Manual of Arms for Infantry: A Re-examination
                                  By Geoff Walden & Dom Dal Bello

                                               Hardee's Revisions for Confederates


Most Civil War infantry reenactors use Hardee's Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics for drilling in the
Schools of the Soldier and Company, and with good reasons. Period sources abound with mention of
Hardee's "Tactics," and we have had several different reprints of this work available for use since the
1970s. (See note 1). But are we correct in using Hardee's work, and if so, are we using the right
version of Hardee's infantry drill? This series of articles will examine those questions in detail, from
both the Confederate and Federal viewpoints. Chapter I will detail some changes Hardee made for
Confederate editions of his manual, and Chapter II will present a broad look at Federal infantry drill
manuals (not just Hardee's). In conclusion we will make some recommendations for changing the
manual of arms used by reenactors.
                                
                                                      
 Hardee and his "Tactics"
The early 1850s were a time for change in military circles around the world. Weapons technology had
advanced by leaps and bounds; where the Mexican War had been fought mostly with flintlock
smoothbore muskets, the Crimean War, and by the Model 1841 "Mississippi" rifle in the Mexican
War, let the United States to adopt a 33-inch barrel rifle in 1855 (a 40-inch barrel rifle-musket was
adopted concurrently). To go along with this new rifle, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis wanted a
revised system of infantry tactics. The current system had been written by Winfield Scott in the 1830s,
based on French tactics dating ultimately from the 18th century, and had survived virtually un-changed.
Scott's tactics emphasized masses of men concentrated on the march and on the battlefield, to reap the
greatest benefit from their relatively inaccurate firepower. By the 1850s, these
movements were slow and outdated. The manual of arms was particularly cumbersome: it took 12
separate steps to load the flintlock musket, which was normally carried in an awkward position, held
by the butt, nearly vertical at the left side. (See note 2) A soldier wishing to move at any pace faster
than common time (90 paces per minute) had a difficult time controlling his musket at this "Shouldered
Arms" position. Partly because of this, common time was the norm in Scott's drill. However, masses of
troops moving at common time found
themselves at a severe disadvantage under rifle fire. Revisions were necessary to bring U.S. infantry
tactics in line with the long-range capabilities of the rifle. Davis knew of the extensive studies being
conducted in Europe in both weapon and tactics, and he appointed a number of officer committees to
observe these and recommend changes to the U.S. systems. To revise U.S. infantry tactics, Davis
chose Bvt. Lt. Col. William Joseph Hardee, Second Dragoons. Davis chose well: Hardee had studied
at Saumur, the French cavalry school (and the home of the modern French armored forces) in 1841,
where he learned the value of skirmishers, rapidity of movement, and hit-and-run tactics by light forces
gained from the French experiences in Algeria in the 1830s. To this, he added personal experience in
such warfare on the Texas frontier in 1849-1851. He was widely read in tactics, and he was familiar
with the possibilities of the shorter and longer range M1855 rifle. Finally, he had gained an excellent
reputation during the Mexican War. (See note 3) Hardee drew extensively on his knowledge of the
French military to accomplish his task. He knew Davis wanted to thoroughly modernize the U.S.
infantry into a faster, lighter force, capable of taking advantage of the new rifle. His task was made
simpler by the 1845 publication of a French manual that did just that for the French infantry. (See note
4) Hardee's manual was finished in 1854; it
was tested, approved, then published in June 1855.
This then, was Hardee's "Tactics:" a modernization of American infantry drill at the company and
battalion level, aimed at incorporating several important features of light infantry tactics into the normal
field functioning of infantry. The most important tactical improvements, which took into account the
long-range capabilities of the rifle, were an increased tempo where quick time (110 steps per minute)
was the norm, and double quick time (165 steps per minute) was common, along with simplified
instructions to deploy a column into line at the double quick, without first halting. To be sure, many of
these innovations could be found in other manuals of the 1850s, but Hardee's became the official
manual for the U.S. Army. (See note 5) Davis, Hardee, and others in official Army circles seemed to
assume the M1855 rifle would become the dominant arm in the U.S. Service, and the manual of arms
in Hardee's "Tactics" was naturally written for the 2-band rifle with sword bayonet. However, the rifle
never was issued in the numbers envisioned. The militia, and indeed most of the army, were left with
42-inch barrel muskets or 40-inch barrel rifle-muskets, both having socket bayonets. Not only did
Hardee's "Tactics" produce difficulty for militia units trying to learn the new evolutions, his manual of
arms proved awkward, and even sometimes impractical for the longer muskets (e.g., in fixing bayonets
and stacking arms). This manual of arms was essentially the same as the old Sergeants' Manual in
Scott's, but without Scott's primary manual for 3-banders. Although Hardee himself recommended that
militia units not try to adopt his manual right away, evidence indicates that a number of progressive
militia officers did just that in the late 1850s and early 1860s. As a development from this, and
"improved" manual of arms, based on Hardee's "Tactics," but suited to the 3-bander musket and
rifle-musket, began to emerge. (See note 6) And, coincidentally, so did the War Between the States.
   
