No. 3 Same Scenerio

[gunny]

You are a Major General in charge of a division of about 2,700 men.

Around 10 p.m., you are ordered to take up a position on the extreme left of the army.

Orders were earlier issued to bivouac the men.

Now, about midnight, an order comes from the corps commander you have been loaned out to, to advance your division to a road in your front, which it is said the enemy is moving along. You are to disrupt the enemy's movement.

You are in line parallel with the road, and as you understand it, about 400 yards from it.

A friendly division is on your right and only your pickets to the front.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

[JerseyBart]

Ask the friendly division to watch our flank for us and ask the pickets what the terrain looks like in order to figure out the best position to fire from and protect my troops (advance and/or withdraw.) Send a regiment or two out as a skirmish line to approximately 100 yards from the road and have them lay down. When they start blasting, we move to about 200 yards, take or make cover in line of brigades, give the skirmishers time to figure out the strength of the enemy and do their blasting before they return to the division. Then we start blasting away ourselves. Do our duty, wait for orders to change fronts, advance or fall back.

Bart

[PINCKNEYUSMCRET]

Still trying to figure out which battle and which army. Agree with JerseyBart, you follow your orders. Night fighting is risky now, and was much riskier then. If I had calavery I would use them as well to harrass the line.

Semper Fi

[gunny]

This is a dangerous mission, no doubt, but you have been ordered by your C.O. to accomplish a mission. There is apparently a gaggle of enemy on the pike in your front.

What I would do...

Locate the division on your right so as not to marchin in their front.

Leave a brigade in line facing your left - to protect that flank.

Send forward skirmishers and the line of battle.

When or if the skirmisers become engaged - have the line of battle advance to them - rather than they fall back.

AND SIMPLY COMMAND THE PIKE BY FIRE.

Now guess what Maj. Gen. Ed Johnson did?

He complained "bitterly" about his division being loaned out to another corps. Not knowing the terrain in his front he refused to advance fearing that friendly troops might fire into his men.

He waisted all of an hour crying about it instead of marching at least a detachment forward.

By the time he finally rode toward the pike with one of Cheatham's staff officers the enemy was either gone or they hit a gap in the enemy retreat. And thus another act in the comedy of errors and misfortunes for the Confederates sealing their fate a day before Franklin.

[JerseyBart]

People whine too much.

Bart