"ACW Firing Line proceedure" Topic

Hi All

Quick question or two about a firing line in the ACW …

I think typically soldiers were arranged in a double rank, so did both ranks fire at once, or was it front rank then rear rank?

Did the front rank kneel?

Did shooting after the first volley degenerate into a fire at will slug fest, or did soldiers deliver volley fire until one side retired.

I'm just painting up some ACW regiments and considering some firing/loading figures for variety.

Firing was by the orders given. Front rank, then rear rank. The front rank didn't always kneel. The rear would lean forward to stop any blow back into the faces of the boys up front. Independent fire was only when that order was given. Rarely did both ranks fire at the same time.

The front rank did not generally kneel unless a special situation called for it. Firing could be by rank, but I'm not aware that this was all that common. Two-rank volleys could produce a devastating effect, especially at close range. To prevent a unit from emptying all its weapons at once, volleys were often delivered by wing, division, company or platoon, each element firing in sequence then reloading. Perhaps the more common practice was firing by file, where the firing began with the front and rear rank men on the right of the unit and rippled down the unit's front, giving each pair a chance to reload and continue firing at will.

It was possible for a commander to maintain volley fire, but only as long as he was able to control his unit. With smoke, noise, confusion and casualties, a unit's firing would soon degenerated into the "fire at will slug fest" suggested above.

Battalion volleys used both ranks. Fire by company might be given after the original volley. In this case, each company fired by volley in sequence even/odd.

THE most common means of giving fire during the war, and such is even sated in the manuals, if "Fire by File".

In this process, the right hand file in each company brings up there weapons and gives fire. then the next file to their left, then the next file, etc. All 10 companies are executing this simultaneously.

Once each file has given fire, the two men in that file begin to load and then fire at will until the command to "Cease Fire" is given. At that point, the men reload and are either brought to the "ready" position, or "shoulder arms".

This method of giving fire permits the battalion to maintain a steady rate of fire against an enemy, and gives them no opportunity to move between volleys, etc. It also helps to maintain visibility, as the powder smoke is spread across the front in a much thinner layer.

Kneeling to fire was rarely done. In fact, although the men were trained to fire in both kneeling and prone positions, this was usually only done when deployed as skirmishers.

All soldiers were trained to fire in two ranks, safely, and also to fire by either oblique, again in two ranks.

TKindred is correct. After a soldier fires in 'fire by file', he immediately starts to reload. Then you'll have 'fire at will'. I have Dixon figures and my firing line is a mix of loading firing, and at the ready. After a volley or two that's what it usually looks like. But if you want them all firing, go for it. That was ordered as well, usually for the first volley with clean loaded weapons.

Uh, all the drill manuals have their own flavors. I do recall Sherman saying that for most of the war, what he saw was not formed, geometric perfect formations but rather fighting by dense skirmish lines. You fired when you were reloaded and thought you had a target.

Hi

what is a "file" in the formation? a pair of men (front and back ranks)?
thanks

pascal

A pair of men, front and back.

Thanks all, that's useful and informative … I'm not sure what I'll do but at least I know what the options are.

Some good answers here. When firing my battalion of reenactors I generally start off with a couple of vollies (everyone fires), then sometimes fire by wing (right half and left half of the battalion) or by company (each company fires a volley with the sequence being 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and then repeating). When firing both ranks at once (the usual practice) the rear rank takes a slight step to the right so that they are firing between the gap between the men of the front rank. You have to be careful not not let the rear rank start to drift backwards (as they have a tendency to do) or the front rank will be endangered by the rear rank. Preventing this is one of the jobs of the file closers.