emblem
THE SWAGGER STICK:
INFORMATION AS TO ITS ORIGIN, HISTORY,
EVOLUTION, USE, RELATION TO THE MILITARY,
THE U. S. MARINE CORPS, ETC.

by R. W.  "Dick" Gaines
GnySgt USMC (Ret.)
1952 (Plt #437)--1972
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!

Platoon #104, PISC, 1956
The D.I., 1957
~~~~~~~

I have found no one complete, useful treatise on the "Swagger Stick," relating to its history, use, the USMC, etc. The following information is the result of my research, over several years time for such information, via the Internet, disussions on message boards, e-mail, books and other publications, etc. I personally recall that the swagger stick became a mandatory item of equipment for all SNCOs and officers in January 1956, when General Randolph McCall Pate became Commandant of the Marine Corps, but it then became optional, four years later, with the appointment of General David M. Shoup as Commandant.

Here is probably the best introduction to this topic for Marines who may not already know that much about the subject. In my opinion, and from my own observation, it is the one writing on the subject most often cited when questions arise among younger Marines pertaining to  the swagger stick.
-RWG
~~~~~~~
The Swagger Stick
by Blackie Cahill, Colonel of Marines, USMC

Here is some information on the swagger stick. Probably the best description of it's function may be quoted from a British Regimental Sergeant Major instructing new officers. "Now gentlemen, the swagger stick is not for rattling along railings, cleaning out drains at home, or swiping the heads of poor innocent little flowers. Nor is it for poking into stomachs or for fencing duels in the mess line. No, gentlemen, it is to make you walk like officers and above all to keep your hands out of your pockets". 

In the Marine Corps, the swagger stick came into vogue in the latter part of the 19th century, and was a required article of uniform until WWI. The first actual presentation of the swagger stick was made in 1569 when Charles IX of France made his brother Henry a Generalissimo and gave him one to signify his appointment.

In 1959, the Marine Corps had a new commandant. General D. M. Shoup had changes on his mind when he took over the position. Most famous of these changes was the banishing of the swagger stick to a place on the closet shelf next to the "Sam Browne" belt . Shoup stated that a clean, neat, well fitted uniform with the Marine Corps emblem was tops. "There is one piece of equipment about which I have a definite opinion. It is the swagger stick.

It shall remain an optional item of interference, if you feel the need, carry it." The swagger stick almost disappeared over night. The fact that the carrying of a club denoted authority is almost as old as history itself. Despite the American prejudice against military show, swagger sticks appear from time to time with official sanction of local commanders.

Not only do they satisfy the human desire for something to occupy the hands, but they also help combat that horrible and most undesirable tendency of putting your hands in your pockets. I carried the swagger stick until just before I retired in 1978 when it was deleted from the Clothing Manual as an item.

At no time did any senior officer suggest to me that I put it on the shelf. I was definitely in the minority. Other Marines of equal and lower ranks would confide in me that they also would carry it, but didn't want to make a statement. To me it was a question of guts. On the bulkhead in my egomania room I have a plaque with four of my swagger sticks.

Two are official as officer and SNCO sticks. Another, with a .50 caliber cartridge at one end and the bullet at the other, I carried in Vietnam when I commanded a Marine Infantry Battalion, at Khe Sanh. I hope this will provide you with some of the information that you are looking for.

Blackie Cahill
Colonel of Marines, USMC

Ref
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-equip/pace-stick.htm(Please see the above website for addition information)

And,  there was Marine Major Jim Crowe at the battle of Tarawa in 1943...

"Major Jim Crowe, CO of 2nd battalion, 8th Marines, "was a tower of strength." (Across The Reef; l 5) PFC. Richard Spooner, F/2/8th Marines, recalled seeing Crowe in combat:

Oh my God, he was walking back and forth with that field swagger stick of his; you could spot that pointed red mustache a mile away. He's talking to the men quietly. "All right, Marines," he'd say, "try and pick out a target and squeeze off some rounds. You better kill some of those bastards or they'll kill you. You don't want to die, do you? Come on, now, let's kill some them!" There was one thing that helped me keep my sanity and that was Jim Crowe. my thoughts of Tarawa always come back to him."
(Berry, 145).

Ref
http://www.lejeune.usmc.mil/2dmardiv/32/tarawa.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another Jim Crowe story,  from the Tarawa Talk Forum...

"Peter Hayes
'Jim' Crowe
Tue Sep 2 05:08:20 2003
144.132.42.48

Crowe on Red-3,courtesy of Michael Graham's 'Mantle of Heroism':

THE LANDING
Crowe's landing craft came under fire coming in--Marines dived for cover but not Crowe who remained standing on the foredeck."The boys all hunched low on the troop deck--all except 'Big Jim'.He remained upright,staring angrily at the positions of the Jap guns."

