How would you serve?

[bamaman]

If you fought in the war would you be in the infantry, artillery or cavalry?

 

[JerryD]

The forgotten service. They haven't a clue just how much the Navy put into the victory.

Oh, I think most students of the war realize what a strategic advantage the US had in terms of control of the waves and rivers. But yes, I think most casual folks don't appreciate just how important control of the rivers and the blockade contributed to victory.

 

[rob63]

What, nobody picked the Confederate submarine service?

 

[RebelWeber]

If you fought in the war would you be in the infantry, artillery or cavalry?

I got one word for you ... Logistics.
I'm not sure where I'd be but I know what I'd be doing ...

 

[Old Soldier]

What, nobody picked the Confederate submarine service?

Bit of a one-way ticket.

 

[Old Soldier]

I got one word for you ... Logistics.
I'm not sure where I'd be but I know what I'd be doing ...

Sitting with your feet up with a coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other, telling the boys to 'get ready'.

 

[Dan Kohli]

I'd say artillery, but would also go for Engineer or Signal Corps. A fourth would be the Ordnance Department.

 

[J C J Barefoot]

I'd be in the Heavy Artillery because in addition to working the big guns-, in places like DC , Fort Monroe and New Orleans, they were cross trained and and detailed out on navel , river and costal defense,(like the James River) light field artillery ( Gettysburg) infantry reinforcement (Petersburg) and provost guards ( fall of Richmond and Fort Monroe). So a broad variety of skills and talents were needed and the men in the ranks would have been pretty sharp to serve by---they were an early version of special forces. If they wouldn't let me serve there I'd choose to be a Judge Advocate on the Federal Bureau of Military Justice representing defendants in court martial and military justice cases. And if they wouldn't let me do that I'd be an aide de camp to General Dan Sickles just for the pure entertainment and the stories I could tell after the war.

 

[Dan Kohli]

I'd be in the Heavy Artillery because in addition to working the big guns-, in places like DC , Fort Monroe and New Orleans, they were cross trained and and detailed out on navel , river and costal defense,(like the James River) light field artillery ( Gettysburg) infantry reinforcement (Petersburg) and provost guards ( fall of Richmond and Fort Monroe). So a broad variety of skills and talents were needed and the men in the ranks would have been pretty sharp to serve by---they were an early version of special forces. If they wouldn't let me serve there I'd choose to be a Judge Advocate on the Federal Bureau of Military Justice representing defendants in court martial and military justice cases. And if they wouldn't let me do that I'd be an aide de camp to General Dan Sickles just for the pure entertainment and the stories I could tell after the war.

How exactly were they special forces?

 

[Old Soldier]

I'd be in the Heavy Artillery because in addition to working the big guns-, in places like DC , Fort Monroe and New Orleans, they were cross trained and and detailed out on navel , river and costal defense,(like the James River) light field artillery ( Gettysburg) infantry reinforcement (Petersburg) and provost guards ( fall of Richmond and Fort Monroe). So a broad variety of skills and talents were needed and the men in the ranks would have been pretty sharp to serve by---they were an early version of special forces. If they wouldn't let me serve there I'd choose to be a Judge Advocate on the Federal Bureau of Military Justice representing defendants in court martial and military justice cases. And if they wouldn't let me do that I'd be an aide de camp to General Dan Sickles just for the pure entertainment and the stories I could tell after the war.

You would be stuck in forts for the duration of the war with little to do - garrison artillery - issued with the oldest weapons, if any at all. You would have little choice in where you went or the fortifications you would have to defend - and even less choice on what you could do to improve them. Now imagine having to stay there under siege conditions. As for aide-de-camp, remember they were targets for the snipers too.

 

[Stony]

I would serve as an officer in Wade Hampton's cavalry. That is all.

 

[BronxYankee]

Well since I served in the Coast Guard, I'd probably serve in a sea going service for the Union. Coast Guard was known as the US Revenue Cutter Service during the Civil War.

 

[J C J Barefoot]

You would be stuck in forts for the duration of the war with little to do - garrison artillery - issued with the oldest weapons, if any at all. You would have little choice in where you went or the fortifications you would have to defend - and even less choice on what you could do to improve them. Now imagine having to stay there under siege conditions. As for aide-de-camp, remember they were targets for the snipers too.

I'm sure that what you state was true for some heavies. However, my great grandfather was in the PA 152nd 3rd heavies and I know from reading the various companies records and histories and following his assignments that that they were detailed out exactly as I stated.

 

[J C J Barefoot]

How exactly were they special forces?

Beg you pardon. Term of art. There were of course no special forces as we understand the term today in the AOP. The heavies had both naval and infantry men. Some , like my great grandfather had served as combat infantry and when their first enlistment was up re-enlisted with the heavies. As there were so many of their number in both the NY and PA heavies, they would often be detailed out to other regiments. For example, defending DC, serving with Butler on the Bermuda line, then engaging in the seige of Petersburg. One of his companies were shifted from heavy to light and ended up engaged at Gettysburg. His company was on provost when the AOP entered Richmond. They were manning the guns on Drewery's Bluff and other units floated down the James on attack gun boats. Finally, at the end of the war companies from the PA 3rd heavies were on guard duty when Jefferson Davis was there locked up. All in all the variety of what they did was special.

