Deploying on the Field

[CreedChgo]

Are there any reenactor staff officers, or historians, who could tell me about how long it would take a five regiment brigade to deploy into line of battle from a marching column in open ground? The brigade was understaffed and consisted of about 900.

 

[Lampasas Bill]

It would depend on which way the line of battle will be facing in relation to the marching column ( I assume you mean a column of fours). For example, if the column is marching north and the line of battle will be facing west (to the left), it would simply be a matter of halting the column and fronting the regiments, which would result in the entire brigade facing to the left and undoubling from four ranks to two. From the time the brigade is halted it might take a few minutes. That's the easy way; it gets more complicated if the line is to be formed straight ahead, to the right, or at some odd angle in between. Roughly speaking, to deploy the whole brigade it will take about as long as it takes the last regiment in the column to move into position on the chosen line of battle, considering, of course, that the officers know what they're doing. I'm just guessing, but a column of 900 men that are not simply deploying by facing to the left should be able to form in line within 10 minutes, may be less if they're veterans. There are a lot of variables...

 

[Stainless Steel Mucket]

More like five minutes.

They wouldn't be in column of fours. That causes a narrow front and a long length. You want the width of the front wider than four men across. The standard marching formation was a column of companies. It was the quickest way to move large blocks of soldiers. As the hypothetical here is on open ground, width isn't a problem.

Assume column of companies and assume the line to be formed is to the front.

Next is the calculation of distance the man farthest in the back would have to travel to get to the extreme right or left in line of battle.

Rather than divide the brigade into five regiments of 180 each, i'm going to go with a single unit of 900 soldiers.
The math is easier.

Per the manuals, the length of the column equals the width of the unit in line of battle. Take the 900 men and put them in one long line of battle, two ranks deep. This means a front of 450. The width of each man was calculated to be 21 inches. See, Capt. S. Flood Page, "Pencil Notes on Drill," p. 28 (London, 1862). 450 men times 21 inches equals 9450 inches or 262 yards. This figure represents the width of a 900 man regiment as well as its length when in column of companies. It also means the soldier at the very back of the column has to march 262 yards just to get to the immediate front.

How many steps and how much time? At the regulation 28" step, that rearmost soldier has to march 337 steps to get to the immediate front. (9450" ÷ 28" steps = 337 steps.) At 110 steps per minute it takes about three minutes to go straight.

But, that soldier needs to get to the extreme left or right of the line. Using the Pythagorean Theorem and the 1 - 1 - ^2 model, the diagonal distance is 447 steps. (337 steps x square root of two = 447 steps.) At 110 steps per minute it takes about four minutes to go diagonally from back to extreme left or right in line of battle.

Add in an extra minute to compensate for it being five units rather than one and for moving in companies rather than individual soldiers. So, five minutes.

- S.S. Mucket

 

[Seduzal]

Sorry but I have no clue. But maybe I can get you some help! paging @captaindrew @Rusk County Avengers

 

[captaindrew]

I can't expand any more on Mucket's explanation. Never thought of exact timing of deployments and we hardly ever have those kinds of numbers in the reenacting world. I know we can bring a column of companies into a battalion line, say 2 or 3 hundred guys, in a couple minutes if the officers and NCOs are on the ball. It can happen quick with a well trained bunch.

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

Sorry @Seduzal like captaindrew I can't add anything after the explanation by @Stainless Steel Mucket.

 

[Old Breck]

At Defending the Heartland and Warlike on the Rapidan, we had similar numbers to the regiments we were portraying.

Deploying the battalion and changing fronts took maybe a minute for each maneuver. Not long at all

Hess covers this very thing in depth in his Infantry Tactics book

 

[Seduzal]

Sorry @Seduzal like captaindrew I can't add anything after the explanation by @Stainless Steel Mucket.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[Stainless Steel Mucket]

Hess covers this very thing in depth in his Infantry Tactics book

That book from Hess is a pretty good read. Actually, haven't read a bad one from him yet.

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

That book from Hess is a pretty good read. Actually, haven't read a bad one from him yet.

A Book Review of it, or on his any of his books would be welcome in the Book Review section.

 

[Stainless Steel Mucket]

Yes, it would. It would also require rereading the book, but this time with an eye toward reviewing it instead of getting information from it. How about: "Civil War Infantry Tactics: Training, Combat, and Small-Unit Effectiveness" by Earl J. Hess is worth a read.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0807159379/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

 

[grognard]

I think an awful lot depends on the exact circumstances, the condition of the ground, and the experience level of the officers and NCOs. Is more information available?

The first thing catching my eye is, "The brigade was understaffed". Yes, 900 men take less time to move than 5,000 - IF the stripes and straps know what they're doing.

There was no "standard marching formation" -- that's why there are so many options in the manuals. If a narrow road is available, it's best to march by the flank ("column of fours"). If the road is wide enough it's better to form in column according to the largest subdivision (sections, platoons, companies, or divisions) that will fit. Really open ground is pretty uncommon on Civil War battlefields; there are always buildings, fences, woods, ponds etc. that complicate things if you make the formation too wide too soon.

A column at "full distance" takes up the same length as marching by the flank, but requires much more width; so it's often a stupid formation. Better to put your men in close column (unless you are vulnerable to artillery fire) since you can really stack up a lot of guys in minimum space. And a close column can be deployed on any subdivision, either left or right, taking a lot less time than a diagonal move like "Forward into Line".

So, if the officers know the ground and can choreograph all this in advance, it can be done very quickly. If they've just marched 20 miles and don't even know what county they're in -- different story.

Finally, brigades don't form continuous lines like battalions - at least not per the manuals. There are supposed to be gaps, which allow units to maneuver without running into each other, passage of skirmishers, etc. Somebody has to set the basis and direction of the brigade line, and after the battalions deploy they have to be dressed on it - unless it's a case of "y'all get on that fence thar and give 'em a volley". That takes more time.

So my vote is between five and twenty minutes.