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111 0 On the March “Soldiers, keep by your officers. For God’s sake, keep by your officers !” entreated General Washington as he viewed the march of his army along the bank of the Delaware River just before the battle of Trenton.1 Armies on the move had a degree of vulnerability, and great care was needed to keep the line of march intact and in good order. General Steuben’s Regulations stipulated that “the greatest attention on the part of the officers is necessary at all times, but more particularly on a march: The soldiers being then permitted to march at their ease, with the ranks and files open, without the greatest care, these get confounded one with another; and if suddenly attacked, instead of being able to form immediately in order of battle, the whole line is thrown into the utmost confusion.”2 On a short trek while anticipating battle, there was little problem in maintaining good marching order. On long marches, however, measures had to be taken not only to prevent confusion in the ranks but also to prevent soldiers from drifting away on their own, becoming stragglers, or worse, plunderers. The easiest time to escape the army was during movement over long distances. A “standing model” for a march consisted of “general rules and regulations” applicable to a force of any size: the whole army, division, brigade, or corps. Normally, the army marched by platoons, but on a narrow roadway, troops marched three to four abreast. Ahead of the procession were the scouting parties and the pioneers, who made sure that forward passage was cleared of any obstacles.The infantry marched by infantry brigades, intermixed with artillery and cavalry units. Some baggage wagons followed their respective marching units or found their place at the end of the whole moving army. Advance and rear guards and flanking parties provided security against surprise attack and also a buffer against defecting soldiers. The size of the protective forces varied considerably, depending on the number of troops in the line of march and the proximity of the enemy.3 ON THE MARCH 112 For a typical march of the army during summertime, troops were awakened around 4:00 a.m. After breakfast, as John W. Wright describes, the men were grouped by sizes around a kettle, some making “fire cakes” from their flour. When the “general” is sounded on the drums at five the men make their packs and strike tents, which are loaded into the wagons. The wagons immediately clear the field and report to the assembly point of the train. When the “assembly” sounds at six o’clock the regiments form, move into brigade formation, and brigades march to the color line where order of battle is formed. With the sounding of the “March” the advance guard cavalry trots ahead, and the columns follow the advance guard.4 If there was a chance of encountering the enemy, the army left behind at the old camp its tents, nonessential baggage, and the women. For the security of the old camp until it could be abandoned, each division provided a field officer; each brigade, a captain: and each regiment, a subaltern , a sergeant, a corporal, and twelve men. However, these guards were “to consist of men most unfit for duty, and who have the worst arms.”5 Eventually, the field officer left behind was to lead the “men well enough to march” and any stragglers collected to join the army on the march.6 A single soldier might be detached from a march to pick up a comrade who had been left at camp for whatever reason. One corporal with Pennsylvania troops joining forces with Continentals in Virginia was given just such an assignment; but “some dispute arose six miles from the [Potomac River] ferry when the Soldier Shot the Corporal, & made his escape.”7 A major general of the day had the responsibility of conducting the march of the whole army. Normally, in the line of march, a field officer or a captain selected by the adjutant general from each brigade was “to supervise the order of the march and correct all abuses on the spot.”8 One field officer commanded the advance guard and one commanded the rear guard. The advance guard, consisting of members drafted from the regiments, marched fifty to two hundred paces in front of the main body of troops. For further security, the advance guard staggered several small detachments even further ahead to make sure...

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