Placement of Companies in a Regimental Front

[Cornfed]

I am seeking information concerning the method used to place companies in a regimental front. Let’s say you have a full regiment consisting of 10 companies; how would each company be placed in line? Once established, what circumstances, if any, would cause the regimental front to be reshuffled?

Taking a look at Gilham’s we find the following:

From ARTICLE I - ARMY ORGANIZATION

The Regiment

9. A REGIMENT is composed of ten companies, which are habitually posted from right to left, in the following order: first, sixth, fourth, ninth, eighth, third, fifth, tenth, seventh, second, according to the rank of the captain. With a less number of companies the same principle will be orbserved, viz.: the first captain commands the right company, the second captain the left company, the third captain the right centre company, and so on.
The companies thus posted are designated from right to left, first company, second company, etc. The designation is observed in all the manoeuvres.
The first two companies on the right, whatever their denomination, form the first division; the next two companies the second division; and so on to the left.
In all exercises and manoeuvres, every regiment, or part of a regiment, composed of two or more companies, is called a battalion.
Every regiment is provided with a color, which is posted with its guard, to be designated hereafter, on the left of the right centre company; that company, and all on its right belong to the right wing of the regiment, or battalion; the remaining companies constitute the left wing.
To each regiment are attached a colonel, who commands it, and is responsible for its general discipline and instruction, a lieutenant-colonel, two majors, a quartermaster, commissary, paymaster, surgeon, and frequently an assistant surgeon, an adjutant, sergeant major, quartermaster sergeant, and commissary sergeant. The four first named of these officers are the field officers of the regiment; the others constitute its commissioned and non-commissioned staff.

What do other manuals, like Hardees Revised, have to say about this issue? If a captain became incapacitated or became a casualty and company command was taken over by a lieutenant, how would this effect the line? Any thoughts and information from other manuals is greatly appreciated.

[paulcalloway]

I'm going to give you this from memory, I hope I remember this right - I'm in a hotel and away from all my manuals:

10 Companies arranged in battalion formation:

A F D K H C E L G B

[MassVOL]

Periodically at the Regimental Commander’s discretion the companies would be reorganized, typically after loss of personnel or officers. The companies are specifically listed as numbers in the manual you cited because they are to be ordered by seniority and not alphabetical. Occasionally in regimental histories the author will talk about the companies being resorted or even consolidated as a result of loss. Col Guiney in his letters on the 9th Mass mentions with some frequency the orders being changed in the companies order to be in accordance with new assignments. Common sense would dictate that the regimental front would not change in battle, but would do so during a lull, winter quarters, or a substantial list of promotions coming form the Governor of the state. Also consolidation of regiments due to loss would also occur. For instance the 25th Mass was consolidated into four companies in 1864 after Cold Harbor if memory serves. There is a good article on this in the Columbia Rifles Compendium volume 2.

[cprljohnivey]

Phil,

I have the CRRC2. If you want to borrow it... just say the word. I can give it to you at Leesburg

[Cornfed]

Adding more confusion to this question is a diagram found in Civil War Infantryman : In Camp, on the March, and in Battle, by Gregory