| 14th NJ Vol | 30 Jun 2017 5:56 a.m. PST |
Did mounted infantry fight ( charge ) while in the
Saddle? If yes what were they armed with? I have a scenario
That has both sides with rifle musket armed cavalry. I know
In the game folks will want to charge while mounted. Andy |
 Extra Crispy  | 30 Jun 2017 6:54 a.m. PST |
Not that I ever heard. Ride to the fight then dismount. They were not trained to fight on horseback. |
Frederick  | 30 Jun 2017 7:02 a.m. PST |
Mounted infantry were exactly that – as noted, mediocre horsemen who rode to get somewhere quick, then dismount to fight For example, one of the reasons the Royal Canadian Dragoons were so effective in South Africa during the Boer War was that they had absolutely no hesitation about quickly dismounting and using their machine gun section |
| ScottWashburn | 30 Jun 2017 7:23 a.m. PST |
Mounted infantry in the Civil War would have not had sabers or pistols, so fighting from horseback with a rifle (and possibly a bayonet) would have been awkward to say the least. They would have no training for mounted combat, either. Far more likely they would dismount to fight. |
| rustymusket | 30 Jun 2017 7:37 a.m. PST |
Good. That is what I understood but I was waiting for someone more knowledgeable to answer. |
| Ed Mohrmann | 30 Jun 2017 8:07 a.m. PST |
The best example of MI is probably Wilder's 'Lightening'
Brigade (9th/92nd/98th/123 Illinois Infantry). Wilder mounted his men on captured or seized animals,
provided them with long-handled axes as a melee weapon
although I could find NO accounts where the units were
actually involved in melee combat) and Spencer repeaters. The MI were that for mobility, not shock. |
| Great War Ace | 30 Jun 2017 8:27 a.m. PST |
You fight from the back of a horse when you want to court Death. Trained cavalry would make instant mincemeat out of mounted infantry, who would only fight mounted if forced to by ambush or trying to get away…….. |
| 14th NJ Vol | 30 Jun 2017 8:51 a.m. PST |
Thanks folks. I'll set up all the mounted infantry as
A no go for mounted melee. Andy |
| Waco Joe | 30 Jun 2017 9:41 a.m. PST |
yeah, not if they could help it. |
 Jeff Ewing | 30 Jun 2017 1:34 p.m. PST |
Still…a melee with "long-handled axes" would look great on the table. |
| Extrabio1947 | 30 Jun 2017 4:59 p.m. PST |
Whoever saw a dead cavalryman? IMHO, Wilder's Lightning Brigade was the most effective unit in the war. Tough fighters, mounted, and armed with Spencer's they purchased themselves. And don't forget Eli Lilly's attached artillery battery. |
| GreyONE | 30 Jun 2017 5:58 p.m. PST |
The only mounted infantry I read about who were issued with swords were the Australian Light Horse, but that was the 1908 pattern cavalry troopers sword were issued to all ranks of the Australian Mounted Division (3rd, 4th and 5th Light Horse Brigades) in August 1918. |
adds artillery to his soft-plastic Union forces.