Crowe's LVCP grounded to a halt five hundred yards from shore,the coxswain frozen in fear.Crowe shouted at him to drop the ramp but to no avail.Crowe ordered his men over the sides.1st Lt Fagan yelled out to Crowe that perhaps they should return to the transport for a coffee break if things did not work out.Crowe burst out laughing and continued wading ashore.

Crowe encountered some men streaming back past him,going in the opposite direction.He turned them around with "the sheer force of his personality"(plus I'd say his sharp tongue).

Fifty yards from shore a crippled LVT was reached,the driver trying to coax it ashore.Crowe and his party sheltered behind it as it reached the beach.It then ran over a mine and was waylaid.Crowe was pitched back into the surf by the force of the explosion but otherwise unharmed.

Crowe ashore 0940 hours.He later estimates the 2/8th Marines casualties as just 25 killed and wounded in the landing.

In 40 minutes the 2/8th had established a hundred-yard front between the sea and the seawall.Crowe was personally committed to getting the attack moving.Ignoring enemy gunfire he paraded defiantly up and down the beach..."move out...get off your asses and over that goddamm wall!"

Few dared to defy Crowe's words or risk his wrath;he clutched his swagger stick in one hand,shotgun in the other.Recalls one marine:"I wasn't about to try and swim away.I figured if I tried to,that old tiger would beat me to death with that cane of his."

NOTE:
The above is a post by Peter Hayes at the Tarawa Talk Forum
http://disc.server.com/Indices/149620.html
-RWG
HISTORY....
Although some mention is found alluding to an early use of swagger sticks or its equivalent in ealier cultures, namely Egyptian or African, the earliest reference is in relation to the equipment of the Roman Centurion.

"The final indication of rank was the vitis or vine staff, a swagger stick about three feet long tyically made of grape vine. It is known to have been used for whacking miscreant soldiers!"
Ref:
Legio XX--The Twentieth Legion, Roman Legion Organization and Officers, Equipment of The Centurion, 1/19/02.
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/orgoff.html
-RWG
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~
"The staff:

From the earliest times, the staff or stick has been a tool of power, be it the small boy using it to annoy small animals, the parent using it on a child (or an overseer on a slave) or for use in defense. It was inevitable that the staff would come to be a symbol of power, authority and obedience. Under its Greek name, skeptron (scepter), it became a symbol of soverignity, together with the crown it was the sign of kings, emperors and the like. Along with kings, others in positions of authority bore a scepter, be they religious leaders, law givers or guild masters. A broken staff was a symbol of lost power. The staff also became the symbol of delegated authority. The king might have his scepter, but his ambassadors, heralds and representatives throughout the land would have their staffs, evidence of their authority form the king. Even before this, the staff was a symbol of the messenger, no doubt because it was a light and adaptable weapon. Not just the messengers of rulers, but also gods. Biblical angels frequently bore a staff, as did Mercury and Hermes, who were the messengers of the classical gods.

Marshal's Baton

The staff also had military connections, as the marshal's baton it was a symbol of rank. In time "marshal" came to be replaced by the name of his symbol, hence the use of staff to refer to administrative personel as in "office staff". The marshall's baton also evolved into such diverse items as the "swagger stick" born by British officers to the conductor's baton.

The staff also has magical and divine implications. Moses and his staff, Bacchus' staff that brought pleasure. Homer's Circe, who used her wand to turn Odyssesus' men into pigs, Aesculapius, the god of healing, had his staff. From Moses' staff came the staff or rod of the magicians. Priests carried staffs, from many religions. Prophets, oracles and the like, those today in D&D terms would be called clerics. The traditional phrase of the conjurer, hocus pocus, is actually from the latin, Hoc est corpus ("This is the body", from the Catholic Mass).

The Wanderer

A staff is also a symbol of the wanderer, it is a wanderer's commonest and most useful tool. So naturally the staff came to symbolise the pilgrim, the beggar as well, a "special" type of wanderers. The need for a walking staff is also symbolic of frailty and old age. And while this may seem to be the opposite of its symbolism for power, it in fact also stands for the wisdom and knowledge that is often found in the old. Sire and sir both come from the latin senior, which means older. The staff symbolises not just authority through might, but also through wisdom and experience.
"
Ref: Symbols, by David Powell
http://www.triode.net.au/~dragon/art2.html
-RWG
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~

"The Hand-Carried
In no other culture is the hand-held object such a characteristic of male dominance and class status as it is in Great Britain. In paintings and photographs, in daily life and ceremony, the hand - usually the right - holds on to a particular device: the rolled umbrella, of course, and the suede gloves; but also the riding crop, the walking stick , even the cane when used for affectation only. Perhaps a vestigial artifact from the days of staffs and lances when pilgrims journeyed and knights jousted, the hand-carried object has added to both the costume and custom of "gentlemanly" social behavior.

