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From A Military Treatise...
When a Serjeant or Corporal goes to relieve Centries, he must first examine the Men's Arms that are to relieve, and see the every Thing is in good Order. Those with Firelocks are to fix their Bayonets, prime, load, and shoulder; then the Serjeant or Corporal marches them off, to relieve those with shouldered Arms; and having approached the first Man to be relieved, gives the Word, Halt! then, Rest your Firelocks! The Centry who is to be relieved, is to rest his Firelock at the same Time; the Serjeant or Corporal then orders the first who is to go on Duty to relieve the centry, upon which he recovers his Arms, and advances within a Pace of the Centry, then halts, rests his Firelock, and receives the Orders relating to that post, from the Centry who is to be relieved; to which the Serjeant or Corporal is to give Attention, lest some Part of the orders might be omitted. As soon as the old Centry has delivered his Orders, they both recover their Arms, and exchange Places, then rest their Firelocks again; this being done, the Serjeant or Corporal orders the other Men to shoulder, at which the two Centries do the sme, and the Centry who is relieved, falls into the Rear of the Relief; then the Serjeant or Corporal marches to the next Post.
The Centries with shouldered Arms being relieved, the Serjeant or Corporal relieves those with ordered Arms (if there be any) by the following Words of Command,
Rest your Firelocks!
At which the Relief, together with the Centry to be relieved, come to their rest as usual.
Poise your Firelocks! March!
The Centry delivers the Orders relating to his Post, after which the Centry who relieves, marches to his Post; the Centry who is relieved, falls into the Relief, faces to the left-about to his proper Front, carrying his Firelock poised.
Rest your firelocks!
Shoulder your Firelocks
At which the Relief shoulder their Firelocks, and the Centry posted, orders his Firelock.
The Serjeant or Corporal, in giving the Word of Command, is to stand a little advanced upon the right Flank of the Relief, facing to the Relief, with his Halbard ordered or his Firelock over the left Arm. He is to march successively from one Centry to another, and at the relieving of each, give the Word of Command in the Manner already directed.
NB During the relieving of a Centry, the whole Relief must always stand with rested Arms.
When a Guard is mounted, the Serjeant or Corporal returns with the relieved Centries to the Guard, and when they fall in, must come to the left-about; the Officer must receive them with his Guard shouldered; and after the relieved Centries have fallen in, he is to size the Guard properly again.
When the Centries are to be relieved, they are to advance their Cutlasses , when they see the Relief coming; the Man who is to relieve, is to advance his cutlass lifewise, when the the Relief halts; then step up to the old Centry, receive his orders, and take possession of his Post. The old Centry is to fall into the Relief, as before directed; and the Serjeant or Corporal proceeds to the next Post. All the Centries being relieved, he reports it to his Officer.
All Centries are to be vigilant on their Posts; neither are they to sing, smoke Tobacco, or suffer any Noise to be made near them. They are not to sit down, lay their Arms out of their Hands, or sleep; but to keep moving about their Posts, if the Weather will allow of it.
They are not to suffer any one to touch or handle their Arms; or in the Night-time to come within the Reach of them. They are not to suffer any Light to be near their Posts; neither is any to be relieved but by a Serjeant or Corporal.
When a Centinel is taken ill on his post, or that the Cold is so great that he cannot support himself under it, he is to call the Serjeant or Corporal of the Watch, and acquaint him with it, in order to his being relieved.
When an Officer, Serjeant, or Corporal goes to visit the Centries in the night, they are to challenge when he comes near them, Who comes there! And when a Centry is answered, the Visit, he is to say, Stand Visit, advance one with the Counter Sign, upon which he rests his Firelock, and permits the person, who is to give the Counter Sign, to approach to the Muzzle of it; that none in the Ship may discover the Counter sign, which must be spoke very near, and no louder than necessary for the Centry to hear. This Precaution may, perhaps, be thought unnecessary; but in an Enemy's Port we cannot take too much Precaution; for if the Centries are negligent, Boars may come under the Bows, kill the Centries, and surprize the Ship; which was the Case in Luisbourg Harbour and ought to be a Lesson to all Centries on board.