                                           
 Confederate Versions Of Hardee's "Tactics"
Hardee's manual was a natural for the infant Confederate forces. Although many Southern officers and
men were militia veterans, and doubtless were quite familiar with Scott's older style drill, many others
were just as familiar with Hardee's. Hardee was known throughout the army, and he was, after all, a
Confederate officer. (See note 7) Quite a number of drill manuals were published in the new
Confederacy, some using older militia style musket drill, but Hardee's "Tactics" quickly became the
manual of choice. Editions were printed in Richmond, Nashville, New Orleans, Mobile, Memphis,
Raleigh, Charleston, Jackson, Little Rock, and Houston. When most soldiers spoke of drill learned in
their camp of instruction, Hardee's name eventually came out. (See note 8) This profusion of Hardee's
"Tactics" produced two problems for Hardee: he received no royalties from these "bootleg" editions;
and most of these were simple reprints or abridgements of the 1855 version, and did not contain his
own
"improvements and changes ... recently made, adapting the manual to the use of the arms generally in
the hands of the troops of the Confederate States." (See note 9) The first of these problems was never
satisfactorily solved. Hardee and his Mobile publisher were thwarted in their attempts to secure a
copyright until 1864, by which time the rush to put out "bootleg" editions was over. The second
problem, however, provides the subject matter for the cord of this discussion: Hardee's "improvements
and changes" to his manual of arms. Immediately after resigning from the U.S. Army, Hardee went to
work for the Georgia state forces, forming an infantry regiment in Savannah (the "First Regiment
Georgia Regulars," commanded by Col. C.J. Williams, not to be confused with the "First Georgia
Infantry Volunteers," commanded by A.R. Lawton and H.W. Mercer). (See note 10) After accepting
a commission as a Confederate Colonel, Hardee was posted to Fort Morgan, in Mobile, Alabama.
While in Mobile in the spring of 1861, Hardee entered into partnership with Mobile publisher S.H.
Goetzel & Co. to produce an edition of his "Tactics" that included a revised manual of arms for the
3-band weapons commonly found in the Confederate army. Goetzel advertised this edition as
"Hardee's Correct, Complete, Perfect, and Revised and Improved Infantry and Rifle Tactics," (see
figure 1). Note that the adjective "Light" has been removed from "Infantry," making this manual
applicable to all infantry, no matter how armed or organized. Hardee himself was quoted as calling this
edition the "only COMPLETE, CORRECT and REVISED EDITION" (See note 11).
Hardee meant this manual to replace his 1855 edition, for use throughout the Confederate army by
troops armed with 3-band muskets and rifle-muskets. The changes actually were slight. The same
basic shoulder movements were retained, as well as the "light infantry" concepts of skirmishers, double
quick time, etc. However, those parts of his 1855 manual of arms that had been written specifically for
the 2-bander were adjusted to suit the 3-bander. The main differences lie in the position of the musket
during loading, fixing and unfixing the bayonet, and stacking arms. Each of these movements was
revised to take into account the greater length of the musket and rifle-musket over the rifle, and the
socket bayonet in lieu of the rifle's sword bayonet. The following paragraphs emphasize the differences
from the standard 1855 edition (page and paragraph sources are keyed to Hardee's Rifle and Infantry
Tactics, S.H. Goetzel & Co., Mobile, various editions, 1861-1863; emphasis has been added).