Years ago, I walked across a hops field with Malcolm Muggeridge, the then recently retired of editor of Punch and creator of the most charged connotation of the word "establishment," an indication of his iconoclastic disposition. But with walking boots and walking staff, he led the way, all the while greeting the locals as I imagine a country squire must have some two centuries before, by lifting his walking stick in a sort of secular benediction. When I imagine the English nobility at is idle best, my mind turns to Ascot and its formal ecology. There, on well-kept turf, in garden and lounge, stands the English gentleman in formal attire, black or pearl-gray in color, top hat properly aligned, boutonniere as fresh as can be, and both gloved hands resting on the elegant walking stick , gold capped, as he speaks to this Lady or that Marchioness (In point of fact, Prince Charles appeared at the 1977 meet dressed in black formal wear and sporting a rolled umbrella.).

This matter of the hand-carried was extended to its furthest and farthest by the army. Even to this day, nothing is quite so brightly authoritative as the ritual swing about of the drum major's baton as one of the several royal army bands steps lively by or appears at the military tattoo of the annual Edinburgh International Festival. Another such martial instrument is the "swagger stick ," part of the officer's regalia when he is "walking out." Usually seen placed under the right arm pit, with the uplifted hand holding on to the stick's end, it was one of the most useless pieces of military equipment ever devised, but has served as an ideal instrument depicting the officer as gentleman.

Post-modernity will sweep all of this into Marx's famous dust bin of history . Nevertheless, the British carry on as they continue to hand-carry. Now, however, they are doing so in high-tech fashion, belatedly following the lead of their former subjects in the former crown colony of Hong Kong, who were carrying cell phones in abundance before anyone else."

Ref: From the Other Shore Homepage
by Raymond F. Betts
http://www.britannia.com/travel/betts/e5.html
-RWG
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~

The Scepter

"During the Middle Ages kingly power came to be symbolized by the scepter carried in the right hand, while a second staff or scepter known as the "Hand of Justice" was carried in the left. This scepter was surmounted by a hand in the act of blessing. In France, this custom of investing authority with two scepters dates from about 987 A.D. In England, during the latter part of the twelfth century, two scepters were bestowed upon Richard Coeur de Lion. "

The Staff

"Not to be outdone, the Church, bestowed the staff as a symbol of authority upon its highest officers. Early in this period, the pastoral staff was a symbol of the bishop?s prestige, and by the sixth century it directly represented his supremacy as shepherd of his people. The oldest examples of pastoral staffs were long, with crooked handles. The crook signified the bishop drawing the believers to him, while with the point he urged on the indifferent. The judges and officers of this period also carried the staff as a symbol of office. As late as the seventeenth century, all who exercised authority ? kings, priests, judges and military commanders ? were represented with some type of staff indicative of the power each possessed." (Source: Accessories of Dress by Katherine Morris Lester and Bess Viola Oerke, The Manual Arts Press, Peoria Illinois, pp 389-90.)

Cane or Walking Stick ?

The word "cane" had not been applied to the fashionable walking stick up to the sixteenth century. During his period, however, the thick, jointed stems of tropical grasses known as bamboo and cane, and the reed-like stem of several species of palm and rattan were introduced for the stick. These were called "canes." From that day forth, the walking stick of the past merged into the cane of the future. Today the terms are used interchangeable, though the saying. "One strolls with a walking stick and swaggers with a Cane!" tend to give grater dignity to the former. (Source: Accessories of Dress by Katherine Morris Lester and Bess Viola Oerke, The Manual Arts Press, Peoria Illinois, pp 392.)

Items of Historical Interest

The Cane as an Accessory

A cane was an important accessory for a man from the late 17th century through the early 20th. A cane made of quality wood, with a silver or gold handle, told of wealth and importance. Cane shafts usually were made of wood, but some interesting examples were made of dried animal skin, animals' spinal columns or even glass.

Collectors search for canes from the past as well as modern folk canes. Canes with hidden features - a sword, a camera, a tiny picture or a bottle to hold a swallow of liquor- are popular with collectors. Cane handles have been made of silver, gold, bone, glass, porcelain, and other substances. Many were carved or decorated with special features, such as snakes, dogs, humans, hands, feet and the heads of famous people. One popular design was the eagle head. The protruding beak was an ideal shape. Many of the eagle heads were made with the beak holding a small round "berry", like a laurel berry.

Egyptian Staffs

Many discoveries in Egypt would indicate that sticks from three to six feet long were frequently carried by Egyptians of exalted rank. These were often surmounted by an ornamental knob resembling the lotus. Others which are very characteristic of Egyptian sticks, show a peg projecting from one side near the tip from which a bag or bottle could be suspended.!

