Silas' 1861 Manual of Arms for the Smoothbore Musket

This is a free, text booklet of the manual of arms for the smoothbore musket which anyone can download and print. The text derives directly from the U.S. Infantry Tactics of 1861. It was originally designed as the manual of arms to be used by the reenactors who portrayed Companies E and H of the 1st U.S. Artillery at the 150th anniversary of the Siege and Seizure of Fort Sumter.

This booklet is free to download. It has been created for use in the field. Don't worry if the rain gets to it. Use it for fire starter. Use it as necessary paper. Maybe even read it. If it gets destroyed, print another when you get home. It's that simple. You won't find a better manual for the price, but you can pay much more for a lesser manual. As far as printing and reprinting the manual is concerned :

This booklet of the smoothbore drill has been published to the internet in two different formats : (1) standard and (2) booklet. The standard, side-by-side version allows the viewer to examine each page in a sequential order. Each printed sheet contains consecutive numbering. The booklet version is formatted for double sided printing. The pages do not become consecutive until printed and folded into a booklet.

Printing Instructions for the standard version :

The standard version requires no special instructions for printing. It is a "what you see is what you get" document. It's a good reference when you are looking for something in particular from the convenience of your monitor. As a printout, it's not as good as the booklet, but it works. Click here and print : http://draytons.tripod.com/drill/2ColSumterManualMusketRegular.pdf

It works in a pinch, but what you really want is the booklet.

Printing Instructions for the Booklet :

This document has been specially formatted to print as a booklet. This pdf booklet requires double sided printing as well as a pdf reader. Any printer can produce double sided product. There are sixteen page sides which requires eight sheets of paper to print the entire booklet. You need to perform two printings.

First, click on this link to open the odd pages for the booklet : http://draytons.tripod.com/drill/2ColSumterManualMusketOdds.pdf

Open the document and select print. Check the print properties making certain that the print orientation is on LANDSCAPE, not portrait. Print these eight sheets. Don't rearrange the sheets. Reinsert the sheets into your printer making certain that :

(1) the blank sides will be printed next,
(2) the first page printed previously will be the first page printed in this second printing, and
(3) the edge of the paper which exited the printer initially will now be the last edge to leave printer.

It sounds harder to describe than it really is. I just scoop my first set of copies as they are printed, flip them without rearranging the individual pages so that the blank side will now be printed, and drop the stack into the paper feeder of my printer.

Second, click on this second link to open the even pages : http://draytons.tripod.com/drill/2ColSumterManualMusketEvens.pdf

Print. If you've done it right, you've got a two sided booklet.