What did a charge look like?

[shandy]

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question, but if not, I hope the moderators will remove it..

I'm interested in how an infantry charge looked like. I've read the accounts by Nosworthy and Hess on small unit tactics, so I know the basics. My question is very specific: Which poses did the infantrymen adopt?

I've read an account where it says the regiment advanced at right shoulder shift arms. When would they change to charge bayonet? What about the second rank? Did it also change to charge bayonet, or would it continue at right shoulder shift (or right shoulder arms)?

I'd be grateful if anyone could give me some hints!

Thanks,
Thomas

 

[Jimbo_Poke]

Bump to get this thread above ground after being buried by regurgitated divisive topics.

I would be interested to see if any posters have some insight on this. Good question.

 

[Nathanb1]

If you want accounts of what happened during charges..... this is the thread...https://civilwartalk.com/threads/hoods-texas-brigade.130089/#post-1451583

 

[AUG]

My understanding is that, when ordered, the first rank would charge bayonet and the second would stay at right shoulder shift.

That was how a charge was supposed to happen, but it didn't always look like that. They might advance without bayonets if they didn't have time to fix them or had none, as was the case with some Confederate regiments. Once the line nears the enemy the ranks brake apart. Some men keep running forward, some run to the rear, others might drop down just short of the enemy line or stop to fire.


The line soon loses all semblance of regular formation; the companies have become merely groups of men, loading and firing and taking advantage of any accident of ground – natural depression, tree, rock, even a pile of fence rails that will give protection. But if the soldier is about where he belongs – to the right or left of the regimental colors, according to the normal place of his company in line – he feels reasonably sure of resuming formation whenever the command may come to "cease firing" and to "dress on colors" preparatory to an advance or charge. If the latter, though the move may begin in perfect order, it is almost immediately lost.

The charge delivered by our brigade at Frayser's Farm. . . was, as seen by a Federal general who was captured there, "in V-shape, without order and in perfect recklessness." This formation was in no wise intentional, the apex of the V in question being simply the brigade commander, General Field, who personally conducted the attack upon the battery and the slope of the sides, as the individual prowess of his followers might determine. Even more characteristic of a Confederate infantry onset was the description of an officer of high rank on that side, "A tumultuous rush of men each aligning on himself and yelling like a demon on his own hook."
- Allen C. Redwood (55th Virginia Infantry), Photographic History of the Civil War, Vol 8, 174-76.


And it is not officers alone who give orders, the command to charge may come from a private in the line whose quick eye sees the opportunity, and who's order brooks then no delay. Springing forward, he shouts 'charge, boys, charge!' The line catches his enthusiasm, answers with yells and fallows him in the charge. Generally it is a wild and spontaneous cry from many throats along the line, readily evoked by the least sign of wavering in the enemy. . . .

And a charge looks just as disorderly. With a burst of yells, a long, wavering, loose jointed line sweeps rapidly forward, only now and then one or two stopping to fire, while here and there drop the killed and wounded; the slightly wounded, some of them, giving no heed but rushing on, while others run hurriedly, half-bent, to the rear. The colors drop, are seized again, — again drop, and are again lifted, no man in reach daring to pass them by on the ground. — colors, not bright and whole and clean as when they came fresh from the white embroidering fingers, but since clutched in the storm of battle with grimy, bloody hands, and torn into shreds by shot and shell.
- Berry Benson (Gregg's 1st South Carolina Infantry and later Dunlop's Sharpshooter Battalion), Memoirs of a Confederate Scout and Sharpshooter, 22-23.


There were swaying movements in our line, something like the waves that run along a rope swung losely between two points when it is shaken at an end. Everybody seemed to be tempted forward. Somebody--I believe it was just a private--said in that tone which is always heard by the brave in battle, "Over the fence and charge.". . .