A Centry who is found sleeping upon his Psot, or suffers it to be surprized through Negligence, is to be punished with Death; therefore all Centries must be very alert, that they may avoid falling into these enormous Crimes.
The Centries posted with Firelocks, are to call out every Quarter of an Hour after it is dark, with a loud Voice, All is well: or if any Thing is wrong, to call it out immediately. Upon the first's saying All is well, the next to him is to say the same and so on from one to another, till it comes quite round to him who began it; but in Case of an Alarm, when the first Centry calls out, the Centries below with Cutlasses are to repeat it, that the Ship's Company may know immediately, and repair to Quarters, to repulse the Enemy or remedy whatever is amiss.
When the first Centry who calls, finds that the Word does not come punctually round, he is immediately to acquaint the Serjeant or Corporal of the Watch with it, who must visit all the Centries in order to find out where it stopped, that the offender may be brought to Punishment.
The Centries must not be suffered to make a Joke of calling out in the Night; the Use of it should be explained to young Soldiers; and if afterwards they neglect it, they must be severely punished.
When Boats are along side, the Centries are to keep a very strict Eye upon them, taking Care that nothing is put in or taken out, but by Leave from the Quarter Deck.
They are to be particularly cirsumspect in regard to Women and People who are suspected to conceal Liquor; it being the Duty of Centries at the Gangways to see such Persons examined before they permit them to pass their Posts.
They are not to suffer any Boats to go from or come to the Ship, either by Night or Day, without acquainting the Quarter Deck with it.
The Centries are not to suffer any Person to jump upon the Gunnel, or into Boats; after it is dark, without Orders: And if a Boat should happen to get away from the Ship without Leave, the Centries must fire into her, and repeat the same till they compel her to return to the Ship.
If any person jumps overboard to swim on Shore, or on board of another Ship, the Centries are to fire upon him immediately, and oblige him to return; but they must be cautious not to fire upon any Person that may have fallen overboard by Accident, in which Case they are to acquaint the Quarter Deck with it.
When a Centry is posted over prisoners, the first Thing he is to do, after he receives Orders, is to examine if any of the Prisoners are drunk, or troublesome; that the former Centry may be punished for suffering it, and he not blamed. He must not allow Prisoners to smoak Tobacco, carry Knives or any Weapons about them, or make the laest Noise: But if they persist in being troublesome, he is by no Means to abuse them, but make Use of fair Words; and if that has no Effect, he must make a Complaint to the Serjeant or Corporal of the Watch.
If a Centry sees any Part of the Ship on fire, or hears of any Mutiny or Conspiracy, he, in that Case, is permitted to quit his Post for a Moment, and go to the Officer of the Watch to acquaint him of it privately and without Confusion that the Ship may not be alarmed, then return to his Post.
Centries that are placed over Goods, Ammunition, Stores. Vicutals, Liquors, &c, must not suffer any Person to touch them, except those who have Business there. In general, they must take great Care of all that is committed to their Charge, and suffer nothing about them to be destroyed, or taken away, much less be guilty of doing it themselves; and when they are relieved, must deliver all up in good Order, on Pain of being severely punished.
It is the Duty of Centries to put a Stop to all Mutiny, Noise and Quarrels that happen near their Posts, and report the same to the Serjeant or Corporal of the Watch.
The Centries, in the Winter-time, should be relieved every hour in the Night, that they may be the better able to perform their Duty, and in the Day they should be relieved every two Hours.
