Gavrilo Sartorys
Private
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2019
- Location
- Orléans, France
Hi everyone !
Dealing with effective numbers of troops in the Civil War is a tough job, especially with the Confederacy. Last year, I started to work on a board/wargame depicting the military aspect of the war in the Western and Eastern fronts when I suddenly realized how painful it would be to get each piece of information about the military units, from regimental level to a company-level.
I therefore simplified it and then I thought about the historical accuracy : I have read on a web article (maybe on Wikipedia) that, at the beginning of the war, each Confederate regiment would have been composed of three battalions, each composed of 5 or 6 companies (Cos.).
This attempt to assemble a huge amount of men at a regimental level never succeed, for I didn't find any information about a 3-battalion regiment during the war, excepting Hilliard's Alabama Legion, composed of three infantry battalions, one artillery (turned to infantry) battalion and one cavalry battalion (a total of five battalions, numbering almost 3,000 men according to ranger95.com).
Meanwhile, this gave me an idea : trying to create orders of battle with a three-battalion regimental structure.
Perhaps the number of Cos. would have been fixed between 9 (minimum) and 12 (maximum) per regiment, meaning that each battalion would be composed of 3 to 4 Cos. The maximum strength of a single regiment would be fixed between 360 (min.) and 720 (max.).
Several benefits must be pointed out with such a peculiar organization =
- depleted Cos. could be merged easily within a single battalion, or regiment.
- the total number of regiments will be reduced.
- the maximum strength of a single regiment would be increased.
- with less subordinates, field communication would be improved with better effects on tactical movements.
- the possibility to detach strong troops easily to a secondary front.
I took the example of Alabamian regiments of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Peninsula Campaign, just before the Seven Days Battles :
(= the numbers which are used below were calculated from Brett Schulte's OOBs website, by multiplying the PFD number by 0.85, because some 15% of the soldiers composing each unit are not supposed to participate in the fight).
* Alabamians in D. H. Hill's Division
- 5th Regiment (380) / 6th Regiment (620) / 12th Regiment (290) from Rodes' Brigade = 1,290
- - - 5th (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (640) = 1st Battalion (220, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.)
- - - 6th (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (650) = 1st Battalion (230, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.)
- 13th Regiment (350) / 26th Regiment (210) from Rains' Brigade = 560
- - - 13th (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (560) = 1st Battalion (200, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (180, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (180, 4 Cos.)
- - - [+ approximately 2 Cos. of 50 men from the 26th Alabama would join the unit in the end of 1862 ]
From five average regiments, a brigade of three strong regiments could be formed under the command of Brigadier-General Robert E. Rodes.
The process could be used for the other Alabamian units of the ANV, to increase the strength of Rodes' Brigade (for example, the 3rd and the 4th Alabama Regiments, reinforced by the Cos. of the 44th Alabama Regiment).
- 3rd Regiment (520) / 4th Regiment (390) / 44th Regiment (390) = 1,300
- - - 3rd (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (650) = 1st Battalion (230, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.)
- - - 4th (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (650) = 1st Battalion (230, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.)
The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Alabama Infantry Regiments would be gathered under the command of Robert E. Rodes, numbering 2,590 effective soldiers, while the 13th would be transferred to Archer's Tennessee brigade.
Result : June 1862
RODES' BRIGADE : BG Robert E. Rodes (2,590, 4 new regiments formed out of 6 old regiments)
- - - 3rd Alabama I.R. : Col. Cullen A. Battle (650, 3 x 4 Cos.)
- - - 4th Alabama I.R. : Col. Evander M. Law (650, 3 x 4 Cos.)
- - - 5th Alabama I.R. : Col. Christopher C. Pegues (640, 3 x 4 Cos.)
- - - 6th Alabama I.R. : Col. John B. Gordon (650, 3 x 4 Cos.)
At Gettysburg, if the Brigade enters the fight with historical numbers (multiplied by 0.85), the result would be :
LAW'S (RODES') BRIGADE : BG Evander M. Law (1,760 effectives, collected from the historical 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 12th and 44th Alabama Infantry Regiments)
- - - 3rd Alabama I.R. : Col. Cullen Battle (450) = 1st Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.)
- - - 4th Alabama I.R. : Col. Pinckney D. Bowles (450) = 1st Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.)
- - - 5th Alabama I.R. : Col. Josephus Hall (410) = 1st Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (130, 3 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (130, 3 Cos.)
- - - 6th Alabama I.R. : Col. James N. Lightfoot (450) = 1st Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.)
Even if the regiments have reduced numbers compared to the Seven Days, they still forming a strong brigade providing enough power and fluidity to an assault on the heights of Gettysburg. If the units suffers again, the 5th Alabama could be disbanded and its Cos. would merge with the three other regiments.
From my point of view, this military idea was certainly a sound one and would have turned the Confederate Army into a modern and functional military organisation. But I can imagine how difficult it is to manage such numbers and units, with seniority feuds between officers, with the restriction of the "States Rights" policy, etc. If the Confederacy had a strong central military administration, associated with an old military education among the population, this project may have work and might have influence modern armies.
