The article also stated that the movement was not used in the German military, which marched in the conventional manner at the funeral of Emperor Frederick III. An 1889 article in the Journal of the United States Cavalry Association opined that 'reverse arms and rest on arms are bits of fancy drill that never were of any use, and should have been eliminated from the tactics long ago'. The movement was used in the US Army by the time of the American Civil War and one veteran of the time noted that the movement was tiring to perform. Royal Engineers march with arms reversed at the funeral of Elizabeth II The drill was known in former times as 'club arms' (for reverse arms) and 'mourn arms' (for rest on arms reversed). This drill became the basis for the modern-day movements. A unique reverse arms drill was devised as a special sign of respect for the 1722 funeral of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough at Westminster Abbey. It is known that a New Model Army soldier carried out the movement at the execution of Charles I and was later punished for rendering such an honour to the king. The practice is said to have originated in Ancient Greece, though the earliest documented cases are from descriptions of 16th-century military funerals. Rest on arms is a similar position for use when halted in which the weapon is rested pointed to the ground (as opposed to upwards as when stood at attention for example).

Reverse arms is a marching movement in which the weapon is held reversed (pointing backwards) as a mark of respect or mourning. At left, guardsmen (including an officer with sword) rest on arms reversed

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