The Serjeants and Corporals are frequently to go Rounds in their Watch in the Night; see that every Centry behaves well, that those below take proper Care of their Lights and that the Lanthorns are always in good Order, cautioning every Centry not to suffer any Person whatever to light his Candle after Eight o'Clock, without Orders from the Officer of the Watch.
in good weather, the Centries who are posted with Firelocks, are to have the Marine Arms, wear their full Uniform and Caps, with their Hair well powdered and every Thing in the compleat Order; but in the bad Weather, they must use the black Arms of the Ship, and weat their old Cloathing.
Centries are never to rest their Firelocks in the Night, but when an Officer goes to visit then in a regular Manner.
Centries are never to challenge above thee Times; and if any Person approaches a Centry after that, without giving him an Answer, he must call out to him to Stand; and if he continues moving; and is mutinous or drunk, the Centry is to take him Prisoner, and pass the Word to the Quarter Deck, that the Prisoner may be put in Irons, till he can be chastised in the Morning for offering to insult a Centry on his Psot, which should never be suffered, yet I have seen it trifled with in many Ships.
If a Centry at any Time is attacked on his Post, by any Person whatever, and he sees there is a Design to take away his Life or deprive him of his Arms, he must put such Person to Death, when it cannot, confidently with his own Safety, be avoided; but every Method should be tried before he come to this Extremity.
N.B., Centries are to rest their Firelocks to the Captain of the Ship they belong to, when he goes out of the Ship, or comes on board, any Time between Sun-rise and Sun-set; but to all other Officers under the Rank of a Brigadier-General, the Centries stand shouldered. The above Compliment is meant to be paid to a Captain in his own Ship only.
When the Arms are grounded upon Deck, and a Centry is posted over them, he must not suffer any person whatever to touch the Arms, or walk over them; and if he sees their being laid there hinders any Duty in the Ship, he must immediately acquaint the Serjeant of it, that they may be taken out of the Way.
N.B. That every Man may know how to behave on his Post, both by Day and Night, the Serjeants and the Corporals are to give Directions to their Centries every Relief; which must be explained to such as are ignorant of their Duty: And when a Serjeant or Corporal visits the Centries, he must make the young Soldiers repeat their Orders every Time, and continue this Practice till his Duty, as Centry, becomes familiar to every Man.
When a Serjeant or Corporal goes to relieve Centries, he must first examine the Men's Arms that are to relieve, and see the every Thing is in good Order. Those with Firelocks are to fix their Bayonets, prime, load, and shoulder; then the Serjeant or Corporal marches them off, to relieve those with shouldered Arms; and having approached the first Man to be relieved, gives the Word, Halt! then, Rest your Firelocks! The Centry who is to be relieved, is to rest his Firelock at the same Time; the Serjeant or Corporal then orders the first who is to go on Duty to relieve the centry, upon which he recovers his Arms, and advances within a Pace of the Centry, then halts, rests his Firelock, and receives the Orders relating to that post, from the Centry who is to be relieved; to which the Serjeant or Corporal is to give Attention, lest some Part of the orders might be omitted. As soon as the old Centry has delivered his Orders, they both recover their Arms, and exchange Places, then rest their Firelocks again; this being done, the Serjeant or Corporal orders the other Men to shoulder, at which the two Centries do the sme, and the Centry who is relieved, falls into the Rear of the Relief; then the Serjeant or Corporal marches to the next Post.
The Centries with shouldered Arms being relieved, the Serjeant or Corporal relieves those with ordered Arms (if there be any) by the following Words of Command,
At which the Relief, together with the Centry to be relieved, come to their rest as usual.
The Centry delivers the Orders relating to his Post, after which the Centry who relieves, marches to his Post; the Centry who is relieved, falls into the Relief, faces to the left-about to his proper Front, carrying his Firelock poised.
Shoulder your Firelocks
At which the Relief shoulder their Firelocks, and the Centry posted, orders his Firelock.
The Serjeant or Corporal, in giving the Word of Command, is to stand a little advanced upon the right Flank of the Relief, facing to the Relief, with his Halbard ordered or his Firelock over the left Arm. He is to march successively from one Centry to another, and at the relieving of each, give the Word of Command in the Manner already directed.