1. Loading
The command remains "Load in Nine Times, LOAD. First Motion (from Shoulder Arms) - With the
right hand bring the musket erect before the center of the body, the rammer to the front; at the same
time grasp the musket with the left hand half-way between the rear sight and the lower band, the thumb
extended along the barrel and against the body, the hand as high as the elbow (para. 143, page 33 -
this is the same as the first motion for Present Arms). Second Motion - Carry the musket to the left
side with the left hand, turning it so the barrel is to the front. Set the butt on the ground beside the left
foot, and incline the musket to the right and front, so that it is resting along the left thigh with the muzzle
six inches in front of the center of the body. At the end of this motion, the right hand grasps the musket
just below the upper band, and the left hand is extended to grasp the musket about the middle band.
Third Motion - Hold the musket with the left hand at the muzzle, and carry the right hand to the
cartridge box (para. 156, page 3.) The remaining commands and motions are identical to those in the
standard 1855 Hardee's manual and reprints, with the exception of moving to the position of Prime,
which is necessarily slightly different due to the musket initially being positioned at the left side.

2. Fix - Bayonet (From Shoulder Arms) The first, second, and third motions are the same as those for
loading, except during the third motion, the right hand is carried to the bayonet, grasping the socket
with the little finger up (thumb closest to the blade) (para. 188, page 43). Fourth Motion - Draw the
bayonet (with the right hand) and fix it. Grasp the musket with the right hand at the muzzle, and rest the
left hand on the stock, with the left arm extended (para. 189, pages 43-44). The musket is now ready
to return to Shoulder Arms. If the bayonets are fixed from Order Arms, return immediately to Order
Arms, without orders to do so (para. 192, page 44). Unfixing the bayonet is simply the reverse (para.
200-202, page 46). Since Inspection Arms is a combination of the motions of fixing the bayonet and
loading, these revisions were also incorporated into the preparations for
inspection. The bayonet is fixed as from Order Arms, but after turning the bayonet clasp, the right hand
draws the rammer and places it into the bore. The piece is returned to Order Arms, and the rest of the
inspection is the same as the standard Hardee's. Note that in all these positions, the musket is placed at
the left side, barrel to the front, with the muzzle slanted forward and to the right, until it is six front of
the body. The feet remain together on the line in a "V" - there are no half-faces or other such foot
movements (as in older musket manuals).

3. Stacking Arms Hardee?s 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 "Kentucky Stack" or "Kentucky Swing," mainly because when it was introduced 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. Ellsworth's Zouave drill demonstration units, and Ellsworth was given
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. This
results in a very stable musket stack. The method is similar to the arms stacking found in Scott's
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
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
inches 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 incline 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 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 man?s piece about
30 inches to the front, at the same time resting the butt 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. 412). [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 his 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 man's piece in the same manner
in his right hand; and Number One of the front rank will seize his 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 are 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 following method: "Rear, Right, Front." That is, the barrel of the first musket (Front Rank Number
2) is turned to the rear, the barrel of the second musket (Rear Rank Number 2) is turned to the right
(as the bayonet shank is placed on top of the first musket's shank), and the barrel of the third musket
(Front Rank Number 1) is turned to the front (as its bayonet 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 who are familiar with the "Kentucky
Stack," note that in Hardee's 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 Scott?s and similar
arms manuals (musket drill in Gilham's manual, the U.S. Infantry Tactics, &c.) will note the similarities
in some of Hardee's revised movements, particularly in the position of the musket during loading and
fixing the bayonet. Hardee's 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 easiest 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 simply falling back 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 Hardee's revised drill appropriate to 3-banders. (See note 15)