Middle Ages

Travelers or pilgrims, shepherds, and tillers of the soil usually carried a long stick or staff as part of their daily equipment.. The pilgrim's bourdon of this period was a heavy stick five feet in length tipped with an iron spike which was intended to assist in walking and climbing.
"
Ref: History of canes
http://www.canesandsuch.com/history.html
-RWG
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~

Ranks

"The practice of high ranks carrying a symbol of their command probably began very early in military history. Weapons alone (swords, for example) could not properly serve as insignia of authority since troops as well as officers carried them. Something more than just uniform trimmings, or even helmet crests & other special headwear, was required to clearly mark officers apart from their men.

We know that in England, officers of Charles II's reign flaunted their aristocratic status by carrying walking-sticks. Lesser ranks such as drum-majors carried some lesser kind of stick, which subsequently developed into the long parade staff or mace. The equestrian (mounted) soldier - usually a nobleman - carried a small cane or whip under his arm when 'walking out' (off-duty, hence the name 'swagger stick' - describing the typical gait of the soldier-on-the-town). Up until the end of World War One the off-duty infantryman too was permitted a cane or swaggerstick with ornamented head.

In the Great War itself, two classes of service stick were carried in the British Army, quite apart from the usual regimental canes (which were lengths of bamboo or rattan): a light cane with a crook handle, often leather covered, carried by officers engaged on duty in static units such as Military Hospitals in the UK; and a Trench Stick - a heavier piece with a carved handle, carried by officers serving in the field. In the interwar period, officers continued to carry sticks, and again in the 1939-45 war.

It was undoubtedly the 20th century's modernization of armies that allowed regimental canes & service sticks to survive: since commanding ranks no longer carried weapons, the need was felt for a symbolic vestige of the gallant place forfeited by officers at the hard edge of battle - leading the charge with sword held high. Thus officers carried sticks all the time during World War One, while men could do so only for walking out.

Today only the sticks of the British Queen's ceremonial Household Cavalry uniform serve as reminder of the chivalric arms of pre-scientific warfare."

-RWG
Ref: Sticks In History: Introduction
http:www.durban.gov.za/museums/localhistory/
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~
Update/Swagger Stick History Info Request

Although some mention is found alluding to an early use of swagger sticks, or its equivalent, in ealier cultures, namely Egyptian or African, the earliest reference is in relation to the equipment of the Roman Centurion.

The following information was found on the Internet; likely more information is to be found in actual libraries, which I have not yet taken the time to investigate.

I have found little mention of swagger sticks relating to U.S. military, and, specifically, USMC; although Militaria seems to have an abundance of USMC swagger sticks for auction/sale (usually at around $35.)--most of these are said to be of early 1900, and later, vintage, and most w/Marine Corps EMBLEMS! (as I say) and EGA (as they refer to it).

The term "swagger stick" seems to be synonymous with "pace cane," "pace stick," and several other terms. Here are several of the explanations I have found since yesterday re the History of The Swagger Stick.

"The final indication of rank was the vitis or vine staff, a swagger stick about three feet long tyically made of grape vine. It is known to have been used for whacking miscreant soldiers!" Ref: Legio XX--The Twentieth Legion, Roman Legion Organization and Officers, Equipment of The Centurion, 1/19/02. http://www.larp.com/legioxx/orgoff.html -RWG

"The staff: From the earliest times, the staff or stick has been a tool of power, be it the small boy using it to annoy small animals, the parent using it on a child (or an overseer on a slave) or for use in defense. It was inevitable that the staff would come to be a symbol of power, authority and obedience.

Under its Greek name, skeptron (scepter), it became a symbol of soverignity, together with the crown it was the sign of kings, emperors and the like. Along with kings, others in positions of authority bore a scepter, be they religious leaders, law givers or guild masters.

A broken staff was a symbol of lost power. The staff also became the symbol of delegated authority. The king might have his scepter, but his ambassadors, heralds and representatives throughout the land would have their staffs, evidence of their authority form the king. Even before this, the staff was a symbol of the messenger, no doubt because it was a light and adaptable weapon.

Not just the messengers of rulers, but also gods. Biblical angels frequently bore a staff, as did Mercury and Hermes, who were the messengers of the classical gods. The staff also had military connections, as the marshal's baton it was a symbol of rank. In time "marshal" came to be replaced by the name of his symbol, hence the use of staff to refer to administrative personel as in "office staff".

The marshall's baton also evolved into such diverse items as the "swagger stick" born by British officers to the conductor's baton. The staff also has magical and divine implications.

Moses and his staff, Bacchus' staff that brought pleasure. Homer's Circe, who used her wand to turn Odyssesus' men into pigs, Aesculapius, the god of healing, had his staff.

From Moses' staff came the staff or rod of the magicians. Priests carried staffs, from many religions. Prophets, oracles and the like, those today in D&D terms would be called clerics.

