Army Life And Marksmanship

[History hoarder63]

I forget the exact quote, but someone described Civil War army life as mostly boredom with a few short moments of pure terror.

Given all the free time in between battles and campaigns, and given all of the drilling, why was marksmanship not perfected? If either army could master the proper usage of the latest rifles, would this not be an overwhelming advantage in the field?

Did Stanton not want to spend the money on ammunition? Were their lack of qualified marksmanship instructors? No one thought of it? Takes too long to master the skill? Other reasons?

Mike

Individual marksmanship in the black powder era was of questionable value on the American Civil War battlefield where powder smoke, terrain and vegetation often limited the effective range at which a soldier could identify and properly sight a target.

On more than one battlefield (e.g. Wilderness) the opposing forces were almost on top of each other before they even realized it.

 

[thomas aagaard]

Accuracy would be an issue. But how many soldiers did not know how to correctly load, shoot, and field clean their rifle?

According to Meade - a lot of soldiers in his army in spring 1864 did not know how to load a musket.
And according to Lee - a lot of his men in summer 1863 did not know how to clean their muskets.

 

[thomas aagaard]

Individual marksmanship in the black powder era was of questionable value on the American Civil War battlefield where powder smoke, terrain and vegetation often limited the effective range at which a soldier could identify and properly sight a target.

On more than one battlefield (e.g. Wilderness) the opposing forces were almost on top of each other before they even realized it.

And plenty of battles allowed for long range firing... if the men had been trained so any real standard.
(pickets charge or the the main federal attack at Fredericksburg being obvious examples of fights with good fields of fire at long range... but it was not taken advantage of)

 

[wausaubob]

Individual marksmanship in the black powder era was of questionable value on the American Civil War battlefield where powder smoke, terrain and vegetation often limited the effective range at which a soldier could identify and properly sight a target.

On more than one battlefield (e.g. Wilderness) the opposing forces were almost on top of each other before they even realized it.

The Confederates gradually tried to avoid those kinds of situations unless they were entrenched and on the defensive. Good fields of fire worked to the advantage of US artillery.
There were some actions in which accuracy beyond 200 yards mattered, but one would have to go through the details to find them.

 

[wausaubob]

As with any army, any conflict, any epoch - yes, units poorly trained with their assigned weapon(s) tended to suffer for it, until they melted away or were properly trained.

The self-contained paper cartridge had been around for many a decade while those copper cased cartridges were brandy-new, so those faults and liabilities tended to balance each other out in the light of each system's benefits.

The self-contained carbine cartridges had limited range but a higher volume of fire, while the muzzleloading rifles' range and smack-down power were higher.

Make sense now?

Maybe. But the cap might be faulty. The soldier may have jammed the whole paper cartridge in upside down. The ignition tube from the cap to the charge might be fouled. And then would be about 1,000 ways that were unpredictable.
For instance, on some weapons the pin for the percussion cap may have been twisted. I am sure you can think of some other ways the system could be messed up.

 

[wausaubob]

And plenty of battles allowed for long range firing... if the men had been trained so any real standard.
(pickets charge or the the main federal attack at Fredericksburg being obvious examples of fights with good fields of fire at long range... but it was not taken advantage of)

Why wasn't done? Training was probably not updated from the smoothbore era. People did realize what the rifles could do.
I question whether West Pointers had ever been taught to shoot well enough to know what marksmanship was about. And then there were the volunteer officers that knew almost nothing about military rifles.
The people that had received training in Prussia or England were valuable assets on both sides. They knew what a little training could accomplish.

 

[Story]

Maybe. But the cap might be faulty. The soldier may have jammed the whole paper cartridge in upside down. The ignition tube from the cap to the charge might be fouled. And then would be about 1,000 ways that were unpredictable.
For instance, on some weapons the pin for the percussion cap may have been twisted. I am sure you can think of some other ways the system could be messed up.

Have you ever fired a muzzle loading rifle?

