Instructions for Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of Cavalry

Excerpt from Instructions for Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of Cavalry: On Outpost Duty The remainder of the Picquet dismounts in the mean time, with the exception of one Sentry, who is to be placed a little in advance. The bridles are not to be taken off. In placing the Videttes the Officer will have acquired a sufficient knowledge of the country to be able to judge whether any of them are superfluous, (which is much to be avoided, as men and horses are unnecessarily fatigued by it,) or whether there ought to be more. Two-thirds of the Picquet now unbridle: it is to be recollected that the whole of a Picquet should never unbridle. The Officer then reconnoitres the country. Every one ambitious to do his duty well will make a little sketch, in which the following are to be marked; 1. Roads ; 2.Rivers ; 3.Bridges and Fords; 4.Morasses, cavities, hollow roads, and mountains; 5.Wood ; 6.Towns, Villages and their distances. If the Officer does not acquire such an exact knowledge of the country, he cannot be responsible for the security of his Picquet, and of the corps to which he belongs. By this time he will have had opportunity to fix upon the spot where his Picquet and Videttes ought to be placed at night. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.