Cavalry Drill 1661

Spanish Cavalry Regiments 1672-78

In doing some research for military matters in the 1670s, I came across this interesting piece on cavalry drill from 1661. The author was a theologian and academic who was travelling in the Low Countries and in the later part of his work, which is mostly about religious sites and customs, he includes a few interesting anecdotes. Given that he travelled through areas under Spanish rule, I assume he was describing an exercise carried out by Spanish troops.

I think my translation is correct! But if not, it still gives a good idea of what was happening and telling us something about cavalry units and their drill/tactics at that time.

On the Exercise of Cavalrymen.

“When one or more captains want to carry out an exercise, the companies’ trumpeters sound ‘boots and saddles’ and the soldiers return an hour later in front of the house of their captains or, in their absence, their lieutenants. One draws them up first in three ranks of fifty troopers, then the trumpeter sounds the ‘march’ and the cavalrymen set off four by four, as far as a field, or a place suitable to carry out the exercise. There one draws up at once a squadron in three ranks, who march forward, as if it was against the enemy, trot and gallop the horses, in order to see if they keep their ranks well, then they ride to the right and left. That makes the squadron split into two, the captain putting himself as the head of one, and his lieutenant at the head of the other. They leave a space of two or three hundred paces between the squadrons who face directly towards each other. Some cavalrymen are sent out to reconnoitre, who each fire a pistol shot, in order to alert their companions that the enemy is there and that they must fight. At the same time the two squadrons march close to each other, pistols in hand, and they fire them, then one turns to the right, and the other to the left, shooting the pistols. Afterwards, they draw their swords and they sometimes strike each other. At the end they make a short march, then they reassemble and they return to the lodgings of their captain who thanks them.”

M. de Saint-Martin, Relation d’un voyage fait en Flandres, Brabant, Hainaut, Artois, Cambresis, etc. En l’an 1661, Caen, 1667, pp. 443-445.