THE RUDIMENTS OF MILITARY DISCIPLINE:  
Containing short instructions for the most necessary postures with Pike and Musket, and motions for exercising a company.  
Nehem. 4.19.20. etc.  
Judas, vers. 3.  
EDINBURGH, Printed for James Bryson, 1638.   


POSTURES OF THE MUSKET.  
1. TAke up your Musket, and your Rest, Recover your Musket, and join it to your rest.  
2. Take out your match, blow your match.  
3. Cock your match, try your match, guard your Pan.  
4. Advance three steps, with blowing your match, Present, Open your Pan, and give fire.  
5. Join your Musket to your rest again.  
6. Recover your match, blow your Pan and prime it, Put of your louse powder.  
7. Cast about your Musket and your rest.  
8. Charge with powder, chape the Musket a little against the earth.  
9 Charge with Bullet, Chape it a little against the earth.  
10. Recover your Musket, and Join it again to your rest. Cock your match, etc. Again as before, making ready for service. When ye have done with service, weigh your Musket with your right hand, Lay it on your left shoulder, holding the butt with your left hand, and the rest also.  
Nota.  
¶ It is to be remembered that the mouth of the Musket be always upward in exercise, for being low, if a spark of fire should go in the Pan, it might shoot your neighbour: Also when your Musket is shouldered in marching, hold the mouth of your Musket high, for the reason foresaid, and for disturbing your follower.   

Postures of the Pike.  

TAke up your Pike.  
Overend, or order your pike.  
Shoulder your pike.  
Mount your pike.  
Charge to the front.  
Charge to the right hand.  
Charge to the left hand.  
Right about to the rear.  
Left about to the rear.  
March, and charge.  
Lay down your pike.   
Nota.  
¶ All your exercises both of Musket and Pike would be at open order, that is, six foot distant between every man in the Rank, and between each Rank, and that for doubling of Ranks. Also when ye come either to be expert; or comes upon service, the ordinare distance is three foot, which is called order: And sometime may come to clo●e order; when sidemen close shoulder to shoulder, and the R●st of the Ranks close up to the sword point, specially Pickemen against horse.    

Motiones.  
MOtiones are either in keeping ground, or changing ground, and are either of the whole or of a part: Keeping ground, when every one move in his proper place, as in faceing: Changing ground, as in Countermarch and wheeling: The motion of a part is as in doubleing, closeing, and opening files and ranks, where some move and some stand still, And first of keeping ground and faceing being standing in order.  

Of Faceing.  
WHen ye are commanded To face to the right hand, stand firm with the left leg, and fall back with the right leg, and so ye are faced to the right hand, As ye were, bring forward again that same right leg, and place it where it stood first.  
When ye are commanded to Face to the left hand, bring forward the right leg, and so your face will be to the left hand, As you were, bring your right leg to the former situation.  
When you are commanded to face to the right and left hand by division, the half of the files to the right hand faceth to the right, as is before set down, and the half of the files to the left hand, as is before set down: As you were.  
When you are commanded to face to the rear by the right hand, hold firm your left leg, turning upon your left heel: Draw back your right leg, till your face be to the rear. As you were. Turn upon your left heel, and bring about your right leg.  
When you are commanded to face to the rear by the left hand, turn on your left heel, and bring forward your right leg, till your face be to the rear: As you were; Turn on your heel, and bring back your right leg.  
The motion of a part is doubling ranks and files, etc. Doubling of ranks serve to enlarge and strengthen the length of the battle, doubling of files to strengthen the deep of the battle.   

Of doubleing of Ranks.  
When you are commanded to double your ranks to the right hand, the second rank doubleth to the first, the fourth to the third, the sixth to the fift, and so forth every one of these stepping up to the right side of his leader, with three steps beginning with the left leg, stepping up on the right hand, with the right leg, and then bringing up the left leg: As you were, returning by the left hand; Also with three steps to your own place.  
When you are commanded to double your ranks to the left hand, step forward as to the right: As you were, but return by the right hand.  
Next, ranks are doubled by bringers up, when men are more perfectly trained; that is, being ten ranks: the left rank doubleth by the right or left hand to the first rank, the ninth to the second, the eight to the third, etc. Or ranks are doubled by middle-men, when the last five ranks of ten double up to the first five through the void that is between the files: And being commanded again As you were, return again to their own place.   

