Marching practice?

[Rhea Cole]

About 96% of males in Great Britain are in genetic halpogroup R. A tiny > 4% are in I & even fewer are in subgroup I-p3. 40% of males on the Island of Sardinia are in that subgroup. Because of Emperor Hadrian's order to build his wall, a legion recruited in Sardinia was stationed there for over 100 years. Their descendants still live there, creating a cluster of the exceedingly rare I-p3 halpogroup to this day.

The picturesque village of Dulwich, a suburb of London, is the second cluster in England. The Cole families who concentrated there were members of the I-p3 halpogroup. One of their prosperous members funded the construction of the parish church, which is still in use.

In the 1740's Quaker Cole's emigrated to PA & were one of the founding families in Rockingham NC. That is the location of the I-p3 cluster in the US. The Cole's who live all over the US are, very likely, members of I-p3. (Many aren't, of course.) They all share a very particular 28,000 year old history. So if the Cole's in question are I-p3 they may have close common ancestors… which might be interesting to know. One of their multi great cousins, uncles, whatever is a member of the Immortal 600, for example. That is why I asked the question.

 

[Old Soldier]

And the genetics go marching on!

 

[th'anchoriticsybarite]

I think one of the most overlooked factors of the Civil War was the disparity between North and South armies rate of march.

Any and every Northern army was blessed with a plethora of supplies. Unfortunately, the need to protect this supply line grossly limited the milage it could travel per day. On the other hand every Southern army, NOT, being burdened by such a supply line could march 1.5 to 2 times further per day.

Had Lincoln been wise enough to understand this conundrum, he could have told his commanders to ignore Lee's repeated incursions into the North. Given that he could and would not have ever been able to penetrate DC's defenses, his commanders could and would have been able to take and occupy Richmond and end the war, regardless of where Lee happened to be.

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

I was an ROTC Drill Team commander. Even that type of drill would build esprit de corps and discipline.

I had ROTC in high school. good memories, Lol.

4 years of USAF JROTC is the biggest reason why I never joined the military. After four years of marching and wearing the uniform I never wanted to do either ever again.

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Had Lincoln been wise enough to understand this conundrum, he could have told his commanders to ignore Lee's repeated incursions into the North. Given that he could and would not have ever been able to penetrate DC's defenses, his commanders could and would have been able to take and occupy Richmond and end the war, regardless of where Lee happened to be.

Maybe. In the short term it would have been a PR nightmare. Northern public would have wanted Lincoln's head. Even if DC was safely fortified many other population centers were not.

In 1862, the reorganized AOTP was in DC and the ANV was in Maryland. McClellan also had intelligence about Lee's whereabouts and divided forces. It made sense to go for the army instead of the capital.

1863 is another matter since Hooker was on the Rappahannock and Lee was moving north via the Shenandoah. Had transportation been in place Hooker might have even sent the XI and XII Corps to defend Baltimore and the Susquehanna line while going after Richmond with the rest.

However, while Richmond's fall would have been a major blow to the Confederacy, Lee rampaging around Pennsylvania would still need to be dealt with.

 

[Mk VII]

At the start of the war, with almost everything in demand and in short supply, marching was the only training aid that didnt require much in the way of equipment other than stout shoes (itself not a given).

 

[Old Soldier]

At the start of the war, with almost everything in demand and in short supply, marching was the only training aid that didnt require much in the way of equipment other than stout shoes (itself not a given).

One of the first lessons in most military training is FOOT DRILL which included 'Marching'. This has two functions: the first to get the unit working together, obeying commands under an NCO and secondly, to get used to a uniform pace for marching and drill movements. There are many photos taken between August and December 1914, of British volunteers in civvies, marching and drilling (and weapon training!) long before uniforms became available. I would expect 1861 was no different.

 

[th'anchoriticsybarite]

4 years of USAF JROTC is the biggest reason why I never joined the military. After four years of marching and wearing the uniform I never wanted to do either ever again.

Guess I must be smarter (or dumber) than you. At my high school ROTC was mandatory for all males unless you were am athlete or band/choir. Unfortunately my best friend/brother came running up and said they wanted volunteers to join the Drill team. Well if he did it I had to. So not only did I have to run around school all day wearing that 20 lb (well it sure felt like it) wool uniform in blazing Georgia autumn and spring heat. Oh no I had to do so wearing boots AND!!!!!!!!!!! 2 gigantic tin cans--one on each ankle under the uniform pants to blouse out the pants legs with the ends of the pant legs tucked securely into the aforesaid boots.

My 2nd and last year I suddenly learned how to sing.