. . . there was no lead to command except the experience of the field and line officers, and the combative, but prudent advancing of the southern volunteers. It is a study for the military critic. Our line looked far more broken and undressed than the militia drill in the Georgia Scenes; but that line, so far as I can judge, was exactly as it ought to have been. It was a combination of Indian weariness and English stubbornness. It had antennae throughout, to tell by delicate contact when to recoil and when to move forward. . . .
- Capt. John Reed (Co. I, 8th Georgia Infantry at the second battle of Deep Bottom), in John Horn, The Siege of Petersburg: The Battles for the Weldon Railroad, August 1864, 86-87, 95.

 

[shandy]

Thanks! I guess it makes sense that the rigid formation tended to break down in the heat of the charge... it was probably also dependent on the regiment, its level of drill and its experience in battle. I've read somewhere that veteran lines looked more 'undressed' (as in the last quote) than those of green regiments, while at the same time being much more resilient.

 

[AUG]

Thanks! I guess it makes sense that the rigid formation tended to break down in the heat of the charge... it was probably also dependent on the regiment, its level of drill and its experience in battle. I've read somewhere that veteran lines looked more 'undressed' (as in the last quote) than those of green regiments, while at the same time being much more resilient.

Yes, it sounds like that was often the case. Early in the war many inexperienced units suffered heavy losses because they stopped short of the enemy line during a frontal attack and fired away while standing in formation. Experienced troops would have either kept charging before the defending force could reload, or at least spread out a bit, get behind some cover and advance in short rushes.

As Berry Benson also says in his memoir:
Since I am writing this as a heirloom for Benson 1963 which I hope will go down amongst my descendants for a long time, and since amongst those there will be many who will go through life without ever experiencing the excitement of battle, and who, unless they imbibe very different ideas of these things from what I did in my boyhood, before I had seen for myself, may get quite false notions in regard to it, I want to try to tell something of how the fighting really goes on. I supposed a battle was carried on in the order and style of first-class drill, knees all bent at the same angle and at the same moment, guns leveled on a line that was even as a floor, and every trigger pulled at one moment making a single report.

For a battle is not a drillroom, nor is battle an occasion for drill, and there is the merest semblance of order maintained. I say semblance of order, for there is an undercurrent of order in tried troops that surpasses that of the drillroom; — it is that order that springs from the confidence that comrades have in each other, from the knowledge that these messmates of yours, whether they stand or lie upon the ground, close together or scattered apart, in front of you three paces, or in rear of you six, in the open or behind a tree or a rock, — that these, though they do not 'touch elbows to the right,' are nevertheless keeping dressed upon the colors in some rough fashion, and that the line will not move forward and leave them there, nor will they move back and leave the line.

A battle is entered into, mostly, in as good order and with as close a drill front as the nature of the ground will permit, but at the first "pop! pop!" of the rifles there comes a sudden loosening of the ranks, a freeing of selves from impediment of contact, and every man goes to fighting on his own hook; firing as, and when he likes, and reloading as fast as he fires. He takes shelter wherever he can find it, so he does not get too far away from his Co., and his officers will call his attention to this should he move too far. He may stand up, he may kneel down, he may lie down, it is all right; — tho' mostly the men keep standing, except when silent under fire — then they lie down.

 

[damYankee]

This is the last, if not the only film of a 11 th. US Cavalry Brigade carrying out maneuvers. It was filmed about 2 miles from my grandparents ranch at Camp Lockett, Calif.
The 11th Cav were the last Buffalo Soldiers still using horses.

 

[shandy]

Interestingly, Earl Hess in his new book Civil War Infantry Tactics argues that drill formations were more widely used on the battlefield than some think, and that they proved very useful.

I've read several accounts of regiments dressing the ranks under fire, and sometimes going through the manual of arms was used to calm the troops while under fire (in fact, it seems to be one of the indicators of how good an outfit was - if they could dress their ranks under fire, or go through the manual of arms, they counted as capable).

