Anglo Saxon England had housecarls – professional, paid, and highly trained soldiers. When a need arose, he was given the task to spread the alarm and deliver fighting men to his king. He also saw that some manner of training in weaponry preceded the use of these citizen soldiers. They were organized into local militias which chose their own men as leaders, ultimately overseeing the organization and preparedness of the unit.
The use of militias of lightly trained subjects to supplement an army’s effectiveness became less dependent upon as battle tactics and weaponry advanced. With the passing of feudal kings rendering direct control of their realms, the armies of Europe became wholly professional, rarely calling out militias during an emergency. By the time ships began crossing the Atlantic to America, a militias’ importance as a fighting unit was inconsequential. Not so in the new settled land of North America. The original Dutch, French, Swedish, and English colonists required protection from the native population. However, the country was too vast to manage with a professional army. These new arrivals had to protect themselves and the concept of a village or settlement requiring every male to bare arms in the region’s defense was reborn. A pioneer’s fear of the wilderness that loomed all around was ingrained in their desire to maintain a strong militia, well trained, regularly drilled, and supplied with adequate weaponry. Even after the wilderness was conquered and the Native Americans were driven further from the coast, the idea of a town’s male population organized into a fighting unit for protection maintained its original conceived importance.
And so when hostilities erupted between the American colonists and mother England, patriots strengthened their rhetoric and the desire for action knowing they had a ready made army of militiamen ready to grab their muskets and march at a moment’s notice. The problem was that this was not an army, but a loosely held pact of men unused to the organization and necessary discipline that was the soul of every army and drove it to victory. Every militia that came together was different. They had chosen local leaders which depended on the knowledge, skill, and courage, of these men in preparing individual militias. Some militias showed signs of proper use of weapons and battle tactics, others did not, and all were lacking in discipline. The initial results of America’s first battles against a professional army were catastrophic. If the land was not so vast, allowing the American forces to draw back into the interior and regroup, the entire affair would have been over soon after the first shots were fired.
Patriotic leaders of this new cause, like housecarls of old, knew they needed to mold a rag tag army of militia into a concrete fighting force; Continental Soldiers recruited for a specific period that allowed effective training was the answer. And so too installing the discipline and organization necessary to move this fighting force forward to confront a skilled and experienced enemy. A series of general orders were installed and try as he might, after being chased out of New York and across New Jersey, ultimately losing Philadelphia, commander-in-chief General George Washington knew the organization and training necessary was no where near adequate to stand up to his opposition. Two years into the war, and the solution arrived from Germany in the dead of winter and what has been called America’s darkest hour; Valley Forge.
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben was one of the many foreign soldiers of fortune that Benjamin Franklin recruited while in Europe. He showed up at Washington’s Headquarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where the main army camped just northwest of Philadelphia and the British army’s headquarters under General William Howe. He slowly began instructing the regimental officers in the basic skills necessary to command an effective fighting force. And von Steuben’s guide, the bible he followed to transform Washington’s army into a force to contend with,was his own writings on the subject; his manual of arms, which was adopted by Congress on March 29th, 1779: Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States. The manual was organized into twenty-five chapters including articles and instructions for officers, covering everything from standing at attention, firing a weapon, marching, and daily duties of both officer and non-com.
Chapter V: The Position of a Soldier Without Arms. He is to stand straight and firm upon his legs, with the head turned to the right so far as to bring the left eye over the waistcoat buttons; the heels two inches apart; the toes turned out; the belly drawn in a little, but without constraint; the breast a little projected; the shoulders square to the front, and kept back; and the hands hanging down the sides, with the palms close to the thighs. Attention! At this word the soldier must be silent, stand firm and steady, moving neither hand nor foot, (except as ordered) but attend carefully to the words of command. Rest! At which he may refresh himself, by moving his hands or feet; but must not then sit down or quit his place, unless permitted so to do.
In particular importance was the detailed assembly of the standard regiment and battalions, including companies within its structure. An army is like an organism, assembled from its smallest units to the final main body. Within the regiment were squads and platoons (a term not used until 1779), led by non-coms and lieutenants. These were grouped, usually two to four, into companies, headed by a captain. Usually two companies constituted a battalion and were under a major or lieutenant colonel. The regiment itself was commanded by a full colonel. Beyond the regiments were brigades of several regiments commanded by a Brigadier General and divisions commanded by a Major General; the divisions together constituted an army. Corps as were common during the later Civil War were not in use. Regiments, as a limb of the main body, was critical in the army’s rapid use and deployment on the battlefield. Prior to von Steuben, regiments followed a loosely determined pattern of assembly and parade, based on individual and regional preferences. Some regiments marched and deployed from column to line of battle far more professionally and skillfully than others. Von Steuben specifically detailed the exact procedure to be followed for every regiment within the American army, whether Continental Soldier or militiaman.
