Marching

“ Then the ringing of cheers throughout the welkin high,
And the sound of bugle and fife and drum,
As proudly the troops came marching by.
Marching by with their measured tread,
All bronzed by the sun of the Southern land,
Bayonets gleaming and banners spread—
The dauntless of heart and the strong of hand. ”

“ From all parts of the earth we see this great march of the armies, white, yellow, brown, no longer any distinction of colour, all marching to the common centre, all inspired by the same cause, all bent on doing service on the same battlefield. ”

“ The marching of the Army of the Night!
The stricken men, the mad brute-beasts are keeping
⁠No more their places in the ditches or holes,
But rise, and join us, and the women, weeping
⁠Beside the roadways, rise like demon-souls. ”

“ From the moment the music struck up on the parade ground, and the detachments for the guard from the different companies began to file out and march into place, there was always a large concourse of the men in gray making a most interested body of spectators. The smart appearance of the men, the rapid inspection of arms, of haversacks and knapsacks, the march in review, the assignment to posts, the final marching off the field, all seemed to give them great enjoyment. ”

“ The most aggravating thing to the soldiers on a march is the unevenness of the marching. First you are rushed along so that the short legged ones are compelled to double-quick to keep up, and then there will be a halt of perhaps fifteen to thirty minutes when you are kept standing in the broiling sun ”

“ And so about the business of our lives we go and then of a sudden there comes again the feeling that crept over us all in the year of the Marching Men. In a moment we are again a part of the moving mass. The old religious exaltation, strange emanation from the man McGregor, returns. In fancy we feel the earth tremble under the feet of the men—the marchers. With a conscious straining of the mind we strive to grasp the processes of the mind of the leader during that year when men sensed his meaning, when they saw as he saw the workers—saw them massed and moving through the world. ”

“ Met the laughter of the sea:
It was glorious glad marching,
That marching to the sea.
The grain of endless acres
Was threshed (as in the East)
By the trampling of the Takers,
Strong march of man and beast ”

“ Even the backsliders, the men who march as a rule like old women trying to catch a bus, have briskened up this morning. Looking along the column from the rear one can see that rhythmical ripple which betokens the best marching, and instinctively the mind flashes back to that early dawn three days ago—no, four—when they came out of the trenches, muddy, dead-beat, awesomely dirty, just able to hobble along in fours. ”

“ I see the regiments tramping by
⁠To the lilt of a martial air,
Clean young fellows, alert and spry,
Ready and eager to do and die
For humanity under an alien sky,
And a proud old woman this day am I,
⁠For my son is marching there! ”

“ And all over the country men were getting the idea—the Marching Men—old Labour in one mass marching before the eyes of men—old Labour that was going to make the world see—see and feel its bigness at last. Men were to come to the end of strife—men united—Marching! ”

“ And they joined the armies blue.
The cocks crowed from the cannon
(Pets named from Grant and Lee) ,
Plumed fighters and campaigners
In the marching to the sea:
It was glorious glad marching,
For every man was free. ”

“ At last they're moving, marching, marching proudly up the hill.
We can see the bright steel glancing all along the lines advancing—
Now the front rank fires a volley—they have thrown away their shot;
Far behind the earthwork lying, all the balls above them flying,
Our people need not hurry; so they wait and answer not. ”

“ As for the soldiers marching past, their uniforms are torn, their hats are shocking, their shoes are dusty, they do not appear (to a man sitting on the fence) to march with any kind of spirit, their flags are old and tattered, the drums they beat are barbarous; and, besides, it is not probable that they are going anywhere; they will merely come round again, the same people, like the marching chorus in the "Beggar's Opera." ”

“ Although the word marching is insensibly confounded with those of line and regulars, it was originally meant to convey something more than a mere liability to be ordered upon any service; for by marching the regular troops from one town to another, the inhabitants, who from time immemorial have been jealous of a standing army, lost their antipathy to real soldiers, by the occasional absence of regular troops. ”

“ Every man of the infantry, cavalry, and artillery, seemed to understand the necessity of fast marching, and to entertain the hope that a victory in the battle about to come would be the end of the war. ”

“ Troops on the march in an enemy's country, unless they are led by an idiot, will send out clouds of scouts in front and on the wings to give timeous warning of any attempted assault. If we cheerily and carelessly go through this world as if we were marching in a land where there were no foes, there is nothing before us but defeat at the last. ”

“ Regarding night marching, it is extraordinary how difficult it becomes to keep awake, either marching or on horseback, when monotonously plodding along. Commonly you will see a man dozing on his feet, but marching unsteadily on, and if the man in front of him should have occasion to halt, the sleeping man behind will walk forcibly into him, as an unseeing pedestrian may bump into a lamp-post. ”

“ When you see heads gashed open and eyes burning and children lying hurt on the side of the road, when you are John Lewis and you've been beaten within an inch of your life on Sunday, how do you wake up Monday and keep on marching? ”

“ The movement of a body of men from one place to another. In marching it cannot be too strongly inculcated that every just movement and manœuvre depends upon the correct equality of march established and practiced by all the troops of the same army, and that when this is not attended to confusion must follow on the junction of several battalions. ”

“ Hence the afternoon hours of the march were especially oppressive, and though the sledge with its load was positively lighter, our strength to drag it had diminished in still greater measure. It would be a great mistake to imagine that exercise of itself, without necessary rest, increases the capacity of marching. ”

“ At the top of it we are allowed to draw out, and motor slowly past long lines of troops on the march; first, R.E.'s with their store waggons, large and small; then a cyclist detachment; a machine-gun detachment; field kitchens, a white goat lying lazily on the top of one of them; mules, heavily laden; and Lewis guns in little carts. Then infantry marching briskly in the keen air, while along other roads, visible to east and west, we see other columns converging. A division, apparently, on the march. The physique of the men, their alert and cheerful looks, strike me particularly. ”