 

[Cavalry Charger]

This is the last, if not the only film of a 11 th. US Cavalry Brigade carrying out maneuvers. It was filmed about 2 miles from my grandparents ranch at Camp Lockett, Calif.
The 11th Cav were the last Buffalo Soldiers still using horses.

That was inspiring to see these men in action. You can imagine how terrifying a Cavalry charge might have been, and the thundering of hooves on approach would have made it even more so! Thanks for sharing.

 

[AUG]

Interestingly, Earl Hess in his new book Civil War Infantry Tactics argues that drill formations were more widely used on the battlefield than some think, and that they proved very useful.

I've read several accounts of regiments dressing the ranks under fire, and sometimes going through the manual of arms was used to calm the troops while under fire (in fact, it seems to be one of the indicators of how good an outfit was - if they could dress their ranks under fire, or go through the manual of arms, they counted as capable).

I don't mean to say that closed order formations were not used in battle. They were still crucial for getting units into action and maneuvering them around the battlefield. A well-drilled regiment or brigade could perform complicated maneuvers under fire or over rough terrain and get to where they needed to be. And of course being well drilled usually alluded to a very cohesive unit structure overall.

As mentioned in the above accounts, they marched into battle in formation but once engaged it was hard to keep everyone in line due to soldiers falling out of formation with the tendency to get behind some piece of cover, plus stragglers and casualties. When the situation permitted, the ranks could be redressed - when disengaged, after routing the enemy, or otherwise having to move across the field again. I imagine that a regiment might go through this a number of times in a battle.

In the case of a frontal assault on a fixed position, they might march most of the way in perfect formation but the last 100 yards or so would look more like a bum rush.

 

[shandy]

Ah yes, that makes perfect sense!
Thanks for your erudite answers, I can now imagine better what happened - and my specific question has been answered to my complete satisfaction.

 

[damYankee]

That was inspiring to see these men in action. You can imagine how terrifying a Cavalry charge might have been, and the thundering of hooves on approach would have made it even more so! Thanks for sharing.

Here is a link to the history of Camp Lockett. My grandfathers ranch was a couple of miles away, he raised feed for the horses and beef for the men stationed there from 1927 till the base was converted to a convalescent hospital for returning WWII soldiers. He was also the county constable, and for a few dollars would serve as a taxi service for men who were on leave and wanted to go into San Diego.
Before WWII, it was a "post" a small contingent of cavalry were stationed there primarily to secure the border, it was part of a network of Camps and Posts the spread from Brownsville, Texas to San Diego. It had been in operation since the 1860s.
The chapel you see in the article was shared by the community and was our family church, I spent many a summer day at VBS there....

http://www.militarymuseum.org/CpLockett.html

 

[Camp Randall Armory]

Kelton's Bayonet Manual described how the bayonet charge looked in actual use. The two ranks would carry at Arms Port at double quick/run. A few yards from the enemy lines the front rank would go to charge bayonet and engage the enemy, the rear rank would halt, remain at Arms Port, and support the front rank as the tactical situation dictated.

 

[damYankee]

Kelton's Bayonet Manual described how the bayonet charge looked in actual use. The two ranks would carry at Arms Port at double quick/run. A few yards from the enemy lines the front rank would go to charge bayonet and engage the enemy, the rear rank would halt, remain at Arms Port, and support the front rank as the tactical situation dictated.

The last US Cavalry charge was in the Philippine Islands during WWII, it is a great story, but it didn't end well for the horses...
Motto 'Shock, Mobility, Firepower "

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/o...st-cavalry-charge-by-the-us-army-8557345.html

 

[AUG]

One makeshift tactic in an infantry charge I've seen mentioned in a few accounts is suddenly dropping down at every volley or discharge, letting it pass overhead, then jumping back up again and resuming the advance. The Texans did this to good effect in the final charge on McRae's Battery at Valverde in the New Mexico Campaign.

