"Diagrams of skirmish lines" Topic

Hi all,

I'm trying to work on some 3mm ACW units and I wanted to make some cool looking skirmish bases that I would set in front of the regiments in line. I know that the skirmish line was actually a series of several lines. I was wondering how many lines of skirmishers there were and how they formed up. I know that there was a reserve line about half way between the main body of troops and the firing line of skirmishers. I was wondering what formation the reserve line might have taken (did it stand in a normal two rank formation?) And finally, how much space was supposed to be between each man in the screen?

Any information on this is appreciated. I have an idea for what I want to do, but I want to verify that I'm making my skirmish lines look historically correct before I begin.

Thanks!

? Where did you get the idea that skirmishers came in a series of lines?

For the ACW, it was the skrimish line and maybe a section or company back as support/reserves in close formation.

See the link below. Scroll down to 'Instructions for
Skirmishers'.

10thbattalion.org/school.php

A skirmish line formed into two lines, with the individual soldiers at 10 paces of interval. The soldiers in the rear line were directly behind their file mate in the front line.

There was approximately 10 paces between the two lines. The skirmish line advanced, retreated, wheeled, formed sections of four to repel cavalry, or could fall back upon the reserves, all commands given by bugle.

In both the advance and retreat, the lines would maintain their intervals and spaces. When orderd to advance firing, the first man would fire, and then while he reloaded, the man directly behind him would advance to, and past him about 10 paces. When his partner was loaded, then he would fire, and the process repeated until the cease fire was given. Retreats worked exactly the same, with the man in front firing, then retreating past his filemate to a point 10 paces to HIS rear, then reloading, often loading while he moved.

The strength of the line depended upon how many companies were sent out as skirmishers. A rule of thumb is that half of those sent out would remain at a point behind the skirmish line, still formed in line of battle, to act as either a base for the skirmishers to fall back upon, or a source of reinforcements, should the need arise.

Although the interval was listed as 10 paces, the regulations also admonish the officers and men to take advantage of whatever cover is available, and that thw 10-pace interval could and should be adjusted as the terrain permitted.

Yes Tim is correct. They fought in one or two lines depending upon the need.

Don

A bit of nitpicking :) Skirmishers formed in a single rank with 5 paces between men. They only did the front-rank, rear-rank leapfrog thing that TKindred describes when firing WHILE advancing or retreating. If they were not firing, or if they were firing without moving they were in a single rank.

The regulations call for one platoon of a company to deployed as skirmishers with the second platoon in close order (two ranks, shoulder to shoulder) about 150 yards to the rear. If the skirmish line was ordered to stay fairly close to the main line then the reserve might be dispensed with.

Scott is correct. The 10 pace interval would appear when the line was firing.

V/R

Ok, that is excellent information guys, thanks a lot.

McLaddie- I was referring to the company used as a reserve for the skirmishers as a line in the more abstract sense, not as a continuous line across the frontage of the regiment.

So, because of the excellent answers on here I now have two ways I can represent the firing line- ten pace and two men deep or five pace and one man deep.

Now, if we say that one or two companies have been sent out to skirmish- should the reserve be centered on the middle of the regiment so as to have equal distance between the flanks, and if it it was two companies up front for a heavier line would the companies form up on a line side by side, or would one be located towards the left flank of the regiment and the other towards the right? I don't need an exhaustive answer, because I know there were always tactical considerations. But if I have a 300 man regiment and I wanted to model it at 2:1, would it be ok for basic purposes to have, say, a company of 16 out in front of the center of the regiment and then the skirmish line a distance past them?

Also, would the reserve line have had some sort of guidon or flag? I really appreciate your collective knowledge on this!

thanks!

The reserve was there to support the men from its own company so they would try to stay centered behind the platoon from their company who had been sent out as skirmishers. As you note, circumstances might see them somewhere else.

Normally they would not have a guidon. Each regiment had two 'general guides' who carried guidons. Their function was to mark the flanks of the regiment when in line or the directing flank when in column. They would have no reason to go forward with the skirmishers. That said, early in the war you sometimes saw regiments where each company had a guidon. That pretty much disappeared as the war went on.

The skirmishers and the reserve would definitely have buglers. Typically the company commander would place himself with a few escorts about halfway between the skirmish line and the reserve so he could oversee both.

So the reserve was in front of the company? So the reserve "line" would actually be a series of ten small groups in front of their companies? Interesting. I'll try to do that and see how it looks…

Uh, In don't think I said that :)

Skirmishers operated in company groups. One platoon (half the company) would be deployed as skirmishers with the men 5 paces apart. They would be in front and closest to the enemy. 150 yards behind them would be the reserve (the other platoon of the company). The reserve would be in close order. Somewhere in between the skirmish line and the reserve would be the company commander with a few men. In that position he could give orders to both the skirmish line and the reserve. The rest of the battalion (the regiment the skirmish company was part of) would be somewhere behind the reserve. As I noted earlier, if the battalion was close behind the skirmishers, the skirmishers' reserve might be dispensed with and the whole company deployed as skirmishers.

