Where should I start for Logistics

[Molchman]

Hello All,

I am new to the group and was wondering what people feel about resources to better understand the logistics of military operations including supply, transportation, timelines, order of movement etc. I want to better understand how armies were moved at that time, and the though processes and considerations for this. I don't yet have specific detail that I am looking for as this is a new interest to me. I read that there were Corps that would create trains as long as 50-70 miles….I always wondered…how was that possible. How did they resupply units, how long could a carry along supply of ammo last a regiment in an engagement and what were their options (of course this varied)

I've had a lot of fun looking at download data files unit sizes and casualties. I think the logistics of something on this magnitude would be fascinating to better understand. Thanks for any information you are willing to share.

 

[Belfoured]

Hello All,

I am new to the group and was wondering what people feel about resources to better understand the logistics of military operations including supply, transportation, timelines, order of movement etc. I want to better understand how armies were moved at that time, and the though processes and considerations for this. I don't yet have specific detail that I am looking for as this is a new interest to me. I read that there were Corps that would create trains as long as 50-70 miles….I always wondered…how was that possible. How did they resupply units, how long could a carry along supply of ammo last a regiment in an engagement and what were their options (of course this varied)

I've had a lot of fun looking at download data files unit sizes and casualties. I think the logistics of something on this magnitude would be fascinating to better understand. Thanks for any information you are willing to share.

Welcome. You'll find good background in two well-done books by Earl Hess: Civil War Logistics (2017) and Civil War Supply and Strategy: Feeding Men and Moving Armies (2020). I recommend both.

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

Welcome to the forum @Molchman.

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

 

[Championhilz]

Warren E. Grabau's book 98 Days: A Geographers View of the Vicksburg Campaign does a very good job of explaining the complex logistics needed to keep the Union army supplied during the 1863 campaign to capture the Hill City.

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

 

[DaveBrt]

Hello All,

I am new to the group and was wondering what people feel about resources to better understand the logistics of military operations including supply, transportation, timelines, order of movement etc. I want to better understand how armies were moved at that time, and the though processes and considerations for this. I don't yet have specific detail that I am looking for as this is a new interest to me. I read that there were Corps that would create trains as long as 50-70 miles….I always wondered…how was that possible. How did they resupply units, how long could a carry along supply of ammo last a regiment in an engagement and what were their options (of course this varied)

I've had a lot of fun looking at download data files unit sizes and casualties. I think the logistics of something on this magnitude would be fascinating to better understand. Thanks for any information you are willing to share.

After you have been swimming in the Logistics pond for a while, let us know if you want more and in what field. There are other sources that are definitely in the weeds for certain sub specialties.

 

[Pat Answer]

Welcome to the forum.
I second the Earl Hess book recommendations of @Belfoured .
And if you want to know literally anything about Confederate railroad operations, @DaveBrt is your man.

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

 

[Rhea Cole]

A unique perspective on Union logistics is in 'The Supply For Tomorrow Must Not Fail; the Civil War of Captain Simon Perkins Jr., A Union Quartermaster.' By Lenette Taylor.

Perkins was an Army Quartermaster, which sounds like a generic description, but is in fact a title. He was a civilian commissioned as a captain who supervised Rosecrans' HQ during the Battle of Stones River & the railheads at Nashville & Murfreesboro. At the end of his contract in 1864, he settled his accounts & should have burned them.

Fortunately for us, still neatly tied up in red tape, his records were discovered in the attic of his family home. A grad student at the time, Taylor was called in to investigate the find.

Perkins held a unique position. He was under the authority of Rosecrans as commander of the Department of the Cumberland, but reported directly to QM HQ in Cincinnati & the QM General in Washington. That meant that he was outside of the ordinary chain of command. There are letters from two star generals to a QM captain apologizing for not vigorously returning vital empty gunny sacks… Perkin's position was not an ordinary one.

I know of no better description of the movement of remounts southward & broken down equines northward on the single track Nashville & Chattanooga RR during the Tullahoma / Chattanooga Campaigns. Because of the single track 2,000 foot tunnel through Monteagle CSX trains dose-do on enormously long sidings today.

