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Military Information Civil War Facts

OVERALL SOLDIER INFORMATION

ARMY STRUCTURE
Unit.......................Unit Multiples...........# of soldiers
Company........................................................100
Regiment..............10 Companies..............1,000
Brigade..................4 Regiments.................4,000
Division..................3 Brigades.................... 12,000
Corps.....................3 Divisions.................... 36,000
Army.......................Any # of Corps................. ??
.
Commanding Officer of:
Regiment..............Colonel, Lt. Colonel, or Major
Brigade..................Brigadier General
Division..................Brigadier General or Major General
Corps.....................Major General or Lt. General
Army...................... (Union) Major General

DEPARTMENTS:
??

ARMIES:
Armies were the largest of the "operational organizations." In the case of the Federal forces, these generally took their name from their department. "The Federals followed a general policy of naming their armies for the rivers near which they operated; the Confederates named theirs from the states or regions in which they were active. Thus, the Federals had an Army of the Tennessee -not to be confused with the Confederate Army of Tennessee." The Union armies took their names from the departments in which they operated (or were originally formed), and these departments took their names from rivers in the case of the Federals and from states or regions in the case of the Confederates.
List Of the Union Armies:
Army of the Cumberland
Army of the Frontier
Army of Georgia
Army of the Gulf
Army of the James
Army of Kansas
Army of the Mississippi (there were several)
Army of the Mountain Department
Army of the Ohio
Army of the Potomac
Army of the Shenandoah
Army of the Southwest
Army of the Tennessee
Army of Virginia
Army of West Tennessee
Army of West Virginia

CORPS:
The term corps comes from the French corps d'armee.  Although corps d'armee existed in the French army before Napoleon, he revamped them and popularized the phrase.   A typical Union corps was composed of 2 or more divisions and, except for Cavalry corps, included all arms of service.

Corps were established in the Union army in March 1862 by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan.  A major general commanded each of the 43 corps that were established in the Union army before the end of the war.  Each corps was designated by a number, I to XXV.  Corps badges such as triangles, crescents, arrows, and acorns were adopted by most corps and worn by officers and enlisted men.  Of the Union corps 2 were noted for their failures:  the XI Corps, which took flight after a surprise attack by Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's men at Chancellorsville and the IX Corps, which bungled the opportunity of the Crater at Petersburg.  More successful corps included the I and II/ Army of the Potomac, known for their bravery; the XXV, composed entirely of black troops and the XXII corps, which garrisoned the fortifications around Washington, D.C. during most of the war and guarded the Union capital.

Corps were organized in the Confederate army November, 1862 and were designated by numbers duplicated in the East and West but were often referred to by the name of their commander.  Thus, the II Corps in the East was called Jackson's Corps, even after he was killed.  This corps endured some of the hardest marching and heaviest fighting of the war.
DIVISIONS:
In field armies on both sides in the Civil War, the division was the second largest unit.  In ascending order of size, units were: company, regiment brigade, division, corps.   Theoretically, company strength was 100; regiment, 1,000; brigade, 4,000; and division, 12,000.  Occasionally, more often in the Confederate army battalions of 2 to 10 companies were accepted into the ranks.  In the Union army, the actual numbers, by the attrition of war, were only 40-50% of those figures by 1863; the percentage was higher in the Confederate army, thanks to its system of assigning recruits to existing regiments instead of creating new regiments.

In the Union armies the number of division in a corps varied from 2 to 4, though usually there were 3.  In spring 1863, Maj. Gen. Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker ordered the army of the Potomac to wear Corps Badges, which led to designating divisions by badges and by flags in red, white, and blue, for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, divisions, respectively;  the few 4th divisions had green badges and flags; 5th divisions, orange.  Without uniform badges and flags, the Confederates used a less complicated system.  Though they began by numbering their divisions, in a short time divisions, as well as other army units, come to be known by their commanders' name.

Union division were commanded by brigadier or major generals, and the frontage of an average 1863 Union division, drawn up in double-rank line of battle with no skirmishers deployed, would have been just short of a mile.  The Confederates were more logical:  with rare exceptions, brigadiers commanded brigades and major generals led division, and these units were usually numerically superior to their Union counterparts. 
INFANTRY REGIMENT:
Infantry Regiment were composed of 10 companies, except in the case of the 12-company heavy artillery regiments that had been retrained as infantry. Cavalry regiments also had 12 companies. These companies were lettered in alphabetical order, with the letter "J" omitted. There has been much erroneous theorizing as to why the US Army has never had a J Company.   Battalions did not exist in the infantry regiments, but the "heavies" were composed of three four company battalions, each commanded by a major.

Confederate regiments were organized in generally the same manner as the Federal, although some had battalions.

