Chain of Command question

[Wallyfish]

The untimely death of John Reynolds at Gettysburg set in motion a command change during the initial stages of the epic Battle of Gettysburg. In a quickly evolving battle like Gettysburg, how were battlefield commander decisions made on who outranked who?

Confusion had to have occurred on which General was actually on the battlefield and who outranked who. Did the Generals commit to memory who outranked who?

I managed a steel mill for several years and I was amazed how the union guys committed hire dates of fellow workers to memory. Seniority was a huge factor in a union shop.

In a scenario like Gettysburg where Meade and Hancock were both in transit to Gettysburg, I have always questioned who the official scorekeeper was on the General ranking hierarchy.

 

[rpkennedy]

The untimely death of John Reynolds at Gettysburg set in motion a command change during the initial stages of the epic Battle of Gettysburg. In a quickly evolving battle like Gettysburg, how were battlefield commander decisions made on who outranked who?

Confusion had to have occurred on which General was actually on the battlefield and who outranked who. Did the Generals commit to memory who outranked who?

I managed a steel mill for several years and I was amazed how the union guys committed hire dates of fellow workers to memory. Seniority was a huge factor in a union shop.

In a scenario like Gettysburg where Meade and Hancock were both in transit to Gettysburg, I have always questioned who the official scorekeeper was on the General ranking hierarchy.

Early on, General Doubleday was arriving on the battlefield when Reynolds was killed and took command of the First Corps almost immediately.

Shortly after Davis' men were driven from the railroad cut, Howard was coming onto the field (and sending messengers to Doubleday) and Doubleday turned over command of the field to him while informing him of Ewell's men coming down from the north and asking Howard to move the Eleventh Corps in that direction to protect Doubleday's right flank.

When Hancock came onto the field, he met Howard on Cemetery Hill and took command of the field (or partial command if Howard is to be believed, which I don't).

In this case, when command had to be turned over, it was pretty clear who was in charge and generally ended up meeting one another pretty quickly so the confusion was minimal.

R

 

[cash]

The untimely death of John Reynolds at Gettysburg set in motion a command change during the initial stages of the epic Battle of Gettysburg. In a quickly evolving battle like Gettysburg, how were battlefield commander decisions made on who outranked who?

Confusion had to have occurred on which General was actually on the battlefield and who outranked who. Did the Generals commit to memory who outranked who?

I managed a steel mill for several years and I was amazed how the union guys committed hire dates of fellow workers to memory. Seniority was a huge factor in a union shop.

In a scenario like Gettysburg where Meade and Hancock were both in transit to Gettysburg, I have always questioned who the official scorekeeper was on the General ranking hierarchy.

Generals knew who was senior to whom. They still do today.

 

[UCVRelics]

Generals knew who was senior to whom. They still do today.

I was just getting ready to post "to this day" I can't speak of the confusion at Gburg but with my time in service especially at the Brigade and higher level we all knew the pecking order DOR etc.

 

[theoldman]

At Gettysburg, IIRC, Howard was senior to Hancock but the latter was acting on the orders of the General Commanding, Meade.

 

[rpkennedy]

At Gettysburg, IIRC, Howard was senior to Hancock but the latter was acting on the orders of the General Commanding, Meade.

Correct. According to Howard, Hancock agreed to divide the command with Howard commanding the troops on one side of the Taneytown Road (IIRC) and Hancock taking the other side. Hancock says that he had total control until Slocum arrived.

R