The traditional phrase of the conjurer, hocus pocus, is actually from the latin, Hoc est corpus ("This is the body", from the Catholic Mass). A staff is also a symbol of the wanderer, it is a wanderer's commonest and most useful tool.

So naturally the staff came to symbolise the pilgrim, the beggar as well, a "special" type of wanderers. T he need for a walking staff is also symbolic of frailty and old age. And while this may seem to be the opposite of its symbolism for power, it in fact also stands for the wisdom and knowledge that is often found in the old.

Sire and sir both come from the latin senior, which means older. The staff symbolises not just authority through might, but also through wisdom and experience. " Ref: Symbols, by David Powell http://www.triode.net.au/~dragon/art2.html -RWG

"The Hand-Carried In no other culture is the hand-held object such a characteristic of male dominance and class status as it is in Great Britain.

In paintings and photographs, in daily life and ceremony, the hand - usually the right - holds on to a particular device: the rolled umbrella, of course, and the suede gloves; but also the riding crop, the walking stick , even the cane when used for affectation only. Perhaps a vestigial artifact from the days of staffs and lances when pilgrims journeyed and knights jousted, the hand-carried object has added to both the costume and custom of "gentlemanly" social behavior.

Years ago, I walked across a hops field with Malcolm Muggeridge, the then recently retired of editor of Punch and creator of the most charged connotation of the word "establishment," an indication of his iconoclastic disposition.

But with walking boots and walking staff, he led the way, all the while greeting the locals as I imagine a country squire must have some two centuries before, by lifting his walking stick in a sort of secular benediction. When I imagine the English nobility at is idle best, my mind turns to Ascot and its formal ecology.

There, on well-kept turf, in garden and lounge, stands the English gentleman in formal attire, black or pearl-gray in color, top hat properly aligned, boutonniere as fresh as can be, and both gloved hands resting on the elegant walking stick , gold capped, as he speaks to this Lady or that Marchioness (In point of fact, Prince Charles appeared at the 1977 meet dressed in black formal wear and sporting a rolled umbrella.).

This matter of the hand-carried was extended to its furthest and farthest by the army.

Even to this day, nothing is quite so brightly authoritative as the ritual swing about of the drum major's baton as one of the several royal army bands steps lively by or appears at the military tattoo of the annual Edinburgh International Festival. Another such martial instrument is the "swagger stick ," part of the officer's regalia when he is "walking out."

Usually seen placed under the right arm pit, with the uplifted hand holding on to the stick's end, it was one of the most useless pieces of military equipment ever devised, but has served as an ideal instrument depicting the officer as gentleman. Post-modernity will sweep all of this into Marx's famous dust bin of history .

Nevertheless, the British carry on as they continue to hand-carry. Now, however, they are doing so in high-tech fashion, belatedly following the lead of their former subjects in the former crown colony of Hong Kong, who were carrying cell phones in abundance before anyone else." Ref: From the Other Shore Homepage by Raymond F. Betts http://www.britannia.com/travel/betts/e5.html -RWG

"During the Middle Ages kingly power came to be symbolized by the scepter carried in the right hand, while a second staff or scepter known as the "Hand of Justice" was carried in the left.

This scepter was surmounted by a hand in the act of blessing. In France, this custom of investing authority with two scepters dates from about 987 A.D. In England, during the latter part of the twelfth century, two scepters were bestowed upon Richard Coeur de Lion. " "Not to be outdone, the Church, bestowed the staff as a symbol of authority upon its highest officers.

Early in this period, the pastoral staff was a symbol of the bishop?s prestige, and by the sixth century it directly represented his supremacy as shepherd of his people. The oldest examples of pastoral staffs were long, with crooked handles.

The crook signified the bishop drawing the believers to him, while with the point he urged on the indifferent. The judges and officers of this period also carried the staff as a symbol of office. As late as the seventeenth century, all who exercised authority ? kings, priests, judges and military commanders ? were represented with some type of staff indicative of the power each possessed." (Source: Accessories of Dress by Katherine Morris Lester and Bess Viola Oerke, The Manual Arts Press, Peoria Illinois, pp 389-90.)

Cane or Walking Stick ? The word "cane" had not been applied to the fashionable walking stick up to the sixteenth century. During his period, however, the thick, jointed stems of tropical grasses known as bamboo and cane, and the reed-like stem of several species of palm and rattan were introduced for the stick. These were called "canes."

From that day forth, the walking stick of the past merged into the cane of the future. Today the terms are used interchangeable, though the saying. "One strolls with a walking stick and swaggers with a Cane!" tend to give grater dignity to the former. (Source: Accessories of Dress by Katherine Morris Lester and Bess Viola Oerke, The Manual Arts Press, Peoria Illinois, pp 392.)

Items of Historical Interest The Cane as an Accessory A cane was an important accessory for a man from the late 17th century through the early 20th. A cane made of quality wood, with a silver or gold handle, told of wealth and importance.

