Foot soldier

“ The pluck and endurance and indomitable perseverance shown by men with ill-fitting boots [Pg 35] proves devotion worthy of a better cause, but it has been a marvel to me for the last twenty years, why bitter experience has never taught the foot soldier to wear boots large enough for him. It is a well-known fact that after some marching has been done, a larger size in boots is required, as the feet swell and need more room ”

“ In printing the bottom of a type is divided by a groove into two portions known as “feet.” Probably referring to the beating of the rhythm with the foot in dancing, the Gr. ποῦς and Lat. pes were applied in prosody to a grouping of syllables, one of which is stressed, forming the division of a verse. “Foot,” i.e. foot-soldier, was formerly, with an ordinal number prefixed, the name of the infantry regiments of the British army. It is now superseded by territorial designations, but it still is used in the four regiments of the infantry of the Household, the Foot Guards. ”

“ The foot-robber under the native government stood in the same relation to the horse-robber as the foot-soldier to the horse- soldier, because the trooper furnished his own horses, arms, and accoutrements, and considered himself a man of rank and wealth compared with the foot-soldier ”

“ To be on the same footing with another, is to be under the same circumstances in point of service; to have the same number of men, and the same pay, etc.
Footman. A soldier who marches and fights on foot.
Foot-pound. In mechanics, is the unit of work. It is simply a contraction for “one pound raised through a height of one foot.” See Work.
Foot-soldier. A soldier that serves on foot.
Foot-ton. In England the power of modern ordnance is estimated by the energy of the shot in foot-tons, divided by the number of inches in the shot’s circumference. ”

“ But as soon as we lay ourselves entirely at his feet, we have enough light given us to guide our own steps; as the foot-soldier who hears nothing of the councils that determine the course of the great battle he is in, hears plainly enough the word of command which he must himself obey. ”

“ Again, tight boots and tight bandages round the legs are bad for the blood circulation, and can make foot trouble without any other cause. The soldier used to be rather careless as to whether his boots were of a proper fit, and he was apt to bind his puttees too tightly. ”

“ The difference between the walk of a cavalry and infantry soldier cannot fail to be noticed, even by a person the most indifferent to military matters. The gait of the dragoon is distinguished for its ease and elasticity over that of the foot soldier, which may be accounted for by the mounted exercise having the effect of suppling the loins and hips of a recruit in the first stages of drill, which seldom, if ever, becomes eradicated in after life, even though the man may leave the army after a short term of service. ”

“ He keeps his toes pointed downward. His foot should touch the ground about 6 inches to the front. As his toes come to rest, the soldier feels for the ground with the outside of the toes of his boot. Then, he settles his foot on the ground. ”

“ From the attitude of a warrior, who kneels down in front of a horse, and with his right hand seizes its right leg, while another soldier is aiding him by holding up the left one as high as the elbow, it has been conjectured that this boot is being attached to the animal's foot. ”

“ The Russian soldier never grumbles, by-the-by. Boots are the great desideratum of an army in the field. Nothing will break an army up sooner than a lack of foot-wear: and in respect of this necessary the Russians were generally well provided, though I occasionally met detachments, if not larger bodies, who had completely worn out their boots, and resorted to tying their feet up in pieces of hide, or sheep's skin. These cases were so rare that they scarcely deserve notice; but as the winter wore on the clothing of the troops certainly began to show signs of wear. ”

“ Among the splendid achievements of valour with which the annals of the British army abound, the gallant behaviour of the Fourteenth Foot, on several occasions, appears conspicuous for those bright qualities of intrepidity and heroism which distinguish the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland when arrayed under the standard of their Sovereign; and the conduct of this corps in quarters has been marked by those excellent features of order, subordination, and discipline, which adorn the character of the British soldier, procuring for him the admiration of the inhabitants of all countries. ”

