"Junior officers on horse." Topic

We usually put our hight ranking officers on horse in our wargames or dioramas.

But what about junior officers on horse from infantry units riding side by side with their men?.

I'm speaking of 2Lt. to Captain which leads their men to the atack but not on foot.

I understand that they would be perfect targets for the enemy shooters, but were there any reagulation about that the junior infantry officers never can advance to the atack with their men on horse?.

And in your wargames, did you put some on horse or only on foot?. As I played 1 to 1 I had to admit that I had some of them.

Reading some british junior infantry memories, they usually admit to had more than a horse, but when they had to advance to an struggle, they left their horses at the rearguard and lead their men on foot only.

Did the other nationalities did the same thing?

I'm not speaking of ADC, scorts or courriers, I'm asking for simple junior officer of infantry batalions leading their men on horse on the first line.

Thanks in advance for your comments.
Armicalment
Armand

As I recall, junior field officers in the ACW weren't issued with horses – if for no other reason than, at least at the start, many were indifferent horsemen – while there may have been some captains and lieutenants who picked up a horse, they pretty much all would have walked into battle

Junior officers were not mounted. It's as simple as that.

Nobody smaller than battalion commander would be mounted. He might have a domestic or similar assistant who also had a horse, but you would not see that person on the battlefield.

British adjutants (often lieutenants) were usually mounted

The 1st and 2nd lieutenants and the 2nd and 3rd sergants of a company formed a line of file closers behind the rear rank of the company when it was in line of battle. The Captain marched in the front rank on the flank of the company, followed by his 1st sergeant in the rear rank.

I have read of regimental adjutants also riding into battle. There were some examples of this in the Gettysburg literature.

Company level officers would fight on foot always i believe, only the battalion CO, adjutants also.. possible the 2nd in command of the battalion.

Though i beleive some rich officers may have had a horse or two in camp, for hunting and riding about .. but in battle it would hamper their duties.

For wargaming purposes, the only junior grade officers I would mount would be aides de camp, etc. Otherwise it's field officers on up.

A company level officers combat duties absolutely required him to be on foot.

Company level officers who could afford horses often had them on campaign, but in combat they were strictly with the baggage. You can find some comment on the excess of officers horses and baggage clogging up the roads and attempts to cut down on it.

For the marches during campaign, you may assume basically all officers to be mounted. During an engagement a bataillon would have two mounted battle stations – as a general rule. That of the commander and that of the 2nd in C major. The latter often halting behind the right wing of the bataillon. All other battle stations for officers within the bataillon were dismounted.

But in case the batalion commander need to send an urgent message to the CO, didn't he need a junior officer on horse?

Or he would send people on foot only?.

Amicalement
Armand

Its possible that regimental adjutants were mounted.

In Napoleonic British and ACW US Regulations they were responsible to the Battalion CO for monitoring the alignment of the battalion with the other battalions to the side during an advance.

It would have been a lot easier to do on a horse.

En Avant,

A lot of the time a Brigade deployed over quite a small area and in more than one line.

So if the Brigadier was positioned in the center of the Brigade and the Battalion commander was in the correct place – in center rear of his battalion – a man on foot might only need to run 50 or 60 meters.

If on the move the battalion commander could send the adjutant on horse back and pay attention to the alignment of the battalion himself, until his return.

Just to summarize: in an ACW regiment(battalion) the Colonel, Lt. Colonel and Major would be mounted (although they usually sent their horses to the rear when action was imminent because they would make such good targets). The adjutant might also have a horse. None of the line officers (captains & lieutenants) would have horses (they might possibly have one for marching long distances, but this is unlikely due to the cost--the higher ranking officers had an allowance in their pay to cover a horse, but the junior officers did not.) It is also possible that some of the the regimental staff officers (surgeon, quartermaster) might have a horse, too.

An infantry regiment's colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, and adjutant (a lieutenant) were supposed to be mounted. All company officers (captains and lieutenants) were not.

The regimental officers needed mounts to move from company to company, flank to flank, etc. Company officers did not.

British napoleonic adjutants were mounted