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From: greg@ncelvax.UUCP (Gregory K. Ramsey)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Glory, strange tactics.
Summary: Battle Cry of Freedom
Keywords: civil war
Message-ID: <15412@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 10 Apr 90 16:45:04 GMT
References: <15221@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Organization: Naval Civil Engineering Lab, Port Hueneme
Lines: 57
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: greg@ncelvax.UUCP (Gregory K. Ramsey)

I am posting this for a fellow inmate here at the lab.
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I just finished reading Battle Cry of Freedom, a one volume history of 
the Civil War.  It cleary describes the tactics and weapons used in 
the conflict, along with the political happenings of the period.

As with any war the tactics used in the Civil War were based upon the 
previous war, the Mexican War.  In the Mexican War the main weapon was 
the smoothbore musket, a standby for decades.  They were very 
inaccurate, belligerents had to close to within 60 yards to have 
maximum effectiveness.  And after a few volleys, the force with the 
most discipline remaining would carry out a bayonet charge against the
other.  This was standard practice throughout the world through much of
the late 18th and most of the 19th century.  Until the advent of the 
rifle...

At the beginning of the Civil War, rifles were relatively few, but as 
the war progressed the casualties began to mount.  Frontal assualts 
were still the order of the day; Gettysburg, Fredricksburg, and other
places classic style wave attacks were stopped with horrific force.

In the last years of the Civil War earthworks and trenches became the
standard method of survival.  Everytime an army camped near the enemy 
earthworks were thrown up.  The spade became as important as the rifle.
And artillery was ineffective against earthworks, as shown by Fort
Wagner in the movie.  Other masonary forts, such as Fort Sumtner, were
reduced to rubble.

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the black regiment in the movie was
not disbanded right after the attack on Fort Wagner.  As was the 
practice of the time decimated regiments remained together, and others
were raised and numbered accordingly.  So at the end of the war, older
regiments were very small.

180,000 black soldiers served in the Civil War, 60,000 became casualties.
Generally, they guarded supply depots in the rear areas or manned supply
trains.  However, whenever they got into a fight they fought with 
a vengance, and with valor.  Also, it was the policy of the Confederate
forces to kill any black soldier and his white officer captured, any of 
the black soldiers not killed outright were sold into slavery.

Charles Lindsey 
Naval Civil Engineering Lab
Port Hueneme, CA  93043

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 greg@ncelvax.uucp ___             Greg Ramsey                    
         _n_n_n____i_i ________    Naval Civil Engineering Lab
        (____________I I______I    Code L54                805/
        /ooOOOO OOOOoo  oo oooo    Port Hueneme, CA 93043  982-9720