A military dictionary

by William Duane

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. See Amer. Mil. Lib.

Marching in open order to the front, is when any body of men advances by ranks at open order, and dress to some given object without touching one another. The flank man of the flank the soldiers dress to, must be a non-commissioned officer, and he must take especial care not to incline to one hand or the other. His head must be kept quite straight to the front, his body must be erect, and he must advance without deviating in the most trifling manner to the right or left. In order to execute this essential part of the drill with any degree of accuracy, two persons should be present, one in the front, and the other on the flank, to observe the dressing. Young officers should be exercised themselves in the presence of a superior officer; for upon them thereafter will greatly depend the movement of the battalion in line or column.

Marching to the front in close order, is when any number of men advance by ranks at close order, and dress to some given objects each man lightly touching his next man, without crowding or pressing. The march in front by closed files is much easier than that at open files, because every man feels his next man, which ever way the rank dresses, and into whatever direction the line or column moves.

To FILE, is to advance to, or move from any given point by files; as to file to the front, to file to the rear, to file from the right or left flank, or to file from any given company. In some of which cases, the leading files must disengage themselves according to the directions given.

To File off,		-
To defile,

to wheel off from marching in a spacious front, and march in length by files. When a regiment is marching in full front, or by divisions or platoons, and comes to a defile or narrow pass, it may file off to the right or left, as the ground requires, &c.

Filings, are movements to the front, rear, or flank by files. These movements must be executed with great quickness. The files must go off at a smart gallop, and continue so till all are in file, the rear rank men dressing well to their front rank; the front rank covering well, and keeping close to the croup. If the filings are to be made from a flank to the front or rear, the whole must keep passaging up to the ground from whence the first file went, before they go off; if to a flank, the horses must be turned as soon as there is room. If the filings are from a flank to march along the front or rear, past the other flank, every file must come off from its own ground as the next gets into file.

General and necessary Filings, are from either, or both flanks of the squadron to front, flank or rear; filing from the centre of the squadron to the front, or to the flank. Filing single men by ranks, or by front or rear rank men alternately from either flank of the squadron.

In the filings of the squadron, the serre-files take their places in the rear of the files unless the ground will allow them to remain on the flanks of the rear rank; but their general and proper position is in the rear of the files.

In cavalry filing, the greatest attention must be paid to keep the squadron as compact together as the nature of the movement will permit. It is a situation in which horses move free, and without confinement, but in which the parts of a squadron are apt to lengthen out, and take up much more ground than what they stand upon in line, and is therefore to be adopted only from necessity, in broken or embarrassed ground. When the word file, has been given, and the heads of the horses have been turned ready to move off without loss of distance, the leaders of files must go off short and quick in their ordered direction. They are followed close by each man as it comes to his turn, so as to leave no unnecessary interval from one to another, and instantly to put off the ground. After being once in file, a distance of a yard from head to tail may be taken so as to trot or gallop the easier if required. Every alteration of pace ought to be made as much as possible by the whole file at once: if this is not observed, a crowding and stop in the rear will always attend such alteration.