“ Who does not know all about the marching of soldiers? Those who have never marched with them and some who have. The varied experience of thousands would not tell the whole story of the march. Every man must be heard before the story is told, and even then the part of those who fell by the way is wanting. ”

“ When brought into the field, the men were as ignorant of the art of marching as babes, and required for their instruction the same patient, unwearied attention. On this and subsequent marches frequent halts were made, to enable stragglers to close up; and I set the example to mounted officers of riding to the rear of the column, to encourage the weary by relieving them of their arms, and occasionally giving a footsore fellow a cast on my horse. ”

“ Of all the mechanical parts of war, none is more essential than that of marching. It may be justly called the key which leads to all important motions and manœuvres of an army; for they depend entirely on this point. ”

“ File marching may be practised to the front, to the rear, and to either flank; in all which cases the men must be taught to cover well. When recruits are at drill, on the word march, the whole are to step off with the left foot together, gaining at the very first step 24 inches, and so continuing each step, without increasing the distance betwixt each recruit, every man placing his advanced foot on the ground, before the spot from whence his preceding man had taken up his. ”

“ It is therefore necessary that the question of marching should be studied, not only by generals and staff officers, but by regimental officers and men. It is on the latter that the hardships and exertions fall, and their cheerful endurance can best be ensured by teaching them the great results attainable by an army which can move faster and further than its adversary, as well as the dangers incurred by an army which allows itself to be out-marched. ”

“ If you were an old légionnaire you would not ask, my boy. We are marching. We are probably marching for a long time. We are always marching. We never know if we are only going to manœuvre or to meet the enemy. ”

“ Every battalion has its marching songs. ”

“ Keep closed up, and during the last mile of your march have your company sing some real snappy song, and they will come in in jubilant spirits. Keep the muzzles of your rifles always elevated on the march so that men marching in rear wont be bothered.
On the march the first halt is for 15 minutes taken after 45 minutes of marching. The men should be taught to use this time to adjust their clothing and equipment, and answer the calls of nature. Do not halt where there are houses, etc., on this first halt, as a great many men want to relieve themselves. ”

“ The compact military marching order which had characterized the first few days of march had long since deteriorated into a straggling column, where the weaker were supported by the stronger.
Three more men died. One simply dropped in his tracks. He was dead before anyone could touch him. ”

“ In the military sense, “marching” is walking in formed bodies of troops, either during drill evolutions on parade or on the “line of march” from one place to another. In both senses the word is used with mounted troops as well as with dismounted men. ”

“ In Austria, where Ottocar II. of Bohemia was defeated and slain by his rival, the emperor Rodolph of Hapsburg, August 26, 1278.
Marching. One of the first necessities to distinguish a body of disciplined troops from a mere crowd of men is a regular cadenced step, taken by every individual at the same time, and with the same foot. When troops are to march a long distance the route step is employed, the men keeping the same distance and their places in the ranks as when marching on drills, parades, reviews, musters, etc., where the cadenced step in common, quick, or double time is employed. ”

“ Lines of march, are bodies of armed men marching on given points to arrive at any straight alignement on which they are to form. The general direction of such alignement is always determined before the troops enter it, and the point in that line at which their head is to arrive, must next be ascertained. ”

“ Marching constitutes the principal occupation of troops in campaign and is one of the heaviest causes of loss. This loss may be materially reduced by proper training and by the proper conduct of the march. ”

“ Marching.—A cadence faster than 120 a minute adds snap to marching, but snap can not be gained in proportion as the cadence is run up. Snap is attained chiefly by the proper gait. Soldiers should march, not with knees always slightly bent, but should straighten them smartly at the end of each step. This adds drive to the step, and gives the men confidence and a mob spirit of courage. After long drill at attention, this spirit can be carried into extended order work. ”

“ The foot soldiers, marching down the lane that runs by Aristotle's Well, there joined them; and so, about nine of the clock, when it was now beginning to grow dark, we set off, the horse, whereof my father's regiment was the foremost, being in front, and the footmen following after with as much haste as they might. And, indeed, besides that all were picked men, 'twas not a march in which any would desire to linger, so great was the danger lest the enemy's forces, being much more numerous, should close upon us. ”

“ Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go! ”

“ The Sixty-fifth thought of other marches. Before McDowell—Elk Run Valley—that was bad. Elk Run Valley was bad. Before Mechanicsville—coming down from Beaver Dam Station—that was bad. Bath to Romney—that was worst.... We’ve had plenty of bad marches—plenty of marches—plenty of heroic marches. We are used to marching—used to marching.... Marching and fighting—marching and fighting....
Tall and lean and tanned, the Thunder Run men opposed the wind from the mountains. Allan Gold and Sergeant Billy Maydew exchanged observations. ”

“ And I had gone through this month of walking without foot trouble, for which I am indebted to my 'pontoons,' i.e., Government shoes. Take them large enough, and they are the only things to walk in.
Marching is the hardest thing I met with. I have always been a regular and good walker. But ordinary walking is no preparation for marching. ”

“ In marching in quick time, at the command march, given as either foot strikes the ground, take one step in quick time, and then step off in double time.
When marching in double time and in running the men breathe as much as possible through the nose, keeping the mouth closed. ”

“ All marching should be done in straight lines, following the direction of the walls of the rooms, the change of direction being made precisely at each corner. The leader and his partner should lead the march; moving slowly once or twice round the room, to give all the couples time to fall in and follow. ”