Dealing with effective numbers of troops in the Civil War is a tough job, especially with the Confederacy. Last year, I started to work on a board/wargame depicting the military aspect of the war in the Western and Eastern fronts when I suddenly realized how painful it would be to get each piece of information about the military units, from regimental level to a company-level.
I therefore simplified it and then I thought about the historical accuracy : I have read on a web article (maybe on Wikipedia) that, at the beginning of the war, each Confederate regiment would have been composed of three battalions, each composed of 5 or 6 companies (Cos.).
This attempt to assemble a huge amount of men at a regimental level never succeed, for I didn't find any information about a 3-battalion regiment during the war, excepting Hilliard's Alabama Legion, composed of three infantry battalions, one artillery (turned to infantry) battalion and one cavalry battalion (a total of five battalions, numbering almost 3,000 men according to ranger95.com).
Meanwhile, this gave me an idea : trying to create orders of battle with a three-battalion regimental structure.
Perhaps the number of Cos. would have been fixed between 9 (minimum) and 12 (maximum) per regiment, meaning that each battalion would be composed of 3 to 4 Cos. The maximum strength of a single regiment would be fixed between 360 (min.) and 720 (max.).
Several benefits must be pointed out with such a peculiar organization =
- depleted Cos. could be merged easily within a single battalion, or regiment.
- the total number of regiments will be reduced.
- the maximum strength of a single regiment would be increased.
- with less subordinates, field communication would be improved with better effects on tactical movements.
- the possibility to detach strong troops easily to a secondary front.
I took the example of Alabamian regiments of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Peninsula Campaign, just before the Seven Days Battles :
(= the numbers which are used below were calculated from Brett Schulte's OOBs website, by multiplying the PFD number by 0.85, because some 15% of the soldiers composing each unit are not supposed to participate in the fight).
* Alabamians in D. H. Hill's Division
- 5th Regiment (380) / 6th Regiment (620) / 12th Regiment (290) from Rodes' Brigade = 1,290
- - - 5th (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (640) = 1st Battalion (220, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.)
- - - 6th (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (650) = 1st Battalion (230, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.)
- 13th Regiment (350) / 26th Regiment (210) from Rains' Brigade = 560
- - - 13th (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (560) = 1st Battalion (200, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (180, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (180, 4 Cos.)
- - - [+ approximately 2 Cos. of 50 men from the 26th Alabama would join the unit in the end of 1862 ]
From five average regiments, a brigade of three strong regiments could be formed under the command of Brigadier-General Robert E. Rodes.
The process could be used for the other Alabamian units of the ANV, to increase the strength of Rodes' Brigade (for example, the 3rd and the 4th Alabama Regiments, reinforced by the Cos. of the 44th Alabama Regiment).
- 3rd Regiment (520) / 4th Regiment (390) / 44th Regiment (390) = 1,300
- - - 3rd (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (650) = 1st Battalion (230, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.)
- - - 4th (New) Alabama Infantry Regiment (650) = 1st Battalion (230, 4 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (210, 4 Cos.)
The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Alabama Infantry Regiments would be gathered under the command of Robert E. Rodes, numbering 2,590 effective soldiers, while the 13th would be transferred to Archer's Tennessee brigade.
Result : June 1862
RODES' BRIGADE : BG Robert E. Rodes (2,590, 4 new regiments formed out of 6 old regiments)
- - - 3rd Alabama I.R. : Col. Cullen A. Battle (650, 3 x 4 Cos.)
- - - 4th Alabama I.R. : Col. Evander M. Law (650, 3 x 4 Cos.)
- - - 5th Alabama I.R. : Col. Christopher C. Pegues (640, 3 x 4 Cos.)
- - - 6th Alabama I.R. : Col. John B. Gordon (650, 3 x 4 Cos.)
At Gettysburg, if the Brigade enters the fight with historical numbers (multiplied by 0.85), the result would be :
LAW'S (RODES') BRIGADE : BG Evander M. Law (1,760 effectives, collected from the historical 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 12th and 44th Alabama Infantry Regiments)
- - - 3rd Alabama I.R. : Col. Cullen Battle (450) = 1st Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.)
- - - 4th Alabama I.R. : Col. Pinckney D. Bowles (450) = 1st Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.)
- - - 5th Alabama I.R. : Col. Josephus Hall (410) = 1st Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (130, 3 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (130, 3 Cos.)
- - - 6th Alabama I.R. : Col. James N. Lightfoot (450) = 1st Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 2nd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.) / 3rd Battalion (150, 3 Cos.)
Even if the regiments have reduced numbers compared to the Seven Days, they still forming a strong brigade providing enough power and fluidity to an assault on the heights of Gettysburg. If the units suffers again, the 5th Alabama could be disbanded and its Cos. would merge with the three other regiments.
From my point of view, this military idea was certainly a sound one and would have turned the Confederate Army into a modern and functional military organisation. But I can imagine how difficult it is to manage such numbers and units, with seniority feuds between officers, with the restriction of the "States Rights" policy, etc. If the Confederacy had a strong central military administration, associated with an old military education among the population, this project may have work and might have influence modern armies.