In the Union Army an infantry company had a maximum authorized strength of 101 officers and men, and a minimum strength of 83. The company was allowed to recruit a minimum of 64 or a maximum of 82 privates. Other company positions were fixed as follows: 1 captain, one 1st lieutenant, one 2nd lieutenant, one 1st sergeant, 4 sergeants, 8 corporals, 2 musicians, and 1 wagoner. Company officers were elected in most volunteer units.

As Schiebert, the Prussian observer, points out, this was the only possible way of getting rapidly the large number of troop leaders needed. By the second year of the war a system of examinations was instituted by both armies, and incompetent officers could be eliminated.

Regimental headquarters consisted of a colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, adjutant, quartermaster, surgeon (major), 2 assistant surgeons, and a chaplain. Regimental headquarters noncommissioned officers were the sergeant major, quartermaster sergeant, commissary sergeant, hospital steward, and 2 principal musicians. Authorized strength of an infantry regiment was a maximum of 1,025 and a minimum of 845. Since it was the Civil War practice to organize recruits into new regiments rather than to send them to replace losses in veteran units, regimental strengths steadily declined. .

The North raised the equivalent of 2,047 regiments during the war of which 1,696 were infantry, 272 were cavalry, and 78 were artillery. Allowing for the fact that nine infantry regiments of the Regular Army had 24 instead of the normal 10 companies, the total number of regiments would come to about 2,050, not including the Veteran Reserve Corps. The South raised the equivalent of 764 regiments that served all or most of the war. Using later data, and including militia and other irregular organizations, Col. Henry Stone estimated an equivalent of 1,009 ½ Confederate regiments.

TYPICAL REGIMENT:

Field and Staff..........................Company
1 Colonel.............................1 Captain
1 Lt. Colonel........................1 1st Lt
1 Major..................................1 2nd Lt.
1 Adjutant.............................1 First Sergeant
1 Quartermaster.................4 Sergeants
1 Surgeon............................8 Corporals
2 Asst. Surgeons................2 Musicians
1 Chaplain............................1 Wagoneer
1 Sergeant Major.................82 Privates
1 Quartermaster Sergeant
1 Commisary Sergeant
1 Hospital Steward
2 Principal Musicians

10 Companies........845 to 1,010 Officers and men
Field and Staff.........15 Officers and Noncommisioned Officers

Heavy Artillery Regiment (U.S.)...12 Companies- 1,800 officers and men

Number of men in the war.......2.5 to 2.7 million
Percentage of poulation..........9.1%

On the eve of the Civil War, the Regular Army had a total enlisted strength of 16,000 men. After the loss at Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called for the recruitment of an additional 22,700 Regular Army troops. At no time during the war did the Regular Army reach its modest goal of 42,000 troops.












SOLDIER LIFE:
Majority of soldiers were white, native-born, Protestant, single, and young.

Favorite pastime of soldiers were gambling, playing cards and dice, and writing and reading letters.


MONTHLY PAY:
Start of the War Pay:
OFFICER (Infantry and Artillery)
Colonels...$212
Lieutenant-Colonels...$181
Majors...$169
Captains...$115.50
1st Lieutenants...$105.50
2nd Lieutenants.... $105.50
Other line and staff officers drew an average of about $15 per month more.
Pay for 1, 2, and 3 star generals was $315, $457, and $758, respectively.
ENLISTED
Privates...$11
Corporals...$13,
Sergeants...$17
First Sergeants... $20
engineer sergeants...$34
About the same ratio existed in the Union army between the pay of privates and noncommissioned officers.

Soldiers were supposed to be paid every 2 months in the field, but they were fortunate if they got their pay at 4-month intervals (in the Union Army) and authentic instances are recorded where they went 6 and 8 months.


Maintaining discipline was one of the most difficult tasks for the unseasoned officers.
Punishment: most common for such slight offenses as insubordination or drunkeness was a few days in confinement.
Another common punishment was known as bucking and gagging. Gagged with a stick tied in his mouth, the offender was seated on the ground, hands tied together in front of him. then his knees were thrust up between his elbows, and another stick or pole was forced between arms and knees, pinning him in a dreadfully uncomfortable position. He was seated for several hours in the sun.
Sometimes, punishment was tailored to fit the crime.

RATIONS:
By definition, a ration is the amount of food authorized for one soldier (or animal) for one day.  According to army regulations for camp rations, a Union soldier was entitled to a
DAILY RATION:
12 oz of pork or bacon or 1 lb. 4 oz of fresh or salt beef
1 lb. 6 oz of soft bread or flour
1 lb. of hard bread, or 1 lb. 4 oz of cornmeal
PER EVERY 100 ISSUED RATIONS :
1 peck of beans or peas
10 lb. of rice or hominy
10 lb. of green coffee, 8 lb. of roasted and ground coffee, or 1 lb. 8 oz of tea
15 lb. of sugar
1 lb. 4 oz of candles
4 lb. of soap
1 qt of molasses
In addition to or as substitutes for other items, desiccated vegetables, dried fruit, pickles, or pickled cabbage might be issued.

