Kentucky Swing

(E.E. Ellsworth)

Stacking Arms Hardees 1855 edition used ramrods for stacking rifles (2-banders). His method of stacking for the musket and rifled-musket (3-banders), using the ba onets, has an interesting histor . !an li"ing historians call this method the #$entuck %tack# or #$entuck %&ing,# mainl because &hen it &as reintroduced in 1'8(, the source &as an 18(1 manual of arms for the $entuck %tate )uard. (%ee note 12) Ho&e"er, e"idence indicates that this method &as in use at least as earl as 185* (+ossibl e"en 1855) b ,. ,. ,lls&orth-s .oua"e drill demonstration units, and ,lls&orth &as gi"en credit for in"enting it. Hardee ma ha"e +icked this method u+ &hile at /est 0oint, and subse1uentl used it in his 2onfederate re"isions. (%ee note 13) 3asicall , this method hooks the shanks of the ba onets together, and locks them b s&inging the butt of one of the muskets out to the front. 4his results in a "er stable musket stack. 4he method is similar to the arms stacking found in %cott-s musket drill, but it is easier and 1uicker. ,ach grou+ of four men, front and rear ranks 5umbers 6ne and 4&o (the #comrades in arms7), forms a se+arate stack. 8n detail, the stack is formed as follo&s9 4he men being at ordered arms, the instructor &ill command9 %tack :;!%. First Motion - :t this command, 5umber 4&o of the front rank &ill +ass his +iece before him, sei<e it &ith the left hand about the middle band, slo+e it across the bod , barrel to the rear, the butt three inches abo"e the right toe of the man on his left, mu<<le si= inches to the right of his shoulder (+ara. >1?). Second Motion - 5umber 4&o of the rear rank &ill turn his +iece, lock s1uare to the front, and +ass it to his front rank man. /ho &ill sei<e it &ith his right hand about the middle band and incline it for&ard, resting the neck of the ba onet on that of his o&n ba onet and close to the blade. 5umber 6ne of the front rank &ill turn the barrel of his +iece s1uare to the front,
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slo+e it across the bod , +lace the neck at his ba onet, abo"e the necks, and bet&een the blades of the other t&o ba onets, holding the +iece &ith the right hand at the middle band, the butt three inches from the ground in front of his right toe (+ara. >11). Third Motion - 5umber 4&o of the front rank &ill thro& the butt of the rear rank mans +iece about 3? inches to the front, at the same time resting the butt of his o&n +iece on the ground on the left, and a little in rear of his left toe. :t the same instant, 5umber 6ne of the front rank &ill rest the butt of his +iece on the ground a little in front of his right toe. 5umber 6ne of the rear rank &ill incline his +iece on the stack thus formed (+ara. >12). @Aile closers are a++arentl to lean their muskets against the nearest stack, &ithout &aiting for command to do so (see 5ote 1>).B To Resume Arms - 3oth ranks being reformed in rear of their stacks, the instructor &ill command9 4ake -- :;!%. :t this command 5umber 6ne of the rear rank &ill retake his +iece @file closers &ill also retake their +eice, if the did not do so u+on falling inB. 5umber 4&o of the front rank &ill sei<e his o&n +iece &ith his left hand, at the middle band, and his rear rank man-s +iece in the same manner in his right handC and 5umber 6ne of the front rank &ill sei<e his +iece &ith his right hand in the same manner. 4hese t&o men &ill raise the stack, bring the butts to&ard each other, and disengage the ba onets. 5umber 4&o of the rear rank &ill recei"e his +iece from his front rank man, and all &ill resume the +osition of ordered arms (+ara. >15). Aor those &ho are not familiar &ith this method, it sounds "er com+licated. 8t can be sim+lified some&hat b memori<ing the barrel +osition for each man &ithin each grou+ of four, in the order that each +laces his musket onto the stack. /e ha"e used the follo&ing method9 #;ear, ;ight, Aront.# 4hat is, the barrel of the first musket (Aront ;ank 5umber 2) is turned to the rear, the barrel of the second musket (;ear ;ank 5umber 2) is turned to the right (as the ba onet shank is +laced on to+ of the first musket-s shank), and the barrel of the third musket (Aront ;ank 5umber 1) is turned to the front (as its ba onet shank is +laced on to+ of the %econd ba onet). 4he second musket is then thro&n to the front, and the fourth musket is leaned in +lace. 5ote that the Aront ;ank 5umber 4&o does most of the &ork. 0ractice in this method makes it eas to form a "er stead arms stack in a fe& seconds. Aor those &ho are familiar &ith the #$entuck %tack,# note that in Hardee-s "ersion the stacks are not aligned after the ha"e been formed and there is no command #0re+are to 4ake :rms# (see 5ote 1>). !an readers familiar &ith %cotts and similar manuals of arms (musket drill in )ilham-s manual, the U.S. Infantry Tactics, Dc.) &ill note the similarities
