Contrary to popular belief, it was not common for eighteenth-century armies to march fully formed and in step. Contemporary military theorists all agreed that it achieved nothing – other than tiring the men (and the drummers) out unnecessarily. More commonly, once a formation was en route, the soldats would be ordered to carry their arms at their ease. In our case, “arme a volonte”, demonstrated here!
They were no longer required to keep their alignement, although could not deviate from their place in the formation, and were not strictly required to keep step. However, from our own experience, any group of people walking somewhere together often end up in step anyway!
Photo by kind permission of Skipping Red Panda
Le Régiment Gatinois 