                                                                    
 Conclusions
There is evidence that Hardee instituted the revisions to his manual of arms beginning with the forces
under his command in 1861. The First Georgia Regulars, Hardee's Savannah regiment that completed
its organization after his departure, was "armed with muskets, and drilled in Hardee's tactics for heavy
infantry" in July l861 (see note 16). Since there was no such "heavy infantry" manual (Hardee?s revised
manual being applicable to all infantry, no matter how armed), this apparently referred to Hardee's
own re-visions for 3-banders. It is quite probable that Hardee's revisions received wide dissemination,
particularly in the western theatre, due to Hardee's early 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. Wherever he went, Hardee's fame as the author
of the Army "Tactics" manual brought demand for his services as a drill instructor. There is every
reason to believe that the manual of arms he taught contained his revisions for 3-banders. (See note
17) Hardee's revisions were also taught in the east. North Carolina published an edition, by order of
the Governor, for the use of North Carolina troops. This edition was almost a verbatim copy of
Goetzel's version, complete with all the revisions for 3-banders. Original copies of Goetzel's manual
have also been identified as being used in the east. (See note 18)  In addition, all officers who had
been at West Point since 1855 were intimately familiar with Hardee's 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 instruction. Even the Virginia Military Institute
cadets were familiar with Hardee's drill after his visit to their annual examination in July l860. (See note
19) Adopting Hardee's revised manual of arms would have been a simple procedure for those already
familiar with his 1855 manual.
In conclusion, it appears that the infantry drill manual of choice in the Confederate army was Hardee?s
"Tactics." In the almost total absence of period sources specifically naming other manuals, Hardee's
was the most likely taught throughout the Southern military. It is probable that Hardee?s 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 Confederacy. Goetzel
published more editions of Hardee's revised work than did any other publisher of any other Southern
manual. (See note 20). Confederate infantry reenactors should in general adopt Hardee's revised
manual of arms for the 3-band musket and rifle-musket. We would have done so long ago and thought
nothing of it had Goetzel's or another revised edition been reprinted in the 1970s or 1980s. We know
from long experience that Hardee's 1855 manual just doesn't work well with 3-banders, but the
answer does not lie in going back to the cumbersome and outdated musket drill found in Scott's and
Gilham's. Some units have already adopted the type of arms stacking and other movements that
appear in Hardee's revisions (to these, we apologize for "preaching to the choir"). We should take the
next step and adopt the entire "correct, complete, perfect, and revised and improved" manual of arms,
as Hardee himself intended.

I wish to thank Dave Hunter, Dom Dal Bello and Tom Fugate for supplying copies of some of the
period manuals used, and to express my sincere appreciation to Laura Cook and Terry Beck, who
provided a computer library search that revealed many more.

                                                               
 Notes

1: Reprints of the folling Hardee's editions have been available to reenactors:
2 Vols., Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1855
2 Vols., Philadelphia: Lippincott & Co., 1861
1 Vol., New York: George F. Watson, 1861
1 Vol., New York: J.O. Kane, 1862
2 Vols. in 1, Memphis: Hutton & Freligh, 1861
2 Vols. in 1, Raleigh: Spelman, 1862 (limited edition reprint, Boone, NC, 1992).

2: Major-General [Winfield] Scott, Infantry Tactics. Various editions, 1834-1861, paras. 150-155
(pp. 37-39); paras. 191-210 (pp. 46-52). Even in the 1861 edition, the 12 steps for loading the
flintlock remained.

3: Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr. General William J. Hardee, Old Reliable. Baton Rouge: Louisiana
State University Press, 1965, p. 43.

4: Ministre Secretaire d'Etat de la Guerre, Ordonnance du Roi sur l'Exercise et les Manoeuvres des
Battaillons de Chasseurs a Pied. 3 vols., Paris, 1845.

