A Treatise on the Tactical Use of the Three Arms

A Treatise on the Tactical Use of the Three Arms: Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry is a work by Francis J. Lippitt, entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865. The table of contents covers the tactical use of infantry, with entries on formations for attack, bayonet charges, squares and skirmishers, and the tactical use of artillery. The text says infantry may advance to attack in either of three ways: in column; in line, marching by the front; and by the flank, that is, in line but faced to a flank. The text says the decisive effect of infantry is produced by a rush on the enemy with the bayonet.

The text says the best mode of posting batteries is in the form of a crescent, its horns pointing towards the enemy, for this gives a convergent fire to the enemy's divergent one. The text says cavalry should therefore never be practised on the drill-ground in charging a square, as the horses would thereby acquire the habit of suddenly checking their course.