New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-01-21

turns as TO the general progress of the INSTRUCTION
so that the number Of effectively of each compAh!
may be accurately known.
None but the prescribed exey cises are permitted ~
the instructor. He must lever allow the men to AZ
te1npt any extraordinary Or exaggerated iea's u
STRENGTH or dextery that mirlt cause accidents or
iuiare the soldier. His aim must be to develop te
strength, agility, and dexterity Of the souer "
W isely regulated cxerlis and inspire nm win w"
self-reliance which the various occasions Of his ni
tarv life nav demand, He must .trivc 10 rouse 'ne
pluck and emulation Of the men by rendering The eA-
ercjses az agreeable and as easy as possible taxing
allneeessary Iree.ations to prevent them from in-
;,Sng themselves or becoming discouraged. lie
must never forget that the perfect safety Oh the Sol
der under tri,ing the pleasure OF the various eXei
cjses and above all the soldiers own desire TO ex'
eel are the fist and secret elements Of success IN
gymnastics. Harsh treatment must be carefully
avoided much more anything like turning his efforts
into ridicule when lie fails, OF Furnishing him for III
voluntary awkwsrdness. Nor must be be required
to maintain strictly military attitude in these eAe'
cses, which viii only uselessy fatigue Inn as Tar NJ
our object s conce ned; nor must we check too Sc
verely those spontaneous manifestations OF ENJOY
,pent and humorous delight which lie may beiray
since thew are hut the NATURAL and, indeed, fortunate
results of these exercises when properly directed.
Ia conclusion. we must not expect more than regu'
ary rreci.ion and relative perfection in these e%-
ercises. TO which a military form has been given
merely to facilitate their study and Their application
to tie whole army
The men practice in their fatigue dress, and are
provided with belts. In squads Of ten or hiteen
men they are drawn up precisely as for our PIeni'
nary dill without arms.
THE inst exercises are intended TO make the body
suppe from head to foot turning the bead from night
70 left, forward and backward, or merely toward
r;oht and left bending the body as in the extension
mo,ions Of the English drill raising the arms vefi-
celly with and without bending them; hlnging on
the right or left arm, fists cenched, and deserUine
"A circle Of which the arm is the radius.
No solder marches so easily Us the French. IL is
the result Of Lis method of learning to march. III
the Moderate and quick cadence the foot comes NAT to
the ground the point OF the foot touching II mt IN
the running cadence the movement Is an alternate
hopring on the points Of the feet. is obvious that
this mode Of teaching TO march must enable the SOL
der 10 avoid The great cause of universal bad march
ing and walking namely, bringing the heel to the
1T .und thus shaking tie whole body, especially the
r; inc, and consequently distressing tie brain and
lungs BY the great elevation of tie legs the soldier
must habituae himself to bringing the toes first TO
tie GROUND, ns,inctively, TO AVOID the shock, es-
pecely ia the running cadence. During the practice
the soldier repeats the words onetwo as each foot
comes to the ground in order 10 practice the lungs al
the same time and llro TO give rhythm 20 the per-
fOrtnence.
In order still moro to direct locolno,on 10 the fore
part of the foot so essential good AID easy march
ing, there is the following practice: l. Attention.
?. Flexon OF the lower limbs. 3. Commence. 4.
Cease. At he second command the soldier brings
both feet together, throwing tho weight Of tie body
forward. ~ the word commence lie slowly lowers
mis- bocy By beLding his hams, 20 tina; tie thighs
touch the calves Of the leg, the arms falling beside
the body, the weight of the body being entirel7
thrown on The points Of the feet. he then gradually
rises to tho erect position.
There is also what j. called 81 cymnastic chain"
Circles are traced on tie grounG contiguously; the
men are posied in these circles in single rank three
PAGES spnrt. Tue instructor commands: ]. Squad
will advance. .. Double. 3. March. A. Halt. AT
the first word the soldier throws the whole weight Of
his body OF the right leg At the word march be
throws the left foot emartly forward the leg slightly
beut bringing the POINT Of tue foot 10 tie ground
thiIty-nne inches from the right, and 30 in like
ner with the right, always keeping the weight of the
body on the leg which feels the GROUND, allowing tho
ann. 10 take their natural motion for equilibrium.
The first man Ia monitor, one Of the best trained
runs excessively through all the windings Of the
chain Of contiguous circles without stopping, the
others follow, preserving tie distance. When the
men meet each other at the intersections Of the cir
cles, they shorten leDghen the pace, not TO
osle each other and 70 that two shall not pass
by tie same interval
To deliver q thrust or a blow with tie bayone'
sword, fist TO the best advantage, requires train
ing Of the subsidiary muscles, and such scientific
practice Us places the body in the best position 10 aid
and intensity the effect. This il done by ibe
"PyThic Exercise Tie command lie: ]. Py ilhic
Exercise fright or left limb forward. =. Ready.
3. March. 4. Halt. At the word ready the colder
faces to the left carries the right foot forward the
hee sixteen inches from the hollow Of tie LETT foot
the right knee bent, the left lex stretched the right
arm extended forward, the fit clcnched, on a line
with the shoude- the nails eighty upwarc the lef.
in line with the left side ard but little bent
ist cenched and about six inches from the thigh tho
nails toward the thigh the upper part Of the body u-
ching forward, tho head erect, the eyes looking to
the front, the left shoulder lowered. At the word
march, tie soldier et,aghtens his body, bringing the
right heel near the hollow of the left foot without
touching the ground turns at the came time his RICH,
forearm, 20 that describing ci,ce from below mp
ward the fist lightly touches the right breast then
Ainpng the fist smar,ly forward, ths7fils . little up
A IL. 81. u. L.