"Marching poses - Foundry" Topic

Foundry shows infantry marching with the gun on the shoulder (CWK002) and with the gun at the side, no bayonet, arm down more straight (CWK003). Is one pose a strategic march pose and the other a tactical manuevering pose? If so, or if other, which is which?
In the past I avoided marching poses because I felt my 28mm figs were too close to the battle line to be marching, but the picture of the Iron Brigade arriving at Gettysburg with Reynolds (accuracy I do not know) shows shouldered muskets up to the firing line, so I thought I might be wrong. It would add some variety to my battlefield dioramas if I add marching figs.
Thanks for any help you can give.

Marching was indeed used close to the enemy – how else do you move a few hundred men from A to B without them turning into a mob?

I appreciate the partial education. Now as to the two different poses of marching? If anyone knows, I appreciate you sharing. Thank you.

Bayonets were only fixed if ordered. You don't march or fire with them fixed, they are sharp and get in the way. So if the muskets on shoulder have bayonets I would clip them off.

003 is shoulder arms, while the other is right shoulder shift. All commands are given from shoulder arms, so it is a default position. Right shoulder shift is for double time time, and a few other things I don't recall. I now avoid firing poses as much as possible because the soldiers spent most of their time in other positions.

EC, period manuals show fixed bayonets in both shoulder arms and right shoulder shift.

I will go with Extra Crispy on the bayonets as I am always afraid of breaking them when they are there. I usually have skirmish figs without and advancing/charging figures with. I decided that who would want to run from tree to rock to fence rail with a bayonet attached if you did not plan on using it. The rifle musket was long enough. I would prefer to have figs advancing as fire support without, though I have never purchased figs to make 2 separate advancing/charging displays. Conserved money. I hear different versions of "the proper way" and I think that what was done in action depended sometimes on the unit commander and what he decided or felt he should or remembered to do.
No offense to anyone who disagrees with me. You just may be correct. Good chance, as a matter of fact.

Just realized something. I was not concerned about the bayonets on those figs. I was more concerned about the position the guns are being held. Is one more for march moving up near the firing line and the other for march of route when not close to firing line. If I use a marching unit, it needs to exits just behind the firing line like a unit coming up to support a firing unit on the firer's flank. Maybe I have clarified what I am looking for.
Thanks!

Soldiers making a route march were usually given the command "arms at will", which allowed them to carry their arms any way that was comfortable to them.

As 79thPA points out 'Shoulder Arms' is the most common arms position. Soldiers falling into ranks would be at shoulder arms. All of the other arms positions would proceed from that starting point. The loading procedure also ends with the soldier returning to shoulder arms. 'Right Shoulder Shift' is used automatically any time the men go to the double-quick pace. Double Quick can be ordered specifically by the commander, but there are also some maneuvers, like "By Company Into Line" which automatically call for the double quick and Right Shoulder Shift is used there.

On the march, officers would frequently shift the arms position because carrying the musket in one position for a long time could get very tiring. Shoulder Arms, Right Shoulder Shift Arms, and Support Arms (similar to the classic 'Attack March" seen in Napoleonic figures) were the three most common positions. As William Warner notes, on route marches the men were allowed to carry their arms 'at will' and then they could carry them any way they wanted, even slinging them with the carrying strap.

Bayonets would usually only be fixed if close combat was anticipated.

Interesting. I'm not in a re-inactor group but I did spend quite some time on a Navy/Marine drill team. When we wanted to march for a distance we used Carry Arms and for double time Port Arms. In fact the great Marine Attack scene in the movie Wind and Lion was pretty accurate to the way we drilled, but they and I am a century later than the ACW so things probably changed quite a bit. Appreciate everyone's expertise here!

Shortly after the war 'Shoulder Arms' was renamed 'Carry Arms'. Port Arms existed during the Civil War, but I don't think it was used very much. Really awkward in close order formations.

Port Arms is not included in Hardee's or Casey's manual of arms, but is in Scott's and is also referenced in the duties of a sentinel. Right Shoulder Shift was the general carry position for moving troops. Trail Arms was also used when moving troops.

Before the war the position of Shoulder Arms was called the NCO's Carry and then became known as the Riflemen's Carry. Carry Arms was the position where the musket was carried with the left hand on the butt, left arm straight down along the soldier's side, and the musket's barrel forward. This position was still many manuals (Gilham's for one)at the time of the ACW, but again not in Hardee's nor Casey's (both of which are Manuals for light infantry and rifles).

As to the bayonets, yes they are a pain when loading and firing, but generaly troops would have them fixed on a battlefield.