Signs and Countersigns

[jandksuttorp]

Hey Comrades,
I laughed out loud when I read this last night. It is from the diary of Michael Reid Hanger, Pvt. in the "Rockbridge Rifles" of the 5th Virginia Infantry;

Oct. 20th, Sunday (1861)

Windy to day. Our Company has orders to go on Picquet today, 10. o'clock. we are now on Picquet, in the Alexandria and Winchester Road Leesburg road &c. We hear heavy firing out to the right of us, The Countersign is = Inkerman, We have the same old signal. Halt any one, throw up the left arm, he whom you halt must then take off his hat or cap. and pass it down below his face. If he fails to do this "Fire". this is the day signal.) The night signal is the sentinel strikes his leg 2 or three times with his hand. The person whom he halts. has to cough 2 or 3 times or clear his throat, if he fails to do this. "Fire" at him. We were releived about 11. o'clock today. We came on to Centreville, we got here about 3 o'clock P.M. Joe Neff. Kahle. and H. Smith were here Bill Kahle gave us a treat this evening. Our forces are fortifying here in a hurry.


John Eric Suttorp

[Hank Trent]

Okay, but what's the signal for a curve ball?

That's hilarious.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Secesh]

Now if they had only clicked their heels 3 times and said "There's no place like home."...!

[Dale Beasley]

Hank,

It depends on which way you want the curve to go.

BTW, Shrimp was $4.00 a pound yesterday in Hammond.

[DougCooper]

Pretty common actually - especially the night signals.

[Hank Trent]

Okay, seriously now, I was curious...

Both signals require the picket to take one hand off his gun, or at least that's how I'm picturing it being done. I guess it probably wasn't a major problem in real life because most people approaching the pickets were friendly, but in theory, shouldn't the picket be at the highest readiness just as someone's approaching, rather than balancing his gun in one hand while he taps his leg or raises his left arm?

Was it common for signals to require the picket to do something that decreased his ability to aim and fire in a hurry?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Jimmayo]

I thought the same thing about having one hand off the gun. However, I was always of the opinion that picketts on roads or crossings where encounters were expected usually numbered more than one. It would be too easy to pick off one pickett to enable a road or crossing to be used unobserved. Pickett lines spread out across terrain could probably get by with one at each post if not too far apart. Notice the account also uses the word "we".

[Duff]

FLASH!

I know some guys who could have ALOT of fun with this kind of thing...

[huntdaw]

Hmmm, if you were a bit hard of hearing or the wind was blowing hard away from you, you might not hear that hand slapping on the leg and could get quite a surprise.

[dnaples]

I've done picket at night a few times with the signals being slaps on the knee. When walking up to a picket, especially in the woods, it seemed really hard for me to hear the slaps, yet somehow we got it to work. I see this as a way not to give up the position of the picket to the opposing line.