“ In marching obliquely to the right, the soldier steps obliquely with the right foot, bringing up the left, and placing the heel directly before the toes of the right foot, and the contrary when marching to the left; at the same time observing to keep the shoulders square to the front, especially that the shoulder opposed to the side they march to does not project, and that the files keep close. ”

“ The way to avoid this jerky movement is to carry the whole weight forward at the same time as the advancing foot, and this can only be done if mind and muscle work together. The essential difference between a soldier’s march, if it be properly performed, and the civilian’s walk, degenerating into a slouch, is that the first calls for a definite mental effort ”

“ It will not suffice to order a marching shoe of the same size as one's ordinary civilian shoes, for it must be remembered that a soldier may have to march many miles daily over rough roads and carrying a heavy pack. The pack itself causes the foot to spread out to a larger size, and the rough roads give so much exercise to the muscles of the feet that they swell greatly through the increased blood supply. ”

“ The footmen are armed with breastplates and head-pieces, and have swords on each side; but the sword which is upon their left side is much longer than the other, for that on the right side is not longer than a span. Those foot-men also that are chosen out from the rest to be about the general himself have a lance and a buckler, but the rest of the foot soldiers have a spear and a long buckler, besides a saw and a basket, a pick-axe and an axe, a thong of leather and a hook, with provisions for three days, so that a footman hath no great need of a mule to carry his burdens. ”

“ In the moderate and quick cadence the foot comes flat to the ground, the point of the foot touching it first; in the running cadence the movement is an alternate hopping on the points of the feet. It is obvious that this mode of teaching to march must enable the soldier to avoid the great cause of universal bad marching and walking, namely, bringing the heel to the ground, thus shaking the whole body, especially the spine, and consequently distressing the brain and lungs. ”

“ Shortly after we had started drilling on the manœuvring ground, we began to drill by pelotons on foot. The cavalry drill on foot is essentially different from the infantry drill, as all the movements are performed in the same way as the mounted drill; for instance, the troopers being dressed on two ranks, to break off by fours they swing on a pivot as if they were mounted, and the drill on foot is, indeed, especially intended as a preparation for the mounted drill. ”

“ A very useful movement for a civilian to learn is to “change step.” We frequently see two persons walking together (often arm-in-arm) in different steps, that is, while one is stepping forward with the left foot, the other has his right foot advanced, which causes them to roll and jostle each other in a very unseemly and awkward manner. ”

“ All unnecessary loading of the horse’s foot with iron is carefully avoided; and if any farrier is caught in the reprehensible practice of applying a red-hot shoe to the foot, he is very severely dealt with. ”

“ At the word ready, the soldier faces to the left, carries the right foot forward, the heel sixteen inches from the hollow of the left foot, the right knee bent, the left leg stretched, the right arm extended forward, the fist clenched, on a line with the shoulder, the nails slightly upward, the left arm in a line with the left side and but little bent, fist clenched, and about six inches from the thigh, the nails toward the thigh, the upper part of the body inclined forward, the head erect, the eyes looking to the front, the left shoulder lowered. ”

“ In a cavalry regiment, corporals and sergeants are appointed to instruct recruits in all the preliminary stages of foot drill, for which they are responsible to their superior officer (the regimental sergeant-major) , the same as the corporal and sergeant-rough-riders are responsible to the riding-master for the recruit’s progress and efficiency in riding drills. For the first two or three months the recruit is subjected to the “manual exercise” as well as the drills above named; this exercise consists of a series of gymnastic movements of the arms, legs, and body ”

“ They point out that all the French cavalry being drilled and armed in such a way as to be able to act as mounted infantry, there is no necessity for the latter. This is all very well in theory, but it is out of the question in practice. All the trooper is fit for when dismounted is to defend himself, but the moment he is sent forward on foot, his heavy, cumbersome trousers, his boots with spurs nailed on to them, and fitting as loosely as they always do, are a terrible burden to him. ”