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in some of Hardee-s re"ised mo"ements, +articularl in the +osition of the musket during loading and fi=ing the ba onet. Hardee-s re"isions should not, ho&e"er, be taken as a sim+le return to an older musket manual. 4he +lacement of the +iece on the left is the easiest &a to negate the effects of its greater length. 5one of the other distincti"e mo"ements of the old musket drill, such as %houlder :rms on the left, #cast about# during loading, or the older method of stacking arms, &ere brought back. Hardee sa& his re"isions as im+ro"ements, not sim+l falling back on some older s stem because his 1855 -manual &as not suited for muskets and rifled-muskets. Aor this reason &e do not ad"ocate a return to the older st le drill, but a change to Hardee-s re"ised drill a++ro+riate for muskets and rifled-muskets. (%ee note 15) Conclusions 4here is e"idence that Hardee instituted the re"isions to his manual of arms beginning &ith the forces under his command in 18(1. 4he Airst )eorgia ;egulars, Hardee-s %a"annah regiment that com+leted its organi<ation after his de+arture, &as #armed &ith muskets, and drilled in Hardee-s tactics for hea" infantr # in Eul l8(1 (see note 1(). %ince there &as no such #hea" infantr # manual (Hardees re"ised manual being a++licable to all infantr , no matter ho& armed), this a++arentl referred to Hardee-s o&n re-"isions for muskets and rifled-muskets. 8t is 1uite +robable that Hardee-s re"isions recei"ed &ide dissemination, +articularl in the &estern theatre, due to Hardee-s earl assignments. Aollo&ing his +osting in !obile, he &as +romoted to 3rigadier )eneral and sent to :rkansas to organi<e the 2onfederate forces there. Hardee brought these troo+s to 3o&ling )reen, $entuck , in the fall of 18(1, to the force that &ould become the nucleus of the future :rm of 4ennessee. /here"er he &ent, Hardee-s fame as the author of the :rm #4actics# manual brought demand for his ser"ices as a drill instructor. 4here is e"er reason to belie"e that the manual of arms he taught contained his re"isions for muskets and rifled-muskets. (%ee note 1*) Hardee-s re"isions &ere also taught in the east. 5orth 2arolina +ublished an edition, b order of the )o"ernor, for the use of 5orth 2arolina troo+s. 4his edition &as al-most a "erbatim co+ of )oet<el-s "ersion, com+lete &ith all the re"isions for muskets and rifled-muskets. 6riginal co+ies of )oet<el-s manual ha"e also been identified as being used in the east. (%ee note 18) 8n addition, all officers &ho had been at /est 0oint since 1855 &ere intimatel familiar &ith Hardee-s methods, as his ne& drill manual &as first
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tested there in 185>. Hardee himself &as 2ommandant of 2adets from 185(-18(?, during &hich +eriod his manual &as the +rimar infantr drill instruction. ,"en the Firginia !ilitar 8nstitute cadets &ere familiar &ith Hardee-s drill after his "isit to their annual e=amination in Eul l8(?. (%ee note 1') :do+ting Hardee-s re"ised manual of arms &ould ha"e been a sim+le +rocedure for those alread familiar &ith his 1855 manual. 8n conclusion, it a++ears that the infantr drill manual of choice in the 2onfederate arm &as Hardees #4actics.# 8n the almost total absence of +eriod sources s+ecificall naming other manuals, Hardee-s &as the most likel taught throughout the %outhern militar . 8t is +robable that Hardees o&n re"isions &ere &ide-s+read, not onl &here he ser"ed in the &estern theatre, but also among eastern troo+s. ,"idence +oints to this being the most common manual of arms throughout the 2onfederac . )oet<el +ublished more editions of Hardee-s re"ised &ork than did an other +ublisher of an other %outhern manual. (%ee note 2?). 2onfederate infantr reenactors should in general ado+t Hardee-s re"ised manual of arms for the musket and rifle-musket. /e &ould ha"e done so long ago and thought nothing of it had )oet<el-s or another re"ised edition been re+rinted in the 1'*?s or 1'8?s. /e kno& from long e=+erience that Hardee-s 1855 manual Gust doesn-t &ork &ell &ith muskets and rifledmuskets, but the ans&er does not lie in going back to the cumbersome and outdated musket drill found in %cott-s and )ilham-s. %ome units ha"e alread ado+ted the t +e of arms stacking and other mo"ements that a++ear in Hardee-s re"isions (to these, &e a+ologi<e for #+reaching to the choir#). /e should take the ne=t ste+ and ado+t the entire #correct, com+lete, +erfect, and re"ised and im+ro"ed# manual of arms, as Hardee himself intended.

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