Perkins' records are filled with details, often amusing, of the logistical nuts & bolts. E.g., provosts in Nashville arrested his teamsters for speeding. When unpaid RR workers became mutinous, Perkins was summoned to Cincinnati. He returned southward alone with a chest containing hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold as a footstool.

To give an example of how meticulously the vast quantity of freight was accounted for, Perkins had to investigate the loss of a single box. Turns out it was delivered but accidentally left out of the paperwork.

'The Supply for Tomorrow Must Not Fail.' Is in print & available new & used. Anyone interested in CW logistics should have this book on their shelf.

 

[Dan Kohli]

The 1861 Regulations should also have some good information on logistics. I would would also add one for military food selection & packaging, mule packing,

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/0d3674_2c9d2d3148a44fa28d0b68390c90f027.pdf

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/0d3674_a7e008b9c9234cd3988fd599a585b895.pdf

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/c1e07c_a3998fd970264ffeaade175c3805d21a.pdf

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/c1e07c_8aca1985a8f44a4f91174e025a9e4397.pdf

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/c1e07c_c4b4825213514a3dab25b22644c49cec.pdf

 

[Woods-walker]

Hello All,

I am new to the group and was wondering what people feel about resources to better understand the logistics of military operations including supply, transportation, timelines, order of movement etc. I want to better understand how armies were moved at that time, and the though processes and considerations for this. I don't yet have specific detail that I am looking for as this is a new interest to me. I read that there were Corps that would create trains as long as 50-70 miles….I always wondered…how was that possible. How did they resupply units, how long could a carry along supply of ammo last a regiment in an engagement and what were their options (of course this varied)

I've had a lot of fun looking at download data files unit sizes and casualties. I think the logistics of something on this magnitude would be fascinating to better understand. Thanks for any information you are willing to share.

Welcome from Soldiers Who Fought on Horseback Cavalry forum

 

[jackt62]

I've read the Earl Hess book on logistics and recommend it. But I'll probably check out some of the other titles mentioned.

 

[Coonewah Creek]

This volume covers army logistics from 1775 - 1953, not just the Civil War, but it's very good. "The Sinews of War: Army Logistics 1775-1953," by James A. Huston. You can download the PDF from the link below (its produced by the Center of Military History, US Army, so it is not under copyright):

The Sinews of War: Army Logistics, 1775-1953 - U.S. Army Center of Military History

The Sinews of War: Army Logistics, 1775-1953

history.army.mil

 

[Pat Answer]

Lots of informative charts in this one:

https://transportation.army.mil/history/pdf/Peninsula_Campaign/Rodney%20Lackey%20Article_1.pdf

 

[Molchman]

The 1861 Regulations should also have some good information on logistics. I would would also add one for military food selection & packaging, mule packing,

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/0d3674_2c9d2d3148a44fa28d0b68390c90f027.pdf

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/0d3674_a7e008b9c9234cd3988fd599a585b895.pdf

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/c1e07c_a3998fd970264ffeaade175c3805d21a.pdf

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/c1e07c_8aca1985a8f44a4f91174e025a9e4397.pdf

https://www.11thovc.com/_files/ugd/c1e07c_c4b4825213514a3dab25b22644c49cec.pdf

This is fantastic!! Thank you for this.

 

[Molchman]

Lots of informative charts in this one:

https://transportation.army.mil/history/pdf/Peninsula_Campaign/Rodney%20Lackey%20Article_1.pdf

This is tremendous info thank you so much!

 

[Pat Answer]

It really puts 'moving an army' in perspective, doesn't it?

 

[Lubliner]

I need to put a plug in to the Official Records of the Army. The major campaigns had reports submitted to the commanding general and Washington, and these were published in a series of volumes that are found online. For instance, the Wilderness Campaign or Sherman's march to the sea in 1864 give very concise overviews of the logistics and the problems they faced. It also speaks about the changes in regulations as the war progresses, sharing the burden by evacuating wounded soldiers from the field, and positioning the supplies with guards as the army advanced.
Lubliner.