Order of March within Infantry Divisions

Tom Elmore

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Based on a few available examples, the order of march of brigades within a division alternated on a daily basis in both armies during the Gettysburg campaign, but likely the evolution was so routine that it is scarcely mentioned. A detailed record kept by an unidentified member of the 38th North Carolina illustrates the practice with regard to its own brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. Alfred Scales. (In the following chronology, the other three brigades comprising Maj. Gen. William Dorsey Pender’s division are represented as dashes.)

June 16 Scales --- --- ---
June 17 --- --- --- Scales
June 18 --- --- Scales ---
June 19 --- Scales --- ---
June 20 Scales --- --- ---
June 21 --- --- --- Scales
June 22 --- --- --- Scales
June 23 --- --- Scales ---
June 24 Scales --- --- ---
June 25 (unspecified; crossed Potomac)
June 26 --- Scales --- ---
June 27 (unspecified)
June 28 (in camp two miles from Fayetteville)
June 29 (in camp two miles from Fayetteville)
June 30 (unspecified)
(Source: Unsigned abstract report from the Thirty-Eighth North Carolina, Supplement to the Official Records.)

As noted, the march order for a given brigade was generally predictable, although variations frequently occurred. The lead brigade assigned on a given day’s march would set the pace and also be the first to halt and encamp at the conclusion of the march. The following day the last brigade in the column typically initiated the march, which based upon the “common step” pace of 70 yards/minute, meant that the previous day’s lead brigade could expect a delay of at least 25 minutes before its turn came to bring up the rear of the column (based on the strength of Pender’s division before the battle, and usual formation of four men marching abreast).

Yet it’s not quite that simple, since a Confederate division marched with an assigned artillery battalion, in addition to well over a hundred other vehicles (baggage, provision and ordnance wagons, ambulances, etc.) At least one regiment would be assigned to follow the wagon train and guard the rear. The latter duty was considered onerous owing to the numerous stops and starts to be endured, not to mention the inconvenience of avoiding excrement from hundreds of horses and mules. On June 20 and part of June 21, the 7th and 33rd North Carolina of Lane’s brigade were tasked with following the division train (Diary of William B. Howard, Company G, 7th North Carolina). Likewise, around noon on June 26, the 14th Georgia of Brig. Gen. Thomas’ brigade was ordered back four miles to protect the rear of the artillery and wagon train. The next day the regiment had to march rapidly to catch up with the rest of the division. (Diary of George W. Hall, Company G, 14th Georgia). On July 1, Brig. Gen. Ramseur’s entire brigade was sent back to guard Maj. Gen. Rodes’ division train, delaying its arrival on the field (Ramseur’s Official Report).

A similar daily rotation occurred within the Union army. Francis Greene, the impressionable teenage son of Brig. Gen. George S. Greene, recorded in his diary on June 18 that his father’s brigade left camp at 8 a.m., being the last of the three brigades in Brig. Gen. John W. Geary’s division to depart, “having been the first the day before.” (Diary of Francis Vinton Greene, Manuscript Collection, University of Virginia, Charlottesville).

The association of Brig. Gen. Orlando Smith’s brigade with west Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg was determined by its division rotation schedule on July 1, 1863. As a post-war history put it, “The alternating order of marching troops had brought Smith’s brigade of [Brig. Gen. Adolph A. Von] Steinwehr’s division in the rear of the marching column, and on its arrival at Cemetery Hill, about 1 p.m., was held in reserve by Gen. Steinwehr at that place.” (1808-1908 Centennial History of the Town of Nunda, ed. by H. Wells Hand, pp. 541-542, 136th New York.)