NB During the relieving of a Centry, the whole Relief must always stand with rested Arms.
When a Guard is mounted, the Serjeant or Corporal returns with the relieved Centries to the Guard, and when they fall in, must come to the left-about; the Officer must receive them with his Guard shouldered; and after the relieved Centries have fallen in, he is to size the Guard properly again.
When the Centries are to be relieved, they are to advance their Cutlasses , when they see the Relief coming; the Man who is to relieve, is to advance his cutlass lifewise, when the the Relief halts; then step up to the old Centry, receive his orders, and take possession of his Post. The old Centry is to fall into the Relief, as before directed; and the Serjeant or Corporal proceeds to the next Post. All the Centries being relieved, he reports it to his Officer.
All Centries are to be vigilant on their Posts; neither are they to sing, smoke Tobacco, or suffer any Noise to be made near them. They are not to sit down, lay their Arms out of their Hands, or sleep; but to keep moving about their Posts, if the Weather will allow of it.
They are not to suffer any one to touch or handle their Arms; or in the Night-time to come within the Reach of them. They are not to suffer any Light to be near their Posts; neither is any to be relieved but by a Serjeant or Corporal.
When a Centinel is taken ill on his post, or that the Cold is so great that he cannot support himself under it, he is to call the Serjeant or Corporal of the Watch, and acquaint him with it, in order to his being relieved.
When an Officer, Serjeant, or Corporal goes to visit the Centries in the night, they are to challenge when he comes near them, Who comes there! And when a Centry is answered, the Visit, he is to say, Stand Visit, advance one with the Counter Sign, upon which he rests his Firelock, and permits the person, who is to give the Counter Sign, to approach to the Muzzle of it; that none in the Ship may discover the Counter sign, which must be spoke very near, and no louder than necessary for the Centry to hear. This Precaution may, perhaps, be thought unnecessary; but in an Enemy's Port we cannot take too much Precaution; for if the Centries are negligent, Boars may come under the Bows, kill the Centries, and surprize the Ship; which was the Case in Luisbourg Harbour and ought to be a Lesson to all Centries on board.
A Centry who is found sleeping upon his Psot, or suffers it to be surprized through Negligence, is to be punished with Death; therefore all Centries must be very alert, that they may avoid falling into these enormous Crimes.
The Centries posted with Firelocks, are to call out every Quarter of an Hour after it is dark, with a loud Voice, All is well: or if any Thing is wrong, to call it out immediately. Upon the first's saying All is well, the next to him is to say the same and so on from one to another, till it comes quite round to him who began it; but in Case of an Alarm, when the first Centry calls out, the Centries below with Cutlasses are to repeat it, that the Ship's Company may know immediately, and repair to Quarters, to repulse the Enemy or remedy whatever is amiss.
When the first Centry who calls, finds that the Word does not come punctually round, he is immediately to acquaint the Serjeant or Corporal of the Watch with it, who must visit all the Centries in order to find out where it stopped, that the offender may be brought to Punishment.
The Centries must not be suffered to make a Joke of calling out in the Night; the Use of it should be explained to young Soldiers; and if afterwards they neglect it, they must be severely punished.
When Boats are along side, the Centries are to keep a very strict Eye upon them, taking Care that nothing is put in or taken out, but by Leave from the Quarter Deck.
They are to be particularly cirsumspect in regard to Women and People who are suspected to conceal Liquor; it being the Duty of Centries at the Gangways to see such Persons examined before they permit them to pass their Posts.
They are not to suffer any Boats to go from or come to the Ship, either by Night or Day, without acquainting the Quarter Deck with it.
The Centries are not to suffer any Person to jump upon the Gunnel, or into Boats; after it is dark, without Orders: And if a Boat should happen to get away from the Ship without Leave, the Centries must fire into her, and repeat the same till they compel her to return to the Ship.