Now if the whole regiment (battalion) was deployed as skirmishers (say to cover the front of a brigade) then you could conceivably have a skirmish line and ten groups of reserves standing behind them.

And to further complicate things :) there are numerous references in official reports and diaries to a "Heavy Skirmish Line" and to multiple lines of skirmishers. So far as I know, no one (today) has adequately explained what exactly that is. The regulations don't describe it and the idea of multiple skirmish lines one behind the other doesn't make much sense since the following lines could not fire for fear of hitting their own men in front of them. All I can think of would be either 1) a skirmish line where the space between men is reduced from the standard 5 paces to a lesser distance to allow more men on the skirmish line (the regulations do permit this) or 2) having the reserve very close to the leading skirmish line and the reserve deployed as skirmishers to reduce their vulnerability and to allow them to reinforce the skirmish line very quickly.

Scott-

Glad to hear the ten small clump thing isn't what you meant because I already did it the way you just mentioned in your second to last post (one reserve in the middle). I'll post a picture of what I did later on today maybe. A "heavy skirmish line" might also be a line in which more men are fed, or which advances with three or four men leap frogging each other, couldn't it? If a skirmish like was three or four men deep they could keep up a pretty decent ROF to their front and force the other side to committ further men to the line or else quit the field.

It's an interesting question though. Longstreet mentions a heavy skirmish line a few times but never says exactly what he means by that. I do believe that it's always in the context of an assault. I'd have to double check that though…

Bufford warned his picked the night before G'burg that the rebel skirmishers would come three deep and booming.

Multiple skirmish lines were used in advance of an attack in order to push in the enemy's pickets and still maintain the coverage of the advancing formations. When contact is made the leading line engages and forces the enemy, the following lines maneuver around and continue to advance.

I think that Scott W. has already pointed this out: ACW skirmish lines were formed with a single line of skirmishers, not two, or teams of two, on forward and one back as they did in the Napoleonic wars. Both Hardee, Casey and then Upton afterward have this… [IIRC]

A heavy skirmish line could be:

1. That forming of a file [two men, one up, the other back] as I have seen some reenactors do.
2. Reduced distance between more skirmishers, though 5 paces isn't much, more of a starting point in deploying.
3. More heavily reinforced and a quicker 'cycle through' of skirmishers.
4. Or any combination of the above.

My guess is that each effort could be any combination depending on the situation, forces and commanders…

I was referring to the company used as a reserve for the skirmishers as a line in the more abstract sense, not as a continuous line across the frontage of the regiment.

forwardmarchstudios:
Understood. The reserves/supports 'generally were in the center as a single group, but I have seen comments that it all depended on the situation, and if there was concern about the flanks, the supports could be positioned there.

Bill H.

I have always understood that the reference to a "heavy skirmish line" meant that an entire regiment was deployed as skirmishers, usually across the frontage of the brigade.

Were this the case, then Buford's comments about "the rebel skirmishers would come three deep and booming " makes absolute sense.

You would have what would appear to be two lines of skirmishers (comrades advancing using overwatch & fire) and then a series of reserves staggered behind their deployed platoons which to an observer would certainly constitute a third line.

Well, Buford's description could just as well have been an extended line… and three deep? As most skirmish lines were based on four-man groups, he could just be making a guessimate based on a dense line or simple battlefield hyperbole. I think the problems are these:

1. The more troops, the larger the command system needed
2. Group such forces tightly together and what are the benefits vs a unit in line? Just as big a target and not as easily controlled as a formed line.
3. Heavy skirmish lines are bigger targets.

All this is not to say Buford had it wrong, only things to temper any consideration of 'heavy skirmish lines.'

Casey's Manual shows a single line of skirmishers, though formed with groups of four, and three close formation reserves in two lines behind. Two are at each flank and the rear one is in the center. [School of the Company, p.184-185]

As pointed out further up, skirmishers DO form in a single line, but only for maneuver. As soon as they are ordered to engage, they revert to a fire & bound which amounts to two lines. One man firing, and then reloading while his filemate bounds past him and takes position. It's just the reverse when withdrawing.

But if they are not advancing or retreating and just firing in place they go back to a single line. Confusin' ain't it? :)

The difference between the Napoleonic times and ACW is that every man in an ACW skirmish line was five paces from the next, whether forward, back or in a single line. In a typical Napoleonic chain, the two man 'file' would be five paces from the next file, and remain one loaded behind, one firing forward, and then they'd switch, maintaing that distance from the adjacent files. I don't know why or when the Americans decided this single skirmish line as the Napoleonic method was practiced for the rest of the century by all nations, even the 1870 war and the British colonial wars. It was even used in the advance in 1915 on the Somme. It was the reason most all light infantry formed in two ranks during the Napoleonic wars [Jagers, Legere, Brits, Fusiliers, and the rest.] Easier to go into two man/file skirmish line or chain.

The British during the French and Indian Wars, AWI and 1812 practiced the two man file method. The first regulations written for the 60th and Royal American Rangers in 1758 described this same methodology for skirmishing.