The marching ration consisted of 1 lb. of hard bread, 3/4 lb. of salt pork or 1 1/4 lb. of fresh meat, plus the sugar, coffee, and salt. The ration lacked variety but in general the complaints about starvation by the older soldiers was largely exaggerated.

Generally the Confederate ration, though smaller in quantity after the spring of 1862 and tending to substitute cornmeal for wheat flour, was little different. But the Confederate commissary system had problems keeping rations flowing to the troops at a steady rate, thus alternating between abundance and scarcity in its issuances.

Soldiers of both armies relied to a great extent on food sent from home and on the ubiquitous Sutler.

MILITARY DESERTIONS:
Total of 200,000 cases of desertion during the war
1863... 4,647 desertions a month average
1864... 7,333 desertions a month average
1865... 4,368 desertions a month average
There were 147 executions for desertion
By the end of the war, 1 of every 10 soldiers would desert.
PUNISHMENT:
Discharged dishonestly (drummed out of service).
Branded on body, "D" for deserter or "C" for coward.
Imprisonment
Sentenced to hard labor
Death sentence

AGE
30% men 21 and under
30% men 21-24
30% men 25-30
10% men 30 and over

At Time Of Enlistment:
Average age.........25.8 y.o.
Average height.....5'8"
Average weight....143.5 lbs.

Pre-War Occupation of Soldiers
Farmers...............48%
Mechanics.......... 24%
Laborers..............16%
Commercial........ 5%
Professional....... 3%
Miscellaneous.... 4%

OCCUPATIONS:
There were more than 300 different jobs in the Army

The 3 types of soldiers: Regular Army, militia, and volunteers


TYPICAL ARMY UNIFORM:
WORN:
Blue Forage cap with black leather visor, loose flannel sack coat, blue woolen or kersey trousers, and a blocky leather brogans called gunboats
KNAPSACK:
Atop the soldier's knapsack was often carried a rolled wool blanket. Inside the pack were his half of a 2-man tent, a groundsheet, an overcoat and personal effects
CARRIED:
A rifle, a 40-round cartridge box (containing sacks with minnie ball and gun-powder), a sheathed bayonet, a percussion cap box, haversack, cloth-covered tin canteen and tin-cup.
*The assorted gear of a fully equipped infantryman might weigh as much as 50 pounds. The soldier had to tote his equipment, all held in place by canvas or leather straps crisscrossing the torso.

Fully armed
: A soldier carried about 7 pounds of ammunition. His cartridge box contained 40 rounds, and an additional 60 rounds might be conveyed in the pocket if an extensive battle was anticipated.

Bayonets:
Most infantry rifles were equipped with bayonets, but very few men wounded by bayonet showed up at hospitals. The conclusion was that the bayonet was not a lethal weapon. The explanation probably lay in the fact that opposing soldiers did not often actually come to grips and, when they did, were prone to use their rifles as clubs.

MILITARY TROOPS:
ARMY
2,778,304 troops
Composition of Troops:
White.....2,489,836
Indian... 3,530 ..............1,018 killed
Black.... 178,975 .........36,000+ killed
NAVY/MARINES
132,554 troops

Strength of all Union armies on selected dates:
January 1861... 16,367
July..................... 186,751
January 1862... 575,917
March................. 637,126
January 1863... 918,191
January 1864... 860,737
March 1865...... 980,086
May.................... 1,000,516

Summary of Enrollments
Volunteers............ 2,080,193
Regulars............... 67,000
Colored Troops....178,975

WEAPONS

Long Arms (Rifle and Muskets):
1835 U.S. Musket (muzzle-loader, .69 caliber)
1842 U.S. Musket (muzzle-loader, .69 caliber)
1848 Sharps Rifle (muzzle-loader, .52 caliber)
1855 Springfield Rifle (muzzle-loader, .58 caliber)
1861 Springfield Rifle (muzzle-loader, .58 caliber)
1863 U.S. Rifle-Musket (muzzle-loader, .58 caliber)
1864 U.S. Rifle-Musket (muzzle-loader, .58 caliber)

Long Arms
(Carbines and Musketoons):
1860 Spencer Carbine (breech-loader, .52 caliber)
1855 U.S. Cavalry Rifled Carbine (muzzle-loader, .54 caliber)
1861-1864 Burnside Carbine Model 1-5(breech-loader, .54 caliber)
1860 Gallager Carbine (breech-loader, .50 caliber)
1852 Maynard Sharps Carbine (breech-loader, .50 caliber)
1859 Maynard Sharps Carbine (breech-loader, .50 caliber)
1863 Maynard Sharps Carbine (breech-loader, .50 caliber)
Smith Carbine (breech-loader, .50 caliber)