 

[Don Dixon]

With regards to the marksmanship skill set of the Federal and Confederate Armies, let us deal in fact rather than mythology, legend, or wishful thinking:

On 19 April 1864, two weeks before the Overland Campaign began, Major General Meade directed that the soldiers of the Army of Potomac receive an additional issue of 10 rounds of small arms ammunition. "Corps commanders will see that immediate measures are taken by subordinate officers to carry out the order. Every man should be made to load and fire his musket under the personal supervision of a company officer. It is believed there are men in this army who have been in numerous actions without ever firing their guns, and it is known that muskets taken on the battle-fields have been found filled nearly to the muzzle with cartridges. The commanding general cannot impress too earnestly on all officers and men the necessity of preparing themselves for the contingencies of battle." By then it was not about hitting a target at 200 yards or even hitting a target at 50 yards. It was about ensuring that the men could merely load and fire their weapons correctly 10 times three years into the war. [emphasis added] (O.R., I, V33, 907-8)

The Confederates were also coming to the realization that they had a marksmanship problem. General Joseph E. Johnston was assigned to command the Army of Tennessee on 23 December 1863. On 6 February 1864 Hardee's Corps issued the following general order reflecting Johnston's perception of the training needs of his army:

"By direction of the Genl commanding the Army of Tennessee ten rounds of ammunition per man will be fired at a target observing the following instruction: Each Regiment will construct its own target to be Six feet high and ten feet in length. The firing will be under the immediate Supervision of the Brigade Comdrs, Supervised as far as practicable by the commanding officers of Divisions. The men should be marched to the place selected by companies one at a time, the officers of each company being regulated by the commanding officer of each Regiment or Battalion. One of the Field officers of each regiment should superintend the firing. The men will be allowed to load and fire singly so that each one can See whether or not he hits the target. A correct record will be kept of each shot fired, giving names of men whose shots struck the target. The record accompanied by a diagram of target on which will be indicated by dot the shots that struck will after the firing of Regiment is completed to be forwarded to the chief of ordnance of the Corps for information. The target should not be placed at a greater distance than 160 yards for the musket and at from 200 to 600 for the Rifle. On the right [side of the rear] Sight is a scale on which is marked the distance graduated 200 to 600 yards." [emphasis added] (RG109, C II, V53, 143-4, NARA)

A target six feet high by 10 feet wide at 200 yards ----- what an utter joke. From the order – particularly the direction that the soldiers were to be taught that the rear sights of their weapons had graduations by which they could regulate the impact of their shots at a distance – it is abundantly clear that three years into the war the soldiers of the Army of Tennessee had not been trained how to use their rifle muskets at militarily useful distances. But the men of the Army of Tennessee were both Southeners and westerners. Surely they knew how to shoot. Clearly not in Johnston's opinion. LOL

Is it any wonder that the Europeans, who had extensive marksmanship training programs for their armies, regarded the Americans as armed rabble from whom nothing useful could be learned.

Regards,
Don Dixon

 

[RodentRevolution]

A target six feet high by 10 feet wide at 200 yards ----- what an utter joke. From the order – particularly the direction that the soldiers were to be taught that the rear sights of their weapons had graduations by which they could regulate the impact of their shots at a distance – it is abundantly clear that three years into the war the soldiers of the Army of Tennessee had not been trained how to use their rifle muskets at militarily useful distances. But the men of the Army of Tennessee were both Southeners and westerners. Surely they knew how to shoot. Clearly not in Johnston's opinion. LOL

To be fair 6' by 10' is the approximate size of the front of a column of march. I think that what we see here is a recognition of how far behind the curve the soldiers of the Army of Tennessee were and rather than attempt to graduate them to European level marksmanship then at least teach them how to generate solid area fire.

Thus the thinking appears to be that if they can put rounds in on a column of march then they can certainly hit a column of attack or at least scare a line by having most of the missing rounds pass literally by men's ears.