“ I soon became the leader of the “gulpin’s” ride, a post always allotted to the most intelligent recruit.
Having passed through the ordeal of riding without saddle, as also in a saddle without stirrups, I was allowed to ride with a sword. By this time I had learnt the sword and carbine exercise on foot—had, in fact, gone through my “facings,” and been drilled to marching, etc, for two hours every day in the barrack-yard, under the immediate instruction and supervision of the “drill corporal,” “drill sergeant,” “regimental sergeant-major,” and “adjutant.” ”

“ In the hours of leisure they do not wear their swords; on the march, like the rank and file, they wear a sort of gaiter of black cloth reaching almost to the knee. A regiment of foot-soldiers completely equipped for action presents an appearance at once pleasing and martial. ”

“ To a regiment whose bravery in the field has ever been conspicuous, few words can be necessary on this occasion; but as your Colours are a sacred pledge which binds you to your duty and your country, I cannot pass over in silence a ceremony which calls forth every warm and honourable feeling that ought to animate a soldier’s breast.
“This day, the anniversary of the battle of Orthes, reminds us of a period when the valour and discipline of the British arms rendered it everywhere triumphant, under that great commander who led it from victory to victory. ”

“ A larger proportion of men wear custom-made shoes, in which some effort is made to fit the foot. Businessmen generally have eschewed heels, except the lowest "lifts."
Among soldiers and policemen, foot-soreness is a common complaint, and renders the man who has to endure it unfit for service. It is stated that, during the late East Indian wars, the native foot-soldiery, when ordered to "march," took off their regulation shoes and hung them on the ends of their muskets, while they went barefoot. ”

“ Every horse, as a rule, is supposed to be shod once a month; but so great is the variety in size and formation in feet, and in the degrees of toughness and rapidity of growth of the hoof and sole of different horses, and even on different feet of the same horse and at different parts of the same shoe, that no particular pattern or form of shoe is prescribed. This is left to the skill and judgment of the farrier, to make according to the shape of the foot with which he has to deal. ”

“ Having very little duty, our time was spent at foot-ball. We were very badly off for shoes, but, by good luck, discovered a quantity of leather in a tan-yard. Those who found it helped themselves first, and were wasting it. The Colonel then ordered each man a{127} pair of soles and heels, to be put up in his knapsack.
The French gave us the slip at the commencement of their retreat, by placing wooden guns in their batteries, and stuffing old clothes with straw, which they put in place of their sentinels. By this means their retreat was not discovered for two days ”

“ The garrison watching from its lofty station the approach of its adversaries, stood prepared with every means of destruction which art could devise, and each soldier had three loaded muskets beside him, that the first fire might be quick and fatal. As the British soldiers approached the fortress with ladders and weapons, the sight of the formidable works and towering walls awakened in their resolute hearts an eagerness for the assault, and they advanced with audacity to meet that fiery destruction which their adversaries were prepared to pour down upon them. ”

“ This renders them agonising to men who do not use boots, for though the act of walking on the side of the foot is uncomfortable enough even for men who are well shod, it is excruciating to those who go bare-footed ”

“ A poor fellow came to my church office one day to see if I could get him a pair of strong shoes. He was getting a job and his boots would not stand the strain.
In the army the boots are most necessary, because of long marches, and wet roads and soaking trenches.
One of the worst of all crimes was to make and issue bad boots to our fighting men.
There was an army rule that demanded care of the feet. Every man had to watch that part of his body, and the medical men were always seeing to it that that rule was kept.
Many a soldier had to leave his post because he had trench feet. ”

“ On the part of the foot, the effects of this warfare are liable to show themselves in thickening and inflammation of the integuments, in displacement of the toes, and occasionally in the breaking down of the transverse or longitudinal arches. On the part of the boot or shoe, there is a gradual accommodation which in time fits it to the foot almost as if it had been moulded upon it, so that a little before it is worn out it is invaluable, like other blessings brightening before they take their flight. ”