Likewise, Col. Strong Vincent’s secure reputation as a savior of Little Round Top on July 2 was nearly derailed by a footrace held the previous evening. Col. Jacob B. Sweitzer later wrote that the division was about to bivouac for the night on July 1, “when orders were received to move forward. The order of march was Third Brigade [Vincent], Second [Sweitzer], First [Tilton]. The Second Brigade, being nearer the road than the Third, had pulled out first, being first in the road for this reason. … Meanwhile, Colonel Vincent, who commanded the Third, had taken a new cut across the field in a direction that would bring him into the road, which made a turn at right angles in front of me. I was running up the road at the same time. Major Lamont of Brig. Gen. James Barnes’ staff (who had just given me the order of march) had gone off, then returned and said if I could keep the lead, I had the General’s permission to do so. The two brigades were in full view of each other and I saw the gallant Colonel Vincent was determined to take the lead, if possible, and had the shortest route, but I determined to make a run for it. I gave the order to double-quick; so did Vincent, and then commenced the most exciting little run I ever saw. But the ‘greyhounds’ won. We passed the gap Vincent had made in the fence when the head of his column was within a few rods of it, and the Second Brigade kept the lead.” (Supplemental report of Colonel Jacob Bowman Sweitzer, Sixty-Second Pennsylvania Infantry, Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, ed. by Janet B. Hewett, Noah A. Trudeau, Bryce A. Suderow, Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1995.) However, the division reverted back to the usual rotation the next day and marched to the battlefield in the order: Second, First and Third brigades. The rest, as they say, is history.
 
How were the baggage trains and artillery batteries situated within a line of march? Did regimental wagons travel behind the regiment, behind the brigade grouped with other regiments, or behind the division grouped with the other brigade and regiment wagons? Where was the cattle in relation to all of this?

I'm sure it varied, but just curious if anyone knows if there was a general rule of thumb during a generic march. Especially since, in a perfect world, a lot of important items would be in that wagon train.

Was it
Regiment Wagons Regiment Wagons Artillery Wagons Regiment Wagons etc.

Or was it Regiment Regiment Artillery Regiment Regiment Wagon Wagon Wagon Wagon

Or was it Brigade wagon wagon wagon wagon

Or Division wagon wagon wagon wagon wagon wagon

Or something else?

Found this which I haven't fully had a chance to parse through:
https://transportation.army.mil/History/PDF/Peninsula Campaign/Rodney Lackey Article_1.pdf
 
If we are talking about a brigade, what I have found is that the wagons traveled in the rear, but a regiment or company/companies were detached as a guard (on a rotating basis) to accompany the wagons. If moving through friendly territory, the wagon train and infantry guard would travel independently, sometimes on a different road, and would typically catch up with the rest of the brigade after it had encamped for the night. However, most of the ambulances would stay with the main infantry body to gather up soldiers who fell out due to illness, heat-related symptoms, etc.

In a larger command like a division or corps, artillery batteries might be interspersed between brigades, and the individual brigade wagon trains would normally be combined in one large wagon train, guarded by a correspondingly larger infantry guard. Again, if moving through friendly territory, the wagons might travel on a parallel road if available. Nearing the battlefield, only the ammunition wagons and ambulances would move forward with the infantry, while the baggage and forage wagons would be sent to a collection point safely out of harm's way. These functional groups were already lumped together, for instance, all the ammunition wagons (one per regiment) constituted a sub-unit within the train.

See also: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/wagon-train-guard-duty-on-the-march.180726/#post-2346150
 
I am a little confused on the description of order. It seems to state if you were first today then you are last tomorrow and if you are last today then you are first tomorrow. That wouldn't rotate the brigades. I would assume if you are first today then you are last tomorrow and if you are second today then you are first tomorrow. The description seems to imply that the last brigade in, which could be very late at night would be required to be the first out in the morning which could be very early.
 
I suppose the key takeaway is that a daily regular rotation between marching units was the norm in both armies, whether back toward the front, or else in the reverse direction does not appear to make any difference so long as it was consistent. I cannot say if it was simply the whim of the commanding officer who established the sequence.
 
At least one regiment would be assigned to follow the wagon train and guard the rear.
In Davis's Brigade's case, the detachment regiment on July 1st was the veteran 11th Mississippi. One has to speculate what may have happened in the initial clash with Cutler and the 6th Wisconsin had the 11th been present with the other 3 regiments.
 
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