As what one might term a veteran re-enactor with over twenty-two years in the hobby, I have become very familiar with the debate on the level of accuracy/inaccuracy in the various elements portrayed by participants on the field. I do not intend here to enter into this debate, rather, the object of this piece is to stimulate debate on the. one area where, I would suggest, few compremises to safety, expense, etc., need detract from the accurate portrayal for the ECW period, that is, the giving of fire by a block of musketeers. I shall attempt to analyse the formations used and the methods practised in giving fire with particular reference to the contemporary drift manuals before, during and after the war.

Apart from not loading with actual ball, there seems little excuse for infantry musket blocks and dragoons not to accurately reproduce the giving of fire on the field. This obviously leads onto the question of what was the appropriate drill for such used by the musketeer/dragoon of the English Civil War? Going by the various methods displayed by the different reenactment formations there appears to be four:

1). Skirmishing.
2). By rank which then wheel to the rear.
3). By introduction/extroduction.
4). By doubling the ranks and firing by salvee.

Now while all four methods are represented, along with many others, in the various contemporary drill manuals, I would suggest that two questions must be asked.

1). Are the manoeuvers carried out on the field in accordance to the respective drill manual being used by the re-enactment group?
2). Is the method displayed actualy one which was used in English Civil War combat actions?

With regard to the first question, of the four methods of giving fire generaly represented by re-enactment formations, I would suggest that the second, third and fourth are generaly correctly rendered by the respective contemporary drill manual in use. I would firstly suggest though that a major question mark must hang-over the first method, skirmishing, as portrayed as to accuracy. Secondly, I must question the actual historical use of introduction/extroduction as relevant to the ECW period.

More Give Fire: ECW Formations and Tactics

Introduction
Skirmishing
Pre-War
Wartime
Post-War
Contemporary Battlefield Accounts
Conclusion
Biographical Notes
Troops Disposition Diagrams (slow: 143K)

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