5: Hughes, Hardee, pp. 46-47. See also discussion in Chapter 4 (pp. 48-58) in Grady McWhiney and
Perry Jamieson's Attack and Die, University, AL: University of Alabama Press, 1982. There is some
doubt as to the exact nature of Hardee's own involvement in the production of his manual. Some have
stated that he did no more than to put his name on the cover, and that the French manual was actually
translated by Stephen Vincent Benet. See Donald E. Graves, "Dry Books of Tactics:' US Infantry
Manuals of the War of 1812 and After," Part II, Military Collector and Historian 38(4), Winter 1986,
pp. 176, 177 (n. 111).

6: See, for instance: General Regulations for the Military Forces of the State of New York. New
York, 1858. E.E. Ellsworth, A Manual of Arms for Light Infantry, Adapted to the Rifled Musket,
Arranged for the U.S. Zouave Cadets. Chicago: P.T. Sherlock, 1860. 7th Regt. New York Infantry,
The Manual of Arms, Adapted to the Rifled Musket, Model 1855. NY: Chatterton & Parker, 1860.
A Manual of the Piece, Adapted to the Rifle-Musket, the Rifle, and Other Infantry Arms, Prescribed
for the Kentucky State Guard. Louisville: J.W. Tompkins & Co., 1861. Miner Knowlton, Instructions
and Regulations for the Militia and Volunteers of the United States. Philadelphia: Desilver, 1861.

7: Hughes, Hardee, pp. 50, 90-70. Hardee's status as a Confederate officer would naturally make his
manual more "politically correct" than those written by Old Army or militia officers who did not join the
Southern forces.

8: Library of Congress On-line Card Catalog; USAMHI On-Line Library Catalog System; Library of
Virginia On-line Catalog; OCLC search; Noxon Toomey, The History of the Infantry Drill Regulations
of the United States Army, St. Louis, 1917. Quotes on the use of Hardee's among Confederates can
be found in: Hughes,  Hardee, p. 138 (AoT, Dec. 1862); Austin Dobbins, Grandfather's Journal.
Dayton: Morningside Press, 1988, entry for June 13, 1861 (16th Miss. Inf.);Mary Lasswell, ed., Rags
and Hope. NY: Coward-McCann, 1961, p. 49 (4th Texas Inf.); Flavel C. Barber (Robert H. Ferrell,
ed.), Holding the Line. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1994, pp. 55, 175 (3rd Tenn. Inf.,
AoT, 1862-1864);Digby G. Seymour, Divided Loyalties. Knoxville: East Tennessee Historical
Society, 1982 (2nd Ed.), p. 227 (reference to copy of Hardee's owned by Col. Moses White of the
37th Tenn. Inf.).  In addition, an index search of Confederate Veteran, Southern Historical Society
Papers, and Southern Bivouac revealed over 16 separate entries for Hardee's Tactics, including use by
the following units: 50th Tenn. Inf., 35th Miss. Inf., 1862, 5th Tenn. Inf., 1863, 9th Ky. Inf., 1861,
24th or 34th N. Car. Inf., 1863, Univ. of VA Cadets, 1860-61, and a Virginia artillery unit, 1862.

9: William J. Hardee, "Memorial to the Congress of the Confederate States," Mobile, December 14,
1863 (Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Z645.A5-1863).

10: W.H. Andrews, Footprints of a Regiment. Marietta, GA: Longstreet Press, 1992, p. 12; Stewart
Sifakis, Compendium of the Confederate Armies: South Carolina and Georgia. New York: Facts on
File, 1996, pp. 173-176.

11: Hardee, "Memorial" (this copyright notice was also published in the Goetzel versions, from the 3rd
Edition on). See, for example, ads in various Southern newspapers, such as that in The Southern
Illustrated News, Vol. 1, No. 30 (April 4, 1863), p. 8 (commonly available as a reprint). It must be
noted that although the text was revised, the corresponding plates did not receive as much attention.
The weapon is still shown as a 2-band rifle, with a socket bayonet substituted for the sword bayonet,
and the positions of the piece were not changed significantly from the 1855 plates.

12. See Note 6. The KSG manual was approved in December 1860 and published in 1861, bound in
the back of Vol. 1 of a 2-vol. 1855-style edition of Hardee's (published by Tompkins & Co.,
Louisville, 1861). Due to this method of publication, it is rarely cited as a separate manual. Tompkins
advertised their "Hardee's Tactics" as "the only complete Southern Edition"  (Louisville Daily Courier,
June 24, 1861).