 

[Old Soldier]

Guess I must be smarter (or dumber) than you. At my high school ROTC was mandatory for all males unless you were am athlete or band/choir.

We had a voluntary Army Cadet Force detachment at my 'posh' grammar school. Every Friday we wore (old) boots and (old) battledress to lessons and had the parade after school. This went on all the way through 6th Form. Strange to say, it just made me see the Army as an acceptable (and much more exiting) alternative to working in education.

BTW -'tin cans'. We had 'elastics' to 'blouse' our trousers instead of fastening them into our anklets or short puttees (not officially approved), but if we HAD to do it the regulation way, we also had 'weights' - a mini-chain, to weigh them down. These elastics were either large rubber bands (free) or an elasticated strap with hooks (bought). In the Regular Army the desired 'elastics' were the rubber sealing rings of 81mm mortar bomb canisters.

 

[Claude Bauer]

Hey friends, I was curious about something. Did units that had alot of practice marching find it easier to march long distances? I remember hearing that after 1st Bull Run, McClellan reorganized the AOP, and one of his assignments was to have everyone practice marching.

In Ken Burn's documentary "The Civil War," one of the soldier is quoted as saying as "We marched, then marched again, then marched some more, then marched even more," or something like that. Did this serve as a good type of endurance training? I know a little about excersise science and generally the average person can gain a reasonable amount of stamina just walking places.

So, do you guys know? Thanks ahead of time. =)

I've never really studied the topic, but I was under the impression that the "route step" was used for long marches, where they were allowed to talk, drink water, smoke, eat, etc., and didn't have to march in cadence as long they kept the proper spacing. Marching while in drill would have been different and more like parade ground movements--in step, focused, and precise. I'm sure there were variations depending on the circumstances. But again, I don't claim to be an expert on this...however, I don't think we can look to modern military marching as an example.

 

[Rhea Cole]

We had a voluntary Army Cadet Force detachment at my 'posh' grammar school. Every Friday we wore (old) boots and (old) battledress to lessons and had the parade after school. This went on all the way through 6th Form. Strange to say, it just made me see the Army as an acceptable (and much more exiting) alternative to working in education.

BTW -'tin cans'. We had 'elastics' to 'blouse' our trousers instead of fastening them into our anklets or short puttees (not officially approved), but if we HAD to do it the regulation way, we also had 'weights' - a mini-chain, to weigh them down. These elastics were either large rubber bands (free) or an elasticated strap with hooks (bought). In the Regular Army the desired 'elastics' were the rubber sealing rings of 81mm mortar bomb canisters.

One of my earliest memories is of sitting on the floor watching my AF pilot father break starch. He had been an aviation cadet during WWII. My mother said he was the most meticulously dressed man she ever saw.

To avoid wrinkling his shiny flat kaki pants & shirt dad stood with his legs splayed out. He methodically smoothed his shirt tail before snugging his pants up tight. For some reason, the process for tucking his tie into his shirt fascinated me. With his envelope hat just so he picked me up for a parting squeeze & a smooch. Of course, 15 minutes in the scorching South Carolina sun reduced the board stiff starched cotton into a sopping wad. Nobody ever said that any of this has to make sense.

 

[Old Soldier]

I've never really studied the topic, but I was under the impression that the "route step" was used for long marches, where they were allowed to talk, drink water, smoke, eat, etc., and didn't have to march in cadence as long they kept the proper spacing. Marching while in drill would have been different and more like parade ground movements--in step, focused, and precise. I'm sure there were variations depending on the circumstances. But again, I don't claim to be an expert on this...however, I don't think we can look to modern military marching as an example.

This was common throughout Europe until the days of motorised infantry. There was always a 'March at Ease' where the platoons would keep generally in step - not necessarily with other platoons, but rifles could be slung or carried and smoking, conversation and the occasional swig from the canteen could be taken. The 'March at Ease' was rather like the 'Stand Easy' - where anything but the feet could be moved - hence keeping the step.
The only photos available of this are from WW1 as cameras at the time of the Civil War could not capture movement and the illustrators of the time always showed the 'preferred' scene. Recollections from veterans are the only first hand information.

 

[14NYSM]

As far as I know, no units of the AoP did "practice marches." They did drill a lot and men complained as a large enogh open space to drill in Regimental or Brigade maneouvers was often a good distance away from the camps. Part of the drill, or practice, was simply gathering the men together and moving them in a somewhat orderly, military fashion. the drills were just as much for the officers as the enlisted men.

 

[Peace Society]

I'm reminded of a young man we met at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We were all dog-tired and wondered how he could bounce around so energetically. He said it was easy after doing regular 20 mile hikes in full 60# gear in the Ft. Benning heat.