While examining several images from the Grand Review, I was suddenly struck by position and angle of the muskets the veterans of 1861-1865 took when executing the position of Right Shoulder, Shift (Hereafter, R-S-S). Universally, the veterans executed this position of the manual at a pronounced angle rather than the vertical position favored by most reenactment groups. As a result, I pulled my period drill manuals off the shelf to try and find a quick answer to this obvious difference. My review did not support the vertical interpretation, but rather appeared to support the angled version illustrated in the images of Civil War soldiers.

Armed with this observation, I set out, not to disprove the current vertical interpretation of this position, but to find the source of it. I decided to work backwards starting from the Civil War era manuals. I was comfortable with this methodology because new tactics manuals generally built on the preceding volume so if there was an earlier version of R-S-S that indicated a vertical orientation, I was confident I would find it in an earlier manual.

I went all the way back to The Manual Exercise, as ordered by His Majesty, in 1764 and found nothing to support the vertical interpretation. Along the way, I reviewed:

-Pickering- An Easy Plan of Discipline for a Militia, 1775

-Von Steuben- Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States- 1779, 1805

-Smyth- Regulations for the Field Exercise, Manoeuvres, and Conduct of the Infantry of the United States. 1812

-Duane- A Hand Book for Infantry Containing the First Principles of Military Discipline. 1813

-Nesmith- The Soldier’s Manual. 1824 (This was a militia manual that appears to have been popular in New England.)

Not only do these early manuals not support the vertical interpretation of R-S-S, they do not even include that position of the manual of arms. In fact, the first manual to describe a position called “right shoulder, shift” is Scott’s Tactics. The volume I had access to was published in 1835 and described the position thusly:

“To right shoulder, shift- ARMS. One time and one motion. 246. (Pl. IX, fig. 2.) Turn the piece with the left hand, the lock to the front, seize it at the same time with the right hand at the handle, place it on the right shoulder, the left hand not quitting the butt, the cock above and resting on the shoulder, the muzzle up; sustain the piece in this position by placing the right hand on the flat of the butt, so that the toe of the butt may be between the first two fingers, the other two on the butt plate; let fall the left hand by the side.”
(See Fig. 1.)

In his manual, Scott describes a position unlike the R-S-S we are familiar with from the Civil War period. While Scott’s version of R-S-S was used in Baxter’s Volunteer Manual (1861) and other state manuals, it was not the most common version.

In reviewing the descriptions of R-S-S in William J. Hardee’s Rifle and Infantry Tactics (1855 and 1862 versions); William Gilham’s Manual of Instruction for the Volunteers and Militia of the United States, (1861); and Silas Casey’s Infantry Tactics (1862), I was struck by the nearly identical language used to describe the second motion and the final position of the musket. Perhaps most importantly, all four manuals included (with very minor variations) the key phrase, “lock plate upwards.”

Hardee’s 1855: (Fig. 2)

Right shoulder shift--ARMS. One time and two motions.

210. (First motion.) Detach the piece perpendicularly from the shoulder with the right band, and seize it with the left between the lower band and guide-sight, raise the piece, the left hand at the height of the shoulder and four inches from it; place, at the same time, the right hand on the butt, the beak between the first two fingers, the other two fingers under the butt plate.

211. (Second motion.) Quit the piece with the left hand, raise and place the piece on the right shoulder with the right hand the lock plate upwards; let fall, at the same time, the left hand by the side.

Hardee’s 1862: (Fig. 3)

“Right shoulder shift- ARMS. One time and two motions.

210. (First motion.) Detach the piece perpendicularly from the shoulder with the right band, and seize it with the left between the lower band and guide-sight, raise the piece, the left hand at the height of the shoulder and four inches from it; place, at the same time, the right hand on the butt, the beak between the first two fingers, the other two fingers under the butt plate.

211. (Second motion.) Quit the piece with the left hand, raise and place the piece on the right shoulder with the right hand the lock plate upwards; let fall, at the same time, the left hand by the side.”

Gilham’s 1861: (Fig. 4)

“Right shoulder shift-- ARMS. One time and two motions."

