At the trail

[Leman]

Jawohl!

[holdfast]

Mollinary is as ever correct. But it is worth remembering that because the Prussians had a breech loader there is no need to ram the round down the barrel from the front so the chance of impaling your hand goes down a lot.
With the SLR the unfix bayonets carried the risk of pulling jerking the bayonet upwards into the lower jaw, probably no longer allowed on HSE grounds.

[paulr]

Though considering what gets done to English here, German's getting off lightly.

German is getting off lightly 

[Leman]

I believe the apostrophe is in the correct place for the written version of informal spoken English.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

I believe the apostrophe is in the correct place for the written version of informal spoken English.

Isn't that called GIBBERISH

IanS

[Westmarcher]

Und zo, back to der topik!

Thanks guys. The Prussian Koniggratz print has convinced me that rifles or muskets were angled when held 'at the trail.' Seems to me that's the best for trotting or running without wasting time to carry out any further formation changes (e.g., to widen the gap between ranks to stop weapons clashing).

American participants commented on how rapidly the Brits advanced and from the Brits viewpoint I can see the need to narrow that gap between you and the enemy as quickly as possible - otherwise the Yanks will have more time to reload and fire more shots at you. I imagine they would also have run with bayonets fixed (as per the Prussian print) with no regard for Health & Safety (particularly the enemy's) and by the time of the "Huzzah!" will have grabbed the musket with both hands and charged in. I was also perusing the Perry Miniatures website and they also show Brits advancing at the trail with muskets held at an angle (see plastic box range illustration).

https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_62&products_id=2832&osCsid=vbs8m1pjlgj7rivieph8ji5un1

Therefore (donning Barrister's wig) I believe we can rest our case, m'lud. Weapons 'at the trail' were held at an angle and not horizontally which is for parade grounds only.
Thanks, again.

[FierceKitty]

I believe the apostrophe is in the correct place for the written version of informal spoken English.

I believe you are possibly correct.

[John Cook]

What exactly is meant by carrying muskets 'at the trail?' I understand that this involves carrying muskets low and in the right hand but are the weapons held horizontally or almost vertically or what? If held horizontally, it seems to me there is potential for accidents (with fixed bayonets!) or clattering of other soldiers' muskets unless the gap between ranks is considerably extended.

No, not horizontally in the 18th/19th century, the weapon was far too long.  Take a look at this link: 

http://acws.co.uk/gilhams/gilharm5.htm

[Westmarcher]

Many thanks for that further confirmation, John. 

So glad there was also an illustration - for a while, I was perplexed by the sentence, "The butt should be kept about three inches off the ground and the right hand held at the hip."    

Shades of ....... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Qhbdijv5Y !    Regards.

[Hertsblue]

That would seem to be an incredibly tiring way to carry a musket/rifle. Particularly if you carry it with the arm bent. It's always easier to carry a weight with a straight arm.

[holdfast]

Whatever any regulations say, you carry it at the point of balance in a way that you are comfortable with in real life.