42. The instructor wishing to pass the second lesson will cause the company to take arms, if stacks have been formed, and command:
1. Attention. 2. Company. 3. Shoulder—ARMS.
43. The instructor will then cause loadings and firings, to be executed in the following order:
ARTICLE I.
To Load in Four Times and at Will.
44. Loading in four times will be commanded and executed as prescribed in the S. S., No. 260, and following. The instructor will cause this exercise to be often repeated, in succession, before passing to loading at will.
45. Loading at will will be commanded and executed as prescribed in the S. S., No. 265. In priming when loading in four times, and also, at will, the captain and covering sergeant will half face to the right with the men, and face to the front when the man next to them, respectively, brings his piece to the shoulder.
46. The instructor will labor to the utmost to cause the men, in the different loadings, to execute what has been prescribed in the S. S., Nos. 266 and 267.
47. Loading at will, being that of battle, and consequently the one with which it is most important to render the men familiar, it will claim preference in the exercises the moment the men are well established in the principles. To these they will be brought by degrees, so that every man may be able to load with cartridges, and to fire at least three rounds in a minute with ease and regularity.
ARTICLE II.
To Fire by Company.
48. The instructor, wishing to cause the fire by company to be executed, will command:
1. Fire by company. 2. Commence firing.
49. At the first command, the captain will promptly place himself opposite the centre of his company, and four paces in rear of the line of file closers: the covering sergeant will retire to that line, and place himself opposite to his interval. This rule is general, for both the captain and covering sergeant, in all the different firings.
50. At the second command, the captain will add: 1. Company. 2. READY. 3. AIM. 4. FIRE. 5. LOAD.
51. At the command load, the men will load their pieces, and then take the position of ready, as prescribed in the School of the Soldier.
52. The captain will immediately recommence the firing, by the commands:
1. Company. 2. AIM. 3. FIRE. 4. LOAD.
53. The firing will be thus continued until the signal to cease firing is sounded.
54. The captain will sometimes cause aim to be taken to the right and left, simply observing to pronounce right (or left) oblique, before the command aim.
ARTICLE III.
The Fire by File.
55. The instructor wishing to cause the fire by file to be executed, will command:
1. Fire by file. 2. Company. 3. READY. 4. Commence firing.
56. The third and fourth commands will be executed as prescribed in the S. S., No. 284 and following.
57. The fire will be commenced by the right file of the company; the next file will take aim at the instant the first brings down pieces to reload, and so on to the left; but this progression will only be observed in the first discharge, after which each man will reload and fire without regulating himself by others, conforming himself to what is prescribed in the S. S., No. 289.
ARTICLE IV.
The Fire by Rank.
58. The instructor wishing the fire by rank to be executed, will command:
1. Fire by rank. 2. Company. 3. READY. 4. Rear rank—AIM. 5. FIRE. 6. LOAD.
59. The fifth and sixth commands will be executed as is prescribed in the S. S., No. 294 and following.
60. When the instructor sees one or two pieces in the rear-rank at a ready, he will command:
1. Front rank. 2. Aim. 3. FIRE. 4. LOAD.
61. The firing will be continued thus by alternate ranks, until the signal is given to cease firing.
62. The instructor will sometimes cause aim to be taken to the right and left, conforming to what is prescribed No. 54.
63. The instructor will cause the firing to cease, whether by company, by file, or by rank, by sounding the signal to cease firing, and at the instant this sound commences, the men will cease to fire, conforming to what is prescribed in the S. S., No. 291.
64. The signal to cease firing will be always followed by a bugle note or tap; at which sound, the captain and covering sergeant will promptly resume their places in line, and will rectify, if necessary, the alignment of the ranks.
65. In this school, except when powder is used, the signal to cease firing will be indicated by the command, cease firing, which will be pronounced by the instructor when he wishes the semblance of firing to cease.
66. The command posts will be likewise substituted, under similar circumstances, for the bugle note or tap employed as the signal for the return of the captain and covering sergeant to their places in line, which command will be given when the instructor sees the men have brought their pieces to a shoulder.
67. The fire by file being that which is most frequently used against an enemy, it is highly important that it be rendered perfectly familiar to the troops. The instructor will, therefore, give it almost exclusive preference, and labor to cause the men to aim with care, and always, if possible, at some particular object. As it is of the utmost importance that the men should aim with precision in battle, this principle will be rigidly enforced in the exercises for purposes of instruction.
ARTICLE V.
To Fire by the Rear-Rank.
68. The instructor will cause the several fires to be executed to the rear, that is, by the rear-rank. To effect this, he will command:
1. Face by the rear rank. 2. Company. 3. About—FACE.
69. At the first command, the captain will step out, and place himself sixteen inches from, and facing the right file of his company; the covering sergeant, and file closers, will pass quickly through the captain’s interval, and place them selves faced to the rear, the covering sergeant a pace behind the captain, and the file closers two paces from the front-rank opposite to their places in line, each passing behind the covering sergeant.
70. At the third command, which will begiven at the instant the last file closer shall have passed through the interval, the company will face about; the captain will place himself in his interval in the rear-rank, now become the front, and the covering sergeant will cover him in the front-rank, now become the rear.
71. The company having faced by the rear-rank, the instructor will cause it to execute the fire by company, both direct and oblique, the fire by file, and the fire by rank, by the commands and means prescribed in the three preceding articles; the captain, covering sergeant, and the men, will conform themselves, in like manner, to what is therein prescribed.
72. The fire by file will commence on the left of the company, now become the right. In the fire by rank, the firing will commence with the front-rank, now become the rear.
73. To resume the proper front, the instructor will command:
1. Face by the front rank. 2. Company. 3. About—FACE.
74. At the first command, the captain, covering sergeant and file-closers will conform to what is prescribed Nos. 69 and 70.
75. At the third command, the company having faced about, the captain and covering sergeant will resume their places in line.
76. In this lesson, the instructor will impress on the men the importance of aiming always at some particular object, and of holding the pieces as prescribed in the S. S., No. 185.
77. The instructor will recommend to the captain to make a short pause between the commands aim and fire, to give the men time to aim with accuracy.
78. The instructor will place himself in position to see the two ranks, in order to detect faults; he will charge the captain and file closers to be equally watchful, and to report to him when the ranks are at rest. He will remand, for individual instruction, the men who may be observed to load badly.
79. The instructor will recommend to the soldiers, in the firings, the highest degree of composure or presence of mind; he will neglect nothing that may contribute to this end.
80. He will give to the men, as a general principle, to maintain, in the direct fire, the left heel in its place, in order that the alignment of the ranks and files may not be deranged; and he will verify, by examination, after each exercise in firing, the observance of this principle.
81. The instructor will observe, in addition to these remarks, all those which follow.
82. When the firing is executed with cartridges, it is particularly recommended that the men observe, in uncocking, whether smoke escapes from the tube, which is a certain indication that the piece has been discharged; but if, on the contrary, no smoke escapes, the soldier, in such case, instead of reloading, will pick and prime again. If, believing the load to be discharged, the soldier should put a second cartridge in his piece, he ought, at least, to perceive it in ramming, by the height of the load; and he would be very culpable should he put in a third. The instructor will always cause arms to be inspected after firing with cartridges, in order to observe if the fault has been committed, of putting three cartridges without a discharge, in the same piece, in which case the ball screw will be applied.
83. It sometimes happens, when a cap has missed fire, that the tube is found stopped up with a hard, white, and compact powder; in this case, picking will be dispensed with, and a new cap substituted for the old one.