176. First motion. Detach the piece perpendicularly from the shoulder with the right hand, and seize it with the left between the lower band and guide-sight, raise the piece, the left hand at the height of the shoulder and four inches from it; place, at the same time, the right hand on the butt, the beak between the first two fingers, the other two fingers under the butt plate.

Second motion. Quit the piece with the left hand, raise and place the piece on the right shoulder with the right hand, the lock plate upwards; let fall, at the same time, the left hand by the side.”

Casey’s 1862: (Fig. 5)

Right shoulder shift--ARMS. One time and two motions.

219. (First motion.) Detach the piece perpendicularly from the shoulder with the right hand, and seize it with the left between the lower band and guide-sight, raise the piece, the left hand at the height of the shoulder and four inches from it; place, at the same time, the right hand on the butt, the beak between the first two fingers, the other two fingers under the butt plate.

220. (Second motion.) Quit the piece with the left hand, raise and place the piece on the right shoulder with the right hand, the lock plate up ward; let fall at the same time, the left hand by the side.

I believe the phrase, “lock plate upward” to be the source of the misinterpretation of this position. Many modern hobbyists have apparently interpreted this to mean that the lock plate should be oriented front to rear along a vertical axis. I now believe the drill masters intended “lock plate upward” to mean the face of the lock plate. This simple but critical distinction creates two radically different positions.

In Figure 6, we see a comparison of the plates illustrating this position from four period manuals. Note the many similarities and the pronounced angle of the barrel. Figure 7 shows the same four illustrations with the angle of the musket overlaid in red. The angles (Hardee’s 1862 excepted) are very precise and it is clear that the original artists did not just pick the angles randomly. Gilham’s illustrates an angle of 60 degrees, Hardee’s 1855 an angle of 65 degrees, Hardee’s 1862 an angle of 62 degrees, and Casey’s an angle of 70 degrees.

In an attempt further clarify the position of the musket at R-S-S, I also examined the four manual plates for position of muzzle and bayonet tip along a vertical axis. By examining Figure 8, the diagonal orientation of the musket becomes even more apparent.

Up to this point, we have only discussed the R-S-S position in theory. In practice, the realities of military life often supercede the written regulations and plates in drill manuals do not always accurately demonstrate the positions (Casey’s illustration of “aim” is a particularly odd illustration) so to see how this position was actually executed, we must also look at images of troops in the field as they actually drilled and maneuvered.

In examining period images, I was careful to only choose images that clearly showed the position of R-S-S. I found many images that appeared to support the diagonal interpretation, but were they actual images of R-S-S or just soldiers with “arms at will?” The images presented here are some of the better examples I found during my survey.

Figure 9 shows Ellsworth’s United States Zouave Cadets at drill in New York in 1860. In this image, the upward orientation of the lock plate and the diagonal orientation of the barrel are both clearly evident. Since this is a unit famous for its prowess at drill, we can be comfortable with their execution of the position.

Figure 10 shows the 34th Massachusetss at drill in 1862. This is a very nice image of most, if not all, of the regiment at R-S-S while in column of companies. Again, the diagonal orientation is quite pronounced. Some have suggested that the diagonal interpretation developed in the field as the war progressed and soldiers sought ways to ease the fatigue of long marches. From this early image and the previous pre-war image, we can determine that was not the case and the diagonal interpretation was in use from the beginning of the war.

Figures 11 and 12 show an unknown unit of the Army of the Potomac and elements of the 20th Corps, respectively, on parade during the Grand Review. Here we see Federal soldiers of the two main field armies, east and west, executing the position in the same way. Some have suggested that the diagonal interpretation is a “western” phenomenon. From these two wonderful images, we can clearly see this is not the case.

Clearly, the diagonal interpretation of R-S-S is the correct one. By examining a variety of drill manuals, period illustrations and photographs, we can see that Federal infantry executed the diagonal interpretation of R-S-S all through the war and in every theater.

In the interest of presenting all the facts, whether they fit or not, I am including figure 13. This illustration is clearly contrary to all my findings and appears to support the vertical interpretation of R-S-S. This plate reportedly comes from an unidentified edition of Hardee’s. The version, date and place of publication, and other specifics are all unknown.