If any person jumps overboard to swim on Shore, or on board of another Ship, the Centries are to fire upon him immediately, and oblige him to return; but they must be cautious not to fire upon any Person that may have fallen overboard by Accident, in which Case they are to acquaint the Quarter Deck with it.
When a Centry is posted over prisoners, the first Thing he is to do, after he receives Orders, is to examine if any of the Prisoners are drunk, or troublesome; that the former Centry may be punished for suffering it, and he not blamed. He must not allow Prisoners to smoak Tobacco, carry Knives or any Weapons about them, or make the laest Noise: But if they persist in being troublesome, he is by no Means to abuse them, but make Use of fair Words; and if that has no Effect, he must make a Complaint to the Serjeant or Corporal of the Watch.
If a Centry sees any Part of the Ship on fire, or hears of any Mutiny or Conspiracy, he, in that Case, is permitted to quit his Post for a Moment, and go to the Officer of the Watch to acquaint him of it privately and without Confusion that the Ship may not be alarmed, then return to his Post.
Centries that are placed over Goods, Ammunition, Stores. Vicutals, Liquors, &c, must not suffer any Person to touch them, except those who have Business there. In general, they must take great Care of all that is committed to their Charge, and suffer nothing about them to be destroyed, or taken away, much less be guilty of doing it themselves; and when they are relieved, must deliver all up in good Order, on Pain of being severely punished.
It is the Duty of Centries to put a Stop to all Mutiny, Noise and Quarrels that happen near their Posts, and report the same to the Serjeant or Corporal of the Watch.
The Centries, in the Winter-time, should be relieved every hour in the Night, that they may be the better able to perform their Duty, and in the Day they should be relieved every two Hours.
The Serjeants and Corporals are frequently to go Rounds in their Watch in the Night; see that every Centry behaves well, that those below take proper Care of their Lights and that the Lanthorns are always in good Order, cautioning every Centry not to suffer any Person whatever to light his Candle after Eight o'Clock, without Orders from the Officer of the Watch.
in good weather, the Centries who are posted with Firelocks, are to have the Marine Arms, wear their full Uniform and Caps, with their Hair well powdered and every Thing in the compleat Order; but in the bad Weather, they must use the black Arms of the Ship, and weat their old Cloathing.
Centries are never to rest their Firelocks in the Night, but when an Officer goes to visit then in a regular Manner.
Centries are never to challenge above thee Times; and if any Person approaches a Centry after that, without giving him an Answer, he must call out to him to Stand; and if he continues moving; and is mutinous or drunk, the Centry is to take him Prisoner, and pass the Word to the Quarter Deck, that the Prisoner may be put in Irons, till he can be chastised in the Morning for offering to insult a Centry on his Psot, which should never be suffered, yet I have seen it trifled with in many Ships.
If a Centry at any Time is attacked on his Post, by any Person whatever, and he sees there is a Design to take away his Life or deprive him of his Arms, he must put such Person to Death, when it cannot, confidently with his own Safety, be avoided; but every Method should be tried before he come to this Extremity.
N.B., Centries are to rest their Firelocks to the Captain of the Ship they belong to, when he goes out of the Ship, or comes on board, any Time between Sun-rise and Sun-set; but to all other Officers under the Rank of a Brigadier-General, the Centries stand shouldered. The above Compliment is meant to be paid to a Captain in his own Ship only.
When the Arms are grounded upon Deck, and a Centry is posted over them, he must not suffer any person whatever to touch the Arms, or walk over them; and if he sees their being laid there hinders any Duty in the Ship, he must immediately acquaint the Serjeant of it, that they may be taken out of the Way.
N.B. That every Man may know how to behave on his Post, both by Day and Night, the Serjeants and the Corporals are to give Directions to their Centries every Relief; which must be explained to such as are ignorant of their Duty: And when a Serjeant or Corporal visits the Centries, he must make the young Soldiers repeat their Orders every Time, and continue this Practice till his Duty, as Centry, becomes familiar to every Man.
