The U.S. Army learned to drill from Hardee's. Lieutenant Colonel William J. Hardee's Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics — published in 1855 and revised in 1860 — was the standard infantry drill manual the U.S. Army used through the Civil War. It covered every motion the infantry executed: marching, manual of arms, line of battle, firing, the formal positions of rest. The Confederate army adopted the same manual unchanged when the war began. The result was that both sides spent the war drilling to the same standards, on the same commands, in the same positions. A sergeant at parade rest in Federal blue stood exactly the same way as a sergeant at parade rest in Confederate gray.

This W. Britain figure depicts a Union infantry sergeant at parade rest — the formal standing position prescribed by Hardee's manual, with the rifle held vertically across the body, left hand near the muzzle, right hand on the small of the stock, the rifle butt resting on the toe of the right boot. The sergeant wears the Model 1858 enlisted sack coat or frock coat in dark blue, light blue trousers, dark forage cap, and the sergeant's three-stripe chevrons on both sleeves. The bayonet is fixed. The figure works as a guard, sentinel, or formation figure for any Federal infantry diorama. Pair this figure with Union Forever Marching Set for a regimental column with an NCO at attention; with Col. Henry A. Morrow as a regimental commander reviewing troops; or with Federal Infantry in Frock Coat Advancing for a contrast between formation and action.

Scale: 1/30 (60mm). Matte-painted metal. W. Britain model 31463. From the American Civil War range. Single foot figure, supplied painted and ready for display.