13. Ellsworth, A Manual of Arms, p. 58 - quotes the Chicago Leader, April 28, 1860, in an article
saying that Ellsworth "accidentally discovered" this method around 1855. Actually, Hardee did not use
this method in the first printing of Goetzel's 1st Edition, where the older Scott's-style stacking was
used. Whether this revision was mistakenly omitted, or Hardee saw a later need for improvement, is
un-known.

14. Other than the KSG manual, no edition of Hardee's that I've examined tells when the file closers
are to stack and retake their pieces. Scott's 1861 edition (see Note 2) says they will rest their pieces
on the stacks after the ranks have been broken, and retake them upon the command to fall in School
of the Soldier, Part III, para. 417).

15. Hardee. "Memorial," p. 2. For a differing view, see John Braden, "Musket Drill," Camp Chase
Gazette 17(1), October 1989, pp 30-31, 23. In addition to an outdated manual of arms, much of the
rest of Scott's drill was simply archaic. Almost all marching movements were done at a slow,
deliberate common time. Most troop movements were done in mass, with a corresponding difficulty in
changing from column to line, etc. A good single example of the obsolete style of this drill is marching
by the oblique. Try it some time, then decide for yourself if this sort of thing was truly outdated by
1861.

16. Andrews, Footprints of a Regiment, p 12.

17. Hughes Hardee, pp. 72, 85; Hardee, "Memorial,'' p. 2. Hardee himself noted the confusion
produced by the different versions of his manual and he apparently applied himself to making sure his
"important and material" improvements were taught throughout the army.

18. Brig. Gen. W.J. Hardee, C.S. Army, Rifle and Infantry Tactics. Raleigh: John Spelman, 1862. The
original copy used for the reprint was owned by a soldier in Hoke's Brigade, Early's Di-vision, Army
of Northern Virginia. Other original copies are identified to soldiers in the 66th N.C. and the Granville
Grays of Oxford, N.C. An original copy of Goetzel's 7th Edition is inscribed to a Lt. Nicholas in the
59th Va. Inf., Wise's Brigade, ANV (Special Collections, Woodruff Library, Emory University).

19. Hughes, Hardee, pp. 44, 56-59, 66. We are aware of the current "fad" among some Confederate
units to drill by Gilham's/Scott's manual for the musket, apparently based on Gilham's association with
VMI, or a misguided conception that troops armed with 3-banders were to use the old musket drill.
However, we have not found any period sources that would show this type of drill to have been in
widespread use in the Confederate army, in Virginia or anywhere else (we are familiar with the images
taken in Pensacola in 1861, showing both Scott's and Hardee's style of Shoulder Arms). On the
contrary, most officers seem to have espoused the period equivalent of "Be All You Can Be" by
learning the most up-to-date drill. The aforementioned magazine index search that revealed over 16
separate references to Hardee's "Tactics?, found no specific references at all to Gilham's manual, and
only two references to Scott's. We'd sure like to see period documentation supporting the widespread
use of the old.

20. Some Confederate reenactors have apparently assumed that since various manuals such as
Gilham's and Lee's have been reprinted, these represent the most common period manuals, and are
somehow "right" for our use. On the contrary, there were not nearly as many period editions of any of
these manuals printed as those of Hardee's revised manual (most were only printed in one or two
editions in 1861). At least as many as nine Goetzel editions, dating from as late as 1863, are known.
Goetzel's version was even used in the North (my colleague, Mr. Dal Bello, will fill us in on that one in
his upcoming part of this somewhat discontinuous series). Publishers take note: even though Goetzels
version of Hardee's was the most common Southern infantry manual, it has been ignored in the re-print
business. A decent reprint would doubtless be a good seller!

Behind the byline: Geoff Walden, a member of the Fourth Kentucky Infantry, CSA, has been
shouldering a musket and sword since 1973. He has drilled infantry units from squad to multi-battalion
level.


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