 

[wausaubob]

Have you ever fired a muzzle loading rifle?

Nope.

 

[wausaubob]

To be fair 6' by 10' is the approximate size of the front of a column of march. I think that what we see here is a recognition of how far behind the curve the soldiers of the Army of Tennessee were and rather than attempt to graduate them to European level marksmanship then at least teach them how to generate solid area fire.

Thus the thinking appears to be that if they can put rounds in on a column of march then they can certainly hit a column of attack or at least scare a line by having most of the missing rounds pass literally by men's ears.

Driving the attackers to cover was often good enough to break up the attack.

 

[wausaubob]

With regards to the marksmanship skill set of the Federal and Confederate Armies, let us deal in fact rather than mythology, legend, or wishful thinking:

On 19 April 1864, two weeks before the Overland Campaign began, Major General Meade directed that the soldiers of the Army of Potomac receive an additional issue of 10 rounds of small arms ammunition. "Corps commanders will see that immediate measures are taken by subordinate officers to carry out the order. Every man should be made to load and fire his musket under the personal supervision of a company officer. It is believed there are men in this army who have been in numerous actions without ever firing their guns, and it is known that muskets taken on the battle-fields have been found filled nearly to the muzzle with cartridges. The commanding general cannot impress too earnestly on all officers and men the necessity of preparing themselves for the contingencies of battle." By then it was not about hitting a target at 200 yards or even hitting a target at 50 yards. It was about ensuring that the men could merely load and fire their weapons correctly 10 times three years into the war. [emphasis added] (O.R., I, V33, 907-8)

The Confederates were also coming to the realization that they had a marksmanship problem. General Joseph E. Johnston was assigned to command the Army of Tennessee on 23 December 1863. On 6 February 1864 Hardee's Corps issued the following general order reflecting Johnston's perception of the training needs of his army:

"By direction of the Genl commanding the Army of Tennessee ten rounds of ammunition per man will be fired at a target observing the following instruction: Each Regiment will construct its own target to be Six feet high and ten feet in length. The firing will be under the immediate Supervision of the Brigade Comdrs, Supervised as far as practicable by the commanding officers of Divisions. The men should be marched to the place selected by companies one at a time, the officers of each company being regulated by the commanding officer of each Regiment or Battalion. One of the Field officers of each regiment should superintend the firing. The men will be allowed to load and fire singly so that each one can See whether or not he hits the target. A correct record will be kept of each shot fired, giving names of men whose shots struck the target. The record accompanied by a diagram of target on which will be indicated by dot the shots that struck will after the firing of Regiment is completed to be forwarded to the chief of ordnance of the Corps for information. The target should not be placed at a greater distance than 160 yards for the musket and at from 200 to 600 for the Rifle. On the right [side of the rear] Sight is a scale on which is marked the distance graduated 200 to 600 yards." [emphasis added] (RG109, C II, V53, 143-4, NARA)

A target six feet high by 10 feet wide at 200 yards ----- what an utter joke. From the order – particularly the direction that the soldiers were to be taught that the rear sights of their weapons had graduations by which they could regulate the impact of their shots at a distance – it is abundantly clear that three years into the war the soldiers of the Army of Tennessee had not been trained how to use their rifle muskets at militarily useful distances. But the men of the Army of Tennessee were both Southeners and westerners. Surely they knew how to shoot. Clearly not in Johnston's opinion. LOL

Is it any wonder that the Europeans, who had extensive marksmanship training programs for their armies, regarded the Americans as armed rabble from whom nothing useful could be learned.

Regards,
Don Dixon

Which leads to question of how many fake soldiers there were among both belligerents? How many men and a few women, ate army food, drew army pay, and never did any fighting?

 

[Story]

Nope.

That's my point.

Reach out to these folks local to you and ask who the guys who do live fire are. If you're nice to them and bring them a donation, they might be inclined to show you how to put real bullets down range. I think you'll find that far more educational than anything I can write.

1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry Unit History

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