Revolvers:
1851 Colt Navy (6-shot, .36 caliber)
1860 Colt Army (6-shot, .44 caliber)
1860 Colt Navy (6-shot, .44 caliber)
1863 Remington Army (6-shot, .44 caliber)
Savage (6-shot, .36 caliber)

ARTILLERY
Field Weapons:
1841 Howitzer (12lb. and 24lb.)
1857 "Napolean" Light Howitzer (12Lb. field gun)
Parrot Gun (10Lb. and 20Lb.)
Whitworth Gun (6Lb. and 12Lb. rifled cannon)
1855 Ordnance Rifle
1861 Ordnance Rifle (3-inch)

Heavy Artillery:
1844 Columbiad (8-inch and 10-inch)
1858 Columbiad (8-inch and 10-inch)
1861 Rodman (8-inch, 10-inch, and 15-inch)
1861 Parrot Gun (2.9-inch)
1863 Parrot Gun (3-inch)

Mortars:
1861 Mortar (13-inch)
1861 Dictator (heavy mortar)

Naval Artillery:
1855 Dahlgren (9-inch, 11-inch, 15-inch, and 20-inch)


................... TROOPS

Union Regular Army Units:

Artillery.............. 17 regiments/ 6 detachments
Cavalry.............. 23 regiments/ 2 detachments
Infantry.............. 43 regiments/ 2 detachments
Engineer........... 1 regiment/ 2 detachments/ 1 corps
Sharpshooter... 2 regiments

Union Volunteer Units:
Artillery...... 1 battery
Cavalry...... 1 battalion
Infantry...... 17 regiments/ 1 battalion
Engineer... 1 regiment


SIGNAL CORPS:
The Union Signal Corps that saw service in the Civil War never amounted to more than 3,000 officers and men; the Confederate Signal Corps, not so extensive or organized as the Union corps, had only about half that many members. Because of the small number of men involved and the secrecy of their work, little has been witten about the valuable and dangerous services they performed. Excerpts from an article written by a signalman in 1889 give some insight into the duties of members of the Signal Corps:

 When a message is about to be sent, the flagman takes his station upon some elevated object and "calls" the station with which he desires to communicate by waving the flag or torch slowly to and fro. The operator, seated at the glass, watches closely the distant flag, and as soon as it responds by dipping, he is ready to send his dispatch. Holding the written message before him, he calls out to the flagman certain numbers, each figure or combination of figures standing for a letter. The flagman indicates each separate figure by an ingenious combination of a few very simple motions... There are a few sylables which are indicated by a single stroke of the flag; otherwise the word must be spelled out letter by letter. Experienced signal officers, however employ many abbreviations by omitting vowels, so that scarecely a single word, unless a very unusual one, is spelled out in full.

The rapidity with which all this is executed by experienced operators is astonishing. The flag is kept in such rapid motion that the eye of the inexpert can scarecly follow... An ordinary message of a few lines is dispatched in ten minutes; a whole page of foolscap occupies about thirty minutes in the transmission... The distance also through which signals can be transmitted, without an intermediate station is surprising. [Messages were sent] regularly from Ringgold to Summerville, on Lookout Mountain, a distance of eighteen miles... But these instances required remarkably favorable conditions of the atmosphere, locality, etcetera. Ordinarily, messages were not sent a greater distance than 6 or 8 miles.

The greatest recorded distance of a successful message transmission was 24 miles from Maryland Heights, Maryland, overlooking Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, to Sugarloaf Mountain, near Frederick, Maryland.

Typical Signalman's Kit:
The kit would normally contain several flagstaffs, night torches with a fuel can, and several flags. The flags were always of 2 colors. A white flag with a red square, or red flag with a white square. The largest flags, 6 feet square, were used for long-distance work.

The founder of the Signal Corps was a New York physician named Albert J. Myer. While serving in the Army, he devised a system of simple flag wigwags by which operators could relay messages across miles of terrain.
At the start of the war, he was called to Washington, D.C. to set up a Signal Corps training school in nearby Georgetown and began outfitting telegraph units that would accompany Union armies in the field.

The first use of the Signal Corps was during the Battle of Fredericksburg. Gen. Ambrose Burnside deployed the corps on the hills overlooking the battlefield. The Signal Corpsmen would send messages to Burnside headquarters in the rear. At the same time, signalmen with Burnside flashed orders over telegraph wires to command posts on his left and right flanks.
The use of the Signal Corps would profoundly affect later Civil War campaigns and change the way future wars would be fought.

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