Good afternoon everyone…
We all know that during a flogging, especially when the punishment is over 300-lashes, the battalion was always ordered to be present, to witness the punishment. The reason being of course was to discourage the onlookers to repeat the same crime. I can also see another use for the battalion forming a square around the soldier, as the formation would reduce the risk of the prisoner believing he could run away.
However, being a former Guardsman and having done thousands of drills and pre-parades such as the rehearsals for the Trooping of the Colour, I find is easy to comprehend a Sergeant Major’s need for a maximum time spent on training the men to form squares against cavalry. In the case of the Waterloo squares, the whole army was moved back 100-paces, and following so much mayhem while under fire from the enemy, it must have needed many, many hours of training to get the battalion trained to form the perfect square. Unfortunately, I know very little about squares, but I’m certain that there were many other important factors to take into consideration.
Because of it, if I was a Napoleonic RSM, I would parade my battalion for muster parade. When the CO is satisfied that everyone was present, I’d then order the battalion to form a square to receive cavalry. (training) Three to four ranks deep, with the front two kneeling.
However, following the training, I now have the punishment parade to contend with. This means I would then order everyone to about-turn, and have them all facing inwards. In doing so, I now have the battalion formed-up ‘to receive the prisoner.’ A few sergeants would then move around the interior bawling out to the battalion the reason for the punishment.
Four halberds are then taken from the spectators to form the scaffold, the Assistant Surgeon is in the middle, so are the two Drummers stripped to the waist, the Adjutant, the Drum Major, and a couple of Guardsmen taken from those on guard duty to strip and prepare the prisoner, secure his clothes, and have a couple of buckets of water ready for the final ‘wash-down.’
My question… Does that mise-en-scene in combining a morning roll-call, square training, and a punishment parade all in one seem logical ?
Thanks…, Iain.