We out-flanked them and converged from the right and right-center upon their field battery. We went with a rush, firing as we advanced, falling down as their cannon belched forth their grape and canister, and then steadily advancing, as their left gave way and fled pell-mell into the river.
- W. P. Laughter (2nd Texas Mounted Rifles), Civil War in the Southwest: Recollections of the Sibley Brigade by Jerry Thompson, p. 63

At last Col. Green gave the signal command. "Charge, the whole line, Charge!" This was what we had been longing for. With shouts and yells we dashed forward. An account which I afterwards saw in a Yankee paper said that we were ten thousand strong and that though their cannon loaded with grape swept us down by the hundred, yet new men took the places of the fallen, and still came on. The truth was that there were not many over a thousand men in that charge, and they, though new to battle, were old in strategy. Watching the flash from the guns, each man threw himself on the ground and as the discharge passed over, rose and pushed forward again. No wonder they thought we fell in hundreds. At the same time we were firing with deadly accuracy, and the enemy fell in great numbers. Some of our best shots aimed only at the men supporting the cannon and it was here that the brave Pikes Peak men met their fate. Hardly a man of those two brave companies but fell before the battle was over.
- Henry C. Wright (4th Texas Mounted Rifles), A Johnny Reb in Sibley's New Mexico Campaign: Reminiscences of Pvt. Henry C. Wright, 1861-1862, Part I, Michael L. Tate, East Texas Historical Journal, Vol. 25, Iss. 2, Article 7.

Another account of this by a North Carolina soldier in the battle of Globe Tavern at the siege of Petersburg:

We moved steadily through the pines and came to an open field about a hundred and fifty yards wide. On the farther side was a line of breastworks full of Federal soldiers standing up looking at us. The command to charge was given. We threw our guns to a trail and, with our well-known yell, made a dash for their works. Still they stood and looked at us. We knew what it meant; they had the "white-of-the-eye" order, which meant, "Don't fire a shot until you can see the white in their eyes." Thus they stood until we were within twenty-five or thirty yards, then threw their guns across the works, and just as they stooped to fire we dropped as one man, and the whole volley went over our heads. None were killed and very few wounded. As we fell as one man, we arose as one man, and before they could reload we were in the works among them. They did not stand for the bayonet.
- William A. Day (49th North Carolina Infantry), "Life Among Bullets—In The Rifle Pits" in the Confederate Veteran, Vol. 29, p. 216.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Bayonets and charges. Bayonets are ghastly - were they really used as in stabbing someone in the CW? The threat alone would make me want to run, but I'm assuming they had a very horrible and pragmatic purpose. Only I've never read anything like, "the whole line was bayonetted." Can someone enlighten me please?

 

[huskerblitz]

No, that was the point of a bayonet charge...to get the enemy to turn and run rather than becoming a stabbing dummy. Edged weapons, including the bayonet, made up only around 2% of CW wounds.

 

[AUG]

Bayonets and charges. Bayonets are ghastly - were they really used as in stabbing someone in the CW? The threat alone would make me want to run, but I'm assuming they had a very horrible and pragmatic purpose. Only I've never read anything like, "the whole line was bayonetted." Can someone enlighten me please?

Bayonet wounds and hand-to-hand were rare. Usually the defending line broke and ran or surrendered in mass before the bayonet was ever used. When hand-to-hand did break out it usually didn't last very long. There were, however, a few instances that saw prolonged close quarters combat and probably a higher number of bayonet and melee wounds, e.g. the battle of Glendale/Frayser's Farm, the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania, the Crater at Petersburg.

Another thing was the supposed preference for swinging the musket like a club rather than using the bayonet, so perhaps that also accounted for the lack of recorded bayonet wounds. Some say that bayonet wounds were more lethal, hence few wounded men surviving to have their wounds recorded, but I'm not so sure about that. Maybe in a few cases, but I think the main reason was just the overall lack of hand-to-hand combat.