 

[Dan Kohli]

Beg you pardon. Term of art. There were of course no special forces as we understand the term today in the AOP. The heavies had both naval and infantry men. Some , like my great grandfather had served as combat infantry and when their first enlistment was up re-enlisted with the heavies. As there were so many of their number in both the NY and PA heavies, they would often be detailed out to other regiments. For example, defending DC, serving with Butler on the Bermuda line, then engaging in the seige of Petersburg. One of his companies were shifted from heavy to light and ended up engaged at Gettysburg. His company was on provost when the AOP entered Richmond. They were manning the guns on Drewery's Bluff and other units floated down the James on attack gun boats. Finally, at the end of the war companies from the PA 3rd heavies were on guard duty when Jefferson Davis was there locked up. All in all the variety of what they did was special.

The were pressed into what ever service they were available for. What the Heavy/foot artillery were supposed to be doing was manning artillery in forts, siege and sea coast batteries, mountain artillery and rocket batteries .

 

[Old Soldier]

Emergency reserve.

 

[J C J Barefoot]

The were pressed into what ever service they were available for. What the Heavy/foot artillery were supposed to be doing was manning artillery in forts, siege and sea coast batteries, mountain artillery and rocket batteries .

Yes. That is true. Here is a link that gives a history of the 152nd Pa 3rd Heavies that shows the vast variety of details and assignments the various companies were there to posted.
https://pa-roots.com/pacw/artillery/3dartillery/3dartorg.html

 

[ColonelBuckwalter]

What, nobody picked the Confederate submarine service?

I used to work with a submarine in HMN. He said after he retired an African nation asked him if he would be the captain of the lead boat in their new class. He said he walked down the pier, looked at the subs, looked at the officer abd said, "Not on your life. Death traps."

How they got people in that boat the secomd time, after thebfirst crew dying (and getting pretty funky) before shevwas raised, only to die themselves shows a lot of sand. Or mild insanity. I've tattooed some of our sub guys having worked near a base with sub pens. Had the opertunity to go have a few drinks too. Different kind of sailors. Much respect.

 

[ColonelBuckwalter]

"How would I have served ? "

Interesting question @bamaman.
There's a 99.9 % chance I would have served as a basic Infantry soldier.


My fantasy would be a Captain in the CS Navy ...
sailing the CSS Shenandoah into Melbourne, Australia.

Actually I have Civil War relatives in all three branches.
However reality is fact.

I'm not wealthy enough for a Cav. Unit.
I hated math and trigonometry, so artillery is not an option.
But I'm pretty good with a rifle.

So yeah, I would have been in an Infantry Company ... by default.

I'd have to say Navy myself. I've spent a lot of time on the water. I'm more familiar with ot and cone from a long line of sailors.

Avfriend of mine, former in gantry, said I was just a fat guy (mildly insulted but not to far off) and i preferred a hit meal, and warm place to sleep. Granted, the food wasn't all that good, water got fouled, and a long time on stations with very little glory that land forces get.

Of course torpedos, shore batteries, heat, boredom, and if stuck on an ironclad, deafness, probably undiagnosed TBI from concussion within an enclosed iron space, perpetual breakdows, and that wonderful hydrochloric acid and water combo, could make for a bad day.

Comparatively marching en echelon into murderous fire, constantly being around road apples, or throwing up gun emplacements doesn't seem like my tin cup of pop skull.

So as I said to my friend, "Navy, because sitting in a cold, wet hole on the ground is not my forte."

 

[Library Lady]

As a woman I would have the only role available - keep things going at home while waiting for letters. Unless I wanted to spy, I suppose. But I'm not devious enough for that.

You might be selling yourself short, @lupaglupa . There's been a spate of books lately about the librarian spies of World War II. Librarians know how to research and how to manage/synthesize information. I don't think you'd have to act like a tramp unless you wanted to (Rose Greenhow, I'm looking at you).

Another type of "woman's work" was making cartridges at the arsenals/laboratories. I can't say I'd recommend it.

 

[Library Lady]

I would be in the Revenue Cutter Service on the Great lakes. Let's see the rebs get to me there.
TnFed

Might depend on what lake you're assigned to.

USS Michigan was a target of Confederate agents as described below courtesy of Wikipedia:

During 1864, rumors of Confederate conspiracies in Canada were heard again. In March, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered Michigan to be "prepared for active service as soon as the ice will permit." In the autumn, the Confederates finally struck. Led by Acting Master John Yates Beall, 20 Confederates embarked on the steamer Philo Parsons as passengers and soon seized her. They next captured and burned the steamer Island Queen. Meanwhile, Captain Charles H. Cole, CSA, a Confederate agent in the Lake Erie region, was attempting to gain the trust of Michigan's officers as the Michigan lay off Johnson's Island helping to guard Confederate prisoners. However, Commander Carter discovered Cole's duplicity and had him arrested before Beall reached Johnson's Island on Philo Parsons. When the prearranged signals from shore were not made, Beall reluctantly abandoned his plan and retired to Sandwich (now Windsor, Ontario) where he stripped and burned Philo Parsons.[1]​

For anyone who enjoys historical fiction, the latest (2025) winner of the American Library Association's Boyd Award for Excellence in Military Fiction is Rebel Falls by Tim Wendel which is based on the above incident.