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APPENDIX 2 17TH-CENTURY BRITISH ARMY ORGANIZATION AND LINEAR TACTICS IN EUROPE It is likely that British North American colonial militias were generally patterned after the organization of the British Army, although the sizes of the respective units may have been smaller. Therefore, an understanding of British army organization may be helpful in understanding the organization of these colonial militias. In 1640 an English regiment of foot usually consisted of 1,300 men organized into ten companies. Three of these companies were commanded by the regiment 's colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major. Each of these three companies had more men than each of the remaining seven companies, which were commanded by captains. A typical company of foot had a captain, three other officers, five noncommissioned officers, two drummers, and 100 privates. The privates consisted of both musketeersand pikemen. An average regiment of "horse" consisted of six troops of seventy horsemen, but the actual number of men in any specific regiment varied considerably. A dragoon company consisted of nine officers and noncommissioned officers and sixty troopers. During the early 17th century all ranks carried swords, except the ensign, who carried the colors. Officers were equipped with spontoons or partizans,and sergeants had halberds. Pikemen wore corselets (breast and back plates) and carried pikes that were 16' to 22' long. The musketeers wore no body armour, and each was equipped with a musket and a bandoleer of ammunition. At the beginning of the 17th century a linear formation of foot consisted of a block ofpikemen in the center, perhaps sixto ten ranks deep. Each rank would present a front of fifteen or twenty men. Musketeers, also six to ten ranks deep, were located on the flanks, or sides, of the pikemen. The front presented by the ranks of musketeerson each flank was about one-half the width of the pikemen, or eight to ten men wide. The pikemen's defensive role was to receive infantry advances and cavalry charges. They also advanced with pikes lowered to the horizontal, called a "push of pikes." The musketeers' role was primarily offensive; they fired in volleys, starting when the opposing formationsweresome distance apart. In practice, the muskeeters were very much a part of the melee of battle when opposing forces closed, and they frequently used their muskets as clubs. During the earlyyears of the 17th century, increased emphasis wasplaced on the training of the individual soldier. With this, the linear formation of the APPENDIX 2 regiment changed. In an attack, the ranks of musketeers were at the front and maintained a rolling volley fire of successive ranks. After the front rank fired, it would file rearwardsthrough the other ranks in order to reload, and the second rank would fire. During an advance, the musketeers' succeeding ranks would file forward to fire while the previous rank reloaded. This was very effective in maintaining continuously rolling volleys with fewer ranks of musketeers. These tactics required that both the musketeers and pikemen received extensive training in their movements within a formation as well as in the movement of the formation as a whole. In addition, training of musketeers emphasized the rapid reloading of their arms, so that each could maintain a sustained rate of fire of four shots a minute. During an advance, while the opposing formations were still some distance apart, the ranks ofpikemen were located at the rear of the formation. When the opposing formations closed on each other, or when the formation wasto receive an attack by infantry or cavalry, the pikemen filed forward through the musketeers to the front and lowered their pikes to the horizontal against the opposing infantry. When receiving a cavalry charge, the front row of pikemen placed the metal-tipped rear of the pike on the ground and braced it with the arch of their rear foot. The pikes were inclined upwards at the front. At the beginning of the 17th century there were approximately equal numbers ofpikemen and musketeers in a regiment of foot. By 1640, England and many other continental armies had begun to reduce the ratio to twomusketeers to one pikeman. During the remainder of the century the ratio of musketeers to pikemen gradually increased. The advent of the plug bayonet in the 1670s revolutionized these linear tactics. The pointed blades at the end of their muskets enabled the musketeers to close with the enemy. The plug bayonet eliminated the need forpikemen and meant that all of the privates in a regiment of foot could be armed...

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