The musket is the effective weapon on the battlefield; which makes the musketeer the main fighting soldier.

This division of musketeers is organised as follows: Officer; Sergeant; Corporals or file leaders; Musketeers.

This is the view of the current divisional officer

Officer's View by Lieutenant, Stephen Ward :

The Civil War was a time of great technological change as well as political change, with traditional weapons such as the longbow making way for the more modern gunpowder weapons, the successors of which are still in use today. At the start of the Civil War most regiments comprised equal proportions of pike and musket, but by the end of the war most Royalist regiments were almost exclusively musketeers. In Tyldesley’s we aim to portray the musketeer in his ascendancy.

Leading a unit of musketeers in battle, as well as being an honour, is also quite a responsibility. You have to be aware of the position of your troops and to adjust their formation to suit the situation. As an officer you are in charge of the macro of tactics, as well as the micro of formation and foot drill. You have to watch for the opposition troops and to look out for marauding units of pikemen and horse. You need to be particularly aware of the safety of your soldiers who are festooned with explosive chemicals and burning slowmatch.

In fulfilling my role as an officer I am aided by the Sergeant, Corporals and the musketeers themselves. Every one of them is a friend and a comrade in arms. I know what it is like to serve in the ranks and have risen from the ranks via corporal and sergeant. I still relish the thrill of firing a musket when I get the opportunity. Some of the musketeers are former officers who know what it is like to be the man out in front. In the future, some of the other musketeers will get their chance to lead.

Despite being re-enactors of the 17^th Century, the musketeers have some useful 20^th century attitudes, including the importance of safety; a 'buddy' system where the more experienced musketeers look after the new recruits; and a non-discrimination policy that results in a number of female musketeers in the ranks. One of the reasons that the musket replaced the bow is of course that it takes 20 years to train an archer but only 20 minutes to train a musketeer. We can train new musketeers to fire safely in a similar time providing that they have the relevant 20^th century licences. Perfecting the role takes a lifetime.

There are some down sides to being an officer, including dealing with a certain amount of paperwork and regimental management. This keeps me busy during the time between events.

Off the field of battle my musketeers are a very sociable group. Tyldesley’s really know how to party. Other re-enactment societies have commented that they don't know where we get the energy. We work hard and we play hard.