The salute is often thought to date back to Roman times, but there is no evidence that soldiers raised their hand as a formal greeting. Another theory is that it originated in medieval Europe, when knights used their hands to raise their visors , revealing their identity to demonstrate they were friendly. This explanation is also regarded with scepticism. It later became British Army tradition for privates and non-commissioned officers to remove their hat to greet officers.
Junior officers did the same to their seniors. This apparently ended in the 18th Century because of concerns over excessive wear to headgear or hats becoming more cumbersome. Grenadier officers did the same. By the s the officer's hat had evolved into a bicorn providing a flat front. Saluting with the sword and the palm out hand was briefly adopted in the late s, but soon disappeared with a change in headdress to the fore-and-aft chapeau bras in the early s. A palm-out hand salute was not practical with this hat.
Meanwhile in , soldiers of infantry regiments all abandoned the hat and adopted the stove-pipe shaped cap called a shako. As a result all infantry soldiers adopted the salute of the grenadiers and light corps. Wearing a headdress different from the common soldier made hat-wearing infantry officers targets of French sharpshooters.
As a result, in all infantry officers adopted caps and as a result "all officers dismounted, wearing caps, are to salute in the same manner as practiced by officers of " the grenadiers and light infantry the flank companies. During this period the hand salute became more refined by regiments. For example the 33rd Regiment of Foot ordered the soldier to "raise the hand gracefully, not with a jerk, to the cap, the elbow raised square with the shoulder, the hand flat, the forefinger and thumb touching the cap in front.
Sadly for the 85th, the "smart turn of the wrist" palm-out British hand salute ended the following year. On April 18, , Horse Guards ordered all officers, when swords not drawn, "to salute, by bringing up the right hand to the forehead, horizontally, on a line with the eyebrows. Why the sudden change? Evidence points to the move as not sudden at all. For example in , when all officers were ordered to salute like the grenadier and light companies, the 7th Regiment of Foot the Royal Fusiliers interpreted the order during parades salutes as: "with arms the officer's salute, according to the flankers, viz.
During the Napoleonic Wars, the battalion officers only saluted with their sword on parade, but it appears grenadier and light infantry officers preserved their hand salute with arms.
Another point is, at least with the Royal Fusiliers, the flank company officers were performing a horizontal salute prior to the order. As early as the Rifle Corps saluted "in a horizontal but circular position; the points of the forefinger and thumb meeting the edge of the helmet. Drum Major of the Staffordshire Militia in salutes palm down but thumb extended to touch his brim. This illustrates the problem with the hand saluting to a brimmed hat.
The Drum Major uses his thumb to judge the distance to the hat so he does not knock his hat off. This can only be done by saluting palm-down. The salute is an anomaly but necessary because there was no salute with the mace at the time. National Army Museum. In , orders of the 26th Regiment of Foot offered a little more detail on the new salute: "the hand is to be placed gracefully along the peak of the cap in a horizontal position, the fingers fully extended and the hand flat.
It was the only reference to the hand salute in the General orders. Therefore at the Battle of Waterloo in the British Army were using the horizontal hand salute.
Left to right: 6th Foot in ; 86th Foot in ; and 12th Foot in All performing the horizontal hand salute. The position of the visor impacted the location of the hand.
With the bell-topped shako the hand was on the peak to align it with the eyebrows, while with the Albert Shako the hand simply touched the edge of the peak. For the next forty-five years the horizontal hand salute was the norm for the British Infantry. Below is a soldier photographed in the Crimean War performing the palm down, eyebrow level hand salute.
As an almost nostalgic throw back to the 18th century, the army decided in to have a different salute for the other ranks. The palm-out hand salute was back. This was clearly influenced by the adoption of the palm out salute by other powers such as France and the United States. The first motion of the salute was to "bring the right hand smartly, but with a circular motion, to the head, palm to the front, point of the forefinger one inch above the right eye, thumb close to the forefinger; elbow in line, and nearly square, with the shoulder; at the same time, slightly turn the head to the left.
The Royal Artillery adopted it in York and Lancaster Regiment c published This shows the two types of salute. A vertical salute for the officers emerged as well in This salute allowed company officers in closed ranks to perform a sword salute without elbowing the soldier beside them. It was performed by "raising the left arm as high as the shoulder, and bringing the hand, knuckles uppermost and fingers extended to the peak of the shako.
One popular tale cites Queen Victoria as the one behind the downward-facing-palm, after she was saluted with a grimy hand. When the United States declared its independence from the throne, we brought military customs across the Atlantic, and by the time of the Revolutionary War, the salute became the most expedient form of protocol.
Though there are a few variations between branches, overall, the United States military still maintains this salute today: right arm parallel with the floor, straight wrist and hand, middle finger touching the brim of the hat or the corner of the eyebrow, and palm facing downward or even inward. The salute should be a smooth motion up and down the gigline, with the individual of lower rank raising their salute first and lowering it last. Oh, and remember, " any flourish in the salute is improper.
In addition to superior commissioned and warrant officers, the following individuals are always entitled to a military salute: The President of the United States, officers of allied foreign countries good luck learning their rank system , and Medal of Honor recipients — I actually didn't know that one. In America, the military salute is protected by the First Amendment. Anyone can salute anyone, really. You can salute a veteran when they're in civilian attire And it can actually be a little awkward if they're not expecting it.
But in other countries, there are legal ramifications behind certain salutes. In Germany, for example, the straight-arm "Heil Hitler" salute is illegal and punishable by up to three years in jail. It's not uncommon for tourists to be detained for performing the salute for photos, and one man was sentenced to jail for teaching his dog Adolf to give the Hitlergruss on command. Today, the salute is a gesture of mutual respect, given and reciprocated, and whether the origin stories are true, the salute nonetheless remains a symbol of honor — and reassurance that you're not holding a weapon.
For you.
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