The Congressional Proclamation, dated March 29, 1779, detailing regulations for the order and discipline of its troops stated: “Congress, judging it of the greatest importance to prescribe some invariable rules for the order and discipline of the troops, especially for the purpose of introducing an uniformity in their formations and maneuvers, and in the service of camp: ordered, that the following regulations be observed by all the troops of the United States, and that all general and other officers cause the same to be executed with all possible exactness. By order of John Jay, President.
Chapter III and IV of the 1779 regulations dealt with the specific organization of the company and regiment, command structure, size of units within the regiment, and included the position of officers during assembly and march. They are given here:
CHAPTER IV: OF THE FORMATION OF A REGIMENT
A regiment is to consist of eight companies, which are to be posted in the following order from right to left: first captain’s, colonel’s, fourth captain’s, major’s third captain’s, lieutenant colonel’s, fifth captain’s, second captain’s. For the greater facility in maneuvering, each regiment consisting of more than one hundred and sixty files, is to be formed in two battalions with an interval of twenty paces between them and one color posted in the center of each battalion; the colonel fifteen paces before the center of the first battalion; the lieutenant colonel fifteen paces before the center of the second battalion; the major fifteen paces behind the interval of the two battalions; the adjutant two paces from the major; the drum and fife major two paces behind the center of the first battalion; their places behind the second battalion being supplied by a drum and fife; and the other drums and fifes equally divided on the wings of each battalion.
When a regiment is reduced to one hundred and sixty files, it is to be formed in one battalion, with both colors in the center; the colonel sixteen paces before the colors; the lieutenant colonel eight paces behind the colonel; the major fifteen paces behind the center of the battalion having the adjutant at his side; the drum and fife major two paces behind the center of the battalion; and the drums and fifes equally divided on the wings.
Every battalion, whether it compose the whole, or only half of a regiment, is to be divided into four divisions and eight platoons; no platoon to consist of less than ten files, so that a regiment consisting of less than eighty files cannot form battalions, but must be incorporated with some other, or employed on detachment.
In case of absence of any field officer, his place is to be filled by the officer next in rank in the regiment; and in order that the officers may remain with their respective companies, if any company officer is absent, his place shall be supplied by the officer next in rank in the same company; but should it happen that a company is left without an officer, the colonel or commanding officer may order an officer of another company to take the command, as well for the exercise as for the discipline and police of the company in camp.
When the light company is with the regiment it must be formed twenty paces on the right on the parade, but must not interfere with the exercise of the battalion, but exercise by itself; and when the light infantry are embodied, every four companies will form a battalion, and exercise in the same manner as the battalion in the line.
The idea of forming companies of light infantry and grenadier companies from different regiments to form their own battalion for specific purposes was developed by British Commander-in-Chief, General William Howe. He reorganized his army in Halifax in the spring of 1776 after having been driven out of Boston by General Washington’s siege of the city. No doubt the Americans saw first hand the effective use of combining light infantry companies, among the best regimental troops, during their encounters with British forces and incorporated their own battalions of light infantry.
CHAPTER III: OF THE FORMATION OF A COMPANY
A company is to be formed in two ranks, at one pace distance, with the tallest men in the rear, and both ranks sized, with the shortest men of each in the center. A company thus drawn up is to be divided into two sections or platoons; the captain to take post on the right of the first platoon, covered by a sergeant; the lieutenant on the right of the second platoon, also covered by a sergeant; the ensign [second lieutenant] four paces behind the center of the commpany; the first sergeant two paces behind the center of the first platoon, and the eldest corporal two paces behind the second platoon; the other two corporals are to be on the flanks of the front rank.
Von Steuben’s exact and detailed practice of an army’s daily existence and execution breathed new life into a ‘rabble under arms.’ Through strict adherence to this set of rules, the army’s improved discipline not only allowed it to assemble and travel more efficiently and rapidly, but would prove effective in combat, deploying quickly and standing toe to toe against England’s might on the open battlefield. It was the beginning of the end of the struggle that led to yet another new beginning; a collection of ideas, far from perfect, that forged a nation of citizens who chose to live under a government claimed by the people.
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Also of similar interest on Revolutionary War Journal:
Early Colonial Militias Established in North America
Matchlocks & Flintlocks: Weapons That Tamed a New World & Claimed an American Revolution
Don’t Fire Until You See the Whites of Their Eyes: Fact or Fiction
SOURCE
Von Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm. Baron Von Steuben’s Revolutionary War Drill Manual: A Facsimilie Reprint of the 1794 Edition. 1794: Reprint 1985: Dover Books on Americana, Courier Corporation, New York. NY.