Cane shafts usually were made of wood, but some interesting examples were made of dried animal skin, animals' spinal columns or even glass. Collectors search for canes from the past as well as modern folk canes. Canes with hidden features - a sword, a camera, a tiny picture or a bottle to hold a swallow of liquor- are popular with collectors.

Cane handles have been made of silver, gold, bone, glass, porcelain, and other substances. Many were carved or decorated with special features, such as snakes, dogs, humans, hands, feet and the heads of famous people. One popular design was the eagle head. The protruding beak was an ideal shape.

Many of the eagle heads were made with the beak holding a small round "berry", like a laurel berry. Egyptian Staffs Many discoveries in Egypt would indicate that sticks from three to six feet long were frequently carried by Egyptians of exalted rank.

These were often surmounted by an ornamental knob resembling the lotus. Others which are very characteristic of Egyptian sticks, show a peg projecting from one side near the tip from which a bag or bottle could be suspended.! Middle Ages Travelers or pilgrims, shepherds, and tillers of the soil usually carried a long stick or staff as part of their daily equipment..

The pilgrim's bourdon of this period was a heavy stick five feet in length tipped with an iron spike which was intended to assist in walking and climbing. " Ref: History of canes http://www.canesandsuch.com/history.html -RWG

"The practice of high ranks carrying a symbol of their command probably began very early in military history. Weapons alone (swords, for example) could not properly serve as insignia of authority since troops as well as officers carried them. Something more than just uniform trimmings, or even helmet crests & other special headwear, was required to clearly mark officers apart from their men.

We know that in England, officers of Charles II's reign flaunted their aristocratic status by carrying walking-sticks. Lesser ranks such as drum-majors carried some lesser kind of stick, which subsequently developed into the long parade staff or mace.

The equestrian (mounted) soldier - usually a nobleman - carried a small cane or whip under his arm when 'walking out' (off-duty, hence the name 'swagger stick' - describing the typical gait of the soldier-on-the-town).

Up until the end of World War One the off-duty infantryman too was permitted a cane or swaggerstick with ornamented head. In the Great War itself, two classes of service stick were carried in the British Army, quite apart from the usual regimental canes (which were lengths of bamboo or rattan): a light cane with a crook handle, often leather covered, carried by officers engaged on duty in static units such as Military Hospitals in the UK; and a Trench Stick - a heavier piece with a carved handle, carried by officers serving in the field.

In the interwar period, officers continued to carry sticks, and again in the 1939-45 war. It was undoubtedly the 20th century's modernization of armies that allowed regimental canes & service sticks to survive: since commanding ranks no longer carried weapons, the need was felt for a symbolic vestige of the gallant place forfeited by officers at the hard edge of battle - leading the charge with sword held high.

Thus officers carried sticks all the time during World War One, while men could do so only for walking out. Today only the sticks of the British Queen's ceremonial Household Cavalry uniform serve as reminder of the chivalric arms of pre-scientific warfare. " -RWG Ref: Sticks In History: Introduction http:www.durban.gov.za/museums/localhistory/

Semper Fidelis
R.W. "Dick" Gaines
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~
Although some mention is found alluding to an early use of swagger sticks, or its equivalent, in ealier cultures, namely Egyptian or African, the earliest reference is in relation to the equipment of the Roman Centurion. The following information was found on the Internet; likely more information is to be found in actual libraries, which I have not yet taken the time to investigate. I have found little mention of swagger sticks relating to U.S. military, and, specifically, USMC; although Militaria seems to have an abundance of USMC swagger sticks for auction/sale (usually at around $35.)--most of these are said to be of early 1900, and later, vintage, and most w/Marine Corps EMBLEMS! (as I say) and EGA (as they refer to it). The term "swagger stick" seems to be synonymous with "pace cane," "pace stick," and several other terms. Here are several of the explanations I have found since yesterday re the History of The Swagger Stick. "The final indication of rank was the vitis or vine staff, a swagger stick about three feet long tyically made of grape vine. It is known to have been used for whacking miscreant soldiers!" Ref: Legio XX--The Twentieth Legion, Roman Legion Organization and Officers, Equipment of The Centurion, 1/19/02.
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/orgoff.html
-RWG
"The staff: From the earliest times, the staff or stick has been a tool of power, be it the small boy using it to annoy small animals, the parent using it on a child (or an overseer on a slave) or for use in defense. It was inevitable that the staff would come to be a symbol of power, authority and obedience. Under its Greek name, skeptron (scepter), it became a symbol of soverignity, together with the crown it was the sign of kings, emperors and the like. Along with kings, others in positions of authority bore a scepter, be they religious leaders, law givers or guild masters. A broken staff was a symbol of lost power.

