Excerpt from Report of Committee on Military Gymnastics and Drill in the Public Schools, 1864 I would suggest that some system be adopted which would require only boys of a certam mm, or age, to drill. I prefer the former, as I find many boys of twelve years of age larger and more able to carry a gun of proper size, than others of fourteen or more years, and I think it of the greatest importance they should be furnished with arms of a proper size, as it contributes greatly to the use of the drill as a cal exercise. The U. S Degrees pattern now furnished the militia a proper arm so far as weight is concerned; but it is too 1 great many boys large enough to drill therefore I think the short preferable to any other. I am under great obligations to the Masters of the several sch for their valuable assistance. They have been always present at drills, and ready to aid me in every possible way. The conduct of boys was good, and no case of insubordination occurred, but all see to try to perfect themselves. I think the presence of the Masters a great advantage, as the boys felt they were under the eye of teacher as at school, and that they took notice of any irregularities. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.