A NEW SYSTEM
OF
SWORD EXERCISE FOR INFANTRY.
BY
RICHARD F. BURTON,
AUTHOR OF ‘A SYSTEM OF BAYONET EXERCISE’ (1853).
LONDON:
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY
WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, 13, CHARING CROSS.
1876.
THESE PAGES
ARE DEDICATED (WITH PERMISSION)
TO
His Royal Highness Field-Marshal the Duke of Cambridge,
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMY,
ETC., ETC., ETC.,
WHO HAS GRACIOUSLY ENCOURAGED THIS ATTEMPT TO EXTEND
THE ‘INFANTRY SWORD EXERCISE,’
BY
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS’S
MOST HUMBLE AND DEVOTED SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
| PAGE | ||
| Introductory Remarks | 11 | |
| Sect. I. | Preparatory Instruction without the Sword | 20 |
| II. | Preparatory Instruction with the Sword | 26 |
| III. | The Manchette, or Fore-arm Play | 45 |
| Conclusion | 56 | |
| Appendix (Note on Sabre handles) | 57 | |
11
A NEW SWORD EXERCISE FOR INFANTRY.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
Before proceeding to develop my New Sword Exercise forInfantry, I would offer a few remarks upon the changes proposedin these pages. Whilst the last half century has witnessedan immense improvement in the projectile weapons ofthe civilized world, the theory and practice of the sabre orcutting arm have remained in statu quo ante; indeed, ifthere has been any change it is for the worse. The twosystems authorized in the British army are completely behindtheir time. First and senior is the ‘Infantry Sword Exercise’(with plates): Revised Edition, Adjutant-General’s Office,Horse Guards. London: Printed under the superintendenceof H.M. Stationery Office: 1874. The second is the‘Instructions for the Sword, &c. (without plates), for theuse of Cavalry.’ Adjutant-General’s Office, Horse Guards.June, 1871.
The latter can be despatched very briefly. Despite thelate date, it is as obsolete as the older system; it is, in fact,