The staff also became the symbol of delegated authority. The king might have his scepter, but his ambassadors, heralds and representatives throughout the land would have their staffs, evidence of their authority form the king. Even before this, the staff was a symbol of the messenger, no doubt because it was a light and adaptable weapon. Not just the messengers of rulers, but also gods. Biblical angels frequently bore a staff, as did Mercury and Hermes, who were the messengers of the classical gods. The staff also had military connections, as the marshal's baton it was a symbol of rank. In time "marshal" came to be replaced by the name of his symbol, hence the use of staff to refer to administrative personel as in "office staff". The marshall's baton also evolved into such diverse items as the "swagger stick" born by British officers to the conductor's baton.

The staff also has magical and divine implications. Moses and his staff, Bacchus' staff that brought pleasure. Homer's Circe, who used her wand to turn Odyssesus' men into pigs, Aesculapius, the god of healing, had his staff. From Moses' staff came the staff or rod of the magicians. Priests carried staffs, from many religions. Prophets, oracles and the like, those today in D&D terms would be called clerics. The traditional phrase of the conjurer, hocus pocus, is actually from the latin, Hoc est corpus ("This is the body", from the Catholic Mass).

A staff is also a symbol of the wanderer, it is a wanderer's commonest and most useful tool. So naturally the staff came to symbolise the pilgrim, the beggar as well, a "special" type of wanderers. The need for a walking staff is also symbolic of frailty and old age. And while this may seem to be the opposite of its symbolism for power, it in fact also stands for the wisdom and knowledge that is often found in the old. Sire and sir both come from the latin senior, which means older. The staff symbolises not just authority through might, but also through wisdom and experience. " Ref: Symbols, by David Powell http://www.triode.net.au/~dragon/art2.html
-RWG

"The Hand-Carried In no other culture is the hand-held object such a characteristic of male dominance and class status as it is in Great Britain. In paintings and photographs, in daily life and ceremony, the hand - usually the right - holds on to a particular device: the rolled umbrella, of course, and the suede gloves; but also the riding crop, the walking stick , even the cane when used for affectation only. Perhaps a vestigial artifact from the days of staffs and lances when pilgrims journeyed and knights jousted, the hand-carried object has added to both the costume and custom of "gentlemanly" social behavior. Years ago, I walked across a hops field with Malcolm Muggeridge, the then recently retired of editor of Punch and creator of the most charged connotation of the word "establishment," an indication of his iconoclastic disposition. But with walking boots and walking staff, he led the way, all the while greeting the locals as I imagine a country squire must have some two centuries before, by lifting his walking stick in a sort of secular benediction.

When I imagine the English nobility at is idle best, my mind turns to Ascot and its formal ecology. There, on well-kept turf, in garden and lounge, stands the English gentleman in formal attire, black or pearl-gray in color, top hat properly aligned, boutonniere as fresh as can be, and both gloved hands resting on the elegant walking stick , gold capped, as he speaks to this Lady or that Marchioness (In point of fact, Prince Charles appeared at the 1977 meet dressed in black formal wear and sporting a rolled umbrella.). This matter of the hand-carried was extended to its furthest and farthest by the army.

Even to this day, nothing is quite so brightly authoritative as the ritual swing about of the drum major's baton as one of the several royal army bands steps lively by or appears at the military tattoo of the annual Edinburgh International Festival. Another such martial instrument is the "swagger stick ," part of the officer's regalia when he is "walking out." Usually seen placed under the right arm pit, with the uplifted hand holding on to the stick's end, it was one of the most useless pieces of military equipment ever devised, but has served as an ideal instrument depicting the officer as gentleman. Post-modernity will sweep all of this into Marx's famous dust bin of history .

Nevertheless, the British carry on as they continue to hand-carry. Now, however, they are doing so in high-tech fashion, belatedly following the lead of their former subjects in the former crown colony of Hong Kong, who were carrying cell phones in abundance before anyone else."
Ref: From the Other Shore Homepage by Raymond F. Betts http://www.britannia.com/travel/betts/e5.html
-RWG

"During the Middle Ages kingly power came to be symbolized by the scepter carried in the right hand, while a second staff or scepter known as the "Hand of Justice" was carried in the left. This scepter was surmounted by a hand in the act of blessing. In France, this custom of investing authority with two scepters dates from about 987 A.D. In England, during the latter part of the twelfth century, two scepters were bestowed upon Richard Coeur de Lion. "

"Not to be outdone, the Church, bestowed the staff as a symbol of authority upon its highest officers. Early in this period, the pastoral staff was a symbol of the bishop?s prestige, and by the sixth century it directly represented his supremacy as shepherd of his people. The oldest examples of pastoral staffs were long, with crooked handles. The crook signified the bishop drawing the believers to him, while with the point he urged on the indifferent. The judges and officers of this period also carried the staff as a symbol of office. As late as the seventeenth century, all who exercised authority ? kings, priests, judges and military commanders ? were represented with some type of staff indicative of the power each possessed."
(Source: Accessories of Dress by Katherine Morris Lester and Bess Viola Oerke, The Manual Arts Press, Peoria Illinois, pp 389-90.)

