Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1910 — The Military Salute. [ARTICLE]

The Military Salute.

All salutes, from taking off the hat to presenting arms, originally implied respect or submission. Of military salutes, raising the right hand to the head is generally believed to have originated from the days of the tournament, when the knights filed past the throne of the queen of beauty and by way of compliment raised their hands to their brows to imply that her beauty was too dazzling for unshaded eyes to gaze upon. The officer’s salute with the sword has a double meaning. The first position, with the hilt opposite the lips, is a repetition of the crusader’s action in kissing the cross hilt of his sword in token of faith and fealty, while lowering the point afterward implies either submission or friendship, mining i n either case that it is no longer necessary to stand on guard. Raising the hand to the forehead has also been explained as a sign that the weaponed hand is empty and in an inoffensive position, but this reason does not seem so convincing as the qthers.