Of doubling files, or strings.  
When you are commanded to double your files to the right hand, the right hand file standeth still, and the next file unto it, each man steppeth in behind his side-man: first, turning about the face to the right hand, setting forward the right leg steps forward, with their left leg behind their sidemen on the right hand, bringeth up their leg, placing their body in a right line behind their leader, As you were, They must turn about their face, moving first their left leg, and thus with three steps recover their station.  
When ye are commanded to double your files to the left hand, the files that formerly moved, stand, and the other come in behind them, turning your face about, beginning your motion with their left leg with three steps, and being commanded, As you were, returns by the right leg.   

Of Countermarch.  
When ye are commanded Files to the right hand counter march, than all the fileleaders together at one instant step forward with the right leg, and bringing about their left leg, turn their body to the right hand, and so march down thorough the files, till they come to the place of the bringers up or last rank, all that follow the file-leader, must not offer to turn, before they have come up to the place of the file leaders, and every follower must remark and keep that distance with his leader which he had before they began to countermarch: As you were: step forward with the right leg, and cast about the left leg to the right hand, and so march back to your place.  
Files Countermarch to the left hand, step forward with the left leg, bringing about the right leg, turning your body to the left hand, and march down as the former. As you were, step forward with your left leg, cast about the right leg to the left hand, and so march back to your place: Other kinds of countermarch is not fit.   

Closeing, and opening of Ranks.  
When ye are commanded to close your ranks; the first rank standeth still: the second cometh up, and closeth to the distance commanded, either three foot, or close order: the rest of the ranks move up, and close to the same distance.  
When ye are commanded to open your ranks, the first rank standeth still, the rest fall back towards the rear: the second taketh its distance, and standeth still, so the third till all have got their places.   

Closeing, and opening of Files.  
When ye are commanded to close your files to the right hand, the right hand file standeth, the second file to it faceth about to it, and steppeth forward, till it have taken the distance commanded, so doth the rest in order, each after other.  
If ye be commanded to close your files to the left hand, the left hand file standeth still, and the rest close to it, as they did to the right hand.  
If ye be commanded to close your files to the middle, if ye be ten or six in rank, the two middle files take their distance, the rest face to them, and the nearest to them take first their distance, and so the rest in order: But this is little needful; the other two may serve.  
When ye are commanded to open your files to the right hand, the left hand file standeth still, the second to it openeth, and all the rest in order, till ye come to the right hand.  
When ye are commanded to open your files to the left hand, the right hand file standeth still, and openeth as formerly to the left hand.  
When ye are commanded to open files to both the hands, the two middle files open to their just distances, so press on the rest nearest to them, till all have opened to the distance commanded, and open by stepping sideways, pressing with their shoulder their sideman.   

Of wheeling, or the great turn.  
When ye are commanded the great turn to the right hand, ye must first close your files to that hand, whereto ye are to turn, even to close order, and close up your ranks to the same order: Then the Corner-file-leader on the right hand standeth still in his place, as the fixed foot of a Compass, moving with the left leg about, turning on the right foot fixed, his sideman moveth more, and so always the more, the further they are removed from him, every follower keeping his leader, and in every rank their sideman, The further they are from the right side, they will make the larger turn, until the front be where the right flank was: And being commanded the great turn to the rear by the right hand, having now your front where your right flank was, may keep the same order as at first, till your faces be at the rear. When ye would reduce them: As they were, even to the place where they were first, ye must wheel them just about to the said first place: Then opening their files and ranks, they are just as they were: ye may do just so when ye are commanded to make the great turn to the left hand, only they do at the left hand, as the other did at the right hand before; but this motion is seldom used, and would be performed when your men are perfect in all their other motions.   
FINIS.