Cane or Walking Stick ?

The word "cane" had not been applied to the fashionable walking stick up to the sixteenth century. During his period, however, the thick, jointed stems of tropical grasses known as bamboo and cane, and the reed-like stem of several species of palm and rattan were introduced for the stick. These were called "canes." From that day forth, the walking stick of the past merged into the cane of the future. Today the terms are used interchangeable, though the saying. "One strolls with a walking stick and swaggers with a Cane!" tend to give grater dignity to the former.
(Source: Accessories of Dress by Katherine Morris Lester and Bess Viola Oerke, The Manual Arts Press, Peoria Illinois, pp 392.)

Items of Historical Interest
The Cane as an Accessory

A cane was an important accessory for a man from the late 17th century through the early 20th. A cane made of quality wood, with a silver or gold handle, told of wealth and importance. Cane shafts usually were made of wood, but some interesting examples were made of dried animal skin, animals' spinal columns or even glass. Collectors search for canes from the past as well as modern folk canes. Canes with hidden features - a sword, a camera, a tiny picture or a bottle to hold a swallow of liquor- are popular with collectors. Cane handles have been made of silver, gold, bone, glass, porcelain, and other substances. Many were carved or decorated with special features, such as snakes, dogs, humans, hands, feet and the heads of famous people.

One popular design was the eagle head. The protruding beak was an ideal shape. Many of the eagle heads were made with the beak holding a small round "berry", like a laurel berry. Egyptian Staffs Many discoveries in Egypt would indicate that sticks from three to six feet long were frequently carried by Egyptians of exalted rank. These were often surmounted by an ornamental knob resembling the lotus.

Others which are very characteristic of Egyptian sticks, show a peg projecting from one side near the tip from which a bag or bottle could be suspended.! Middle Ages Travelers or pilgrims, shepherds, and tillers of the soil usually carried a long stick or staff as part of their daily equipment.. The pilgrim's bourdon of this period was a heavy stick five feet in length tipped with an iron spike which was intended to assist in walking and climbing."
Ref: History of canes
http://www.canesandsuch.com/history.html
-RWG

"The practice of high ranks carrying a symbol of their command probably began very early in military history. Weapons alone (swords, for example) could not properly serve as insignia of authority since troops as well as officers carried them. Something more than just uniform trimmings, or even helmet crests & other special headwear, was required to clearly mark officers apart from their men.

We know that in England, officers of Charles II's reign flaunted their aristocratic status by carrying walking-sticks. Lesser ranks such as drum-majors carried some lesser kind of stick, which subsequently developed into the long parade staff or mace. The equestrian (mounted) soldier - usually a nobleman - carried a small cane or whip under his arm when 'walking out' (off-duty, hence the name 'swagger stick' - describing the typical gait of the soldier-on-the-town).

Up until the end of World War One the off-duty infantryman too was permitted a cane or swaggerstick with ornamented head. In the Great War itself, two classes of service stick were carried in the British Army, quite apart from the usual regimental canes (which were lengths of bamboo or rattan): a light cane with a crook handle, often leather covered, carried by officers engaged on duty in static units such as Military Hospitals in the UK; and a Trench Stick - a heavier piece with a carved handle, carried by officers serving in the field.

In the interwar period, officers continued to carry sticks, and again in the 1939-45 war. It was undoubtedly the 20th century's modernization of armies that allowed regimental canes & service sticks to survive: since commanding ranks no longer carried weapons, the need was felt for a symbolic vestige of the gallant place forfeited by officers at the hard edge of battle - leading the charge with sword held high. Thus officers carried sticks all the time during World War One, while men could do so only for walking out.

Today only the sticks of the British Queen's ceremonial Household Cavalry uniform serve as reminder of the chivalric arms of pre-scientific warfare."
-RWG
Ref: Sticks In History: Introduction http:www.durban.gov.za/museums/localhistory/courthouse/
permanentexhibition/8TX T=Stickpanel.rtf.

Semper Fidelis
R.W. "Dick" Gaines
GnySgt USMC (Ret.)
(1952 (Plt #437)--1972)
~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~
The information on this webpage was drawn, in part, from the following links, and the Response Links on those pages....
Some links may be dead by the time you get to them--the Internet is not forever. Google, I'm sure, may have more information on this topic, as well.
Note that there may be some duplication of information here, for which I apologize in advance.
Semper Fidelis
Dick Gaines
~~~~~~~
http://www.ku.edu/carrie/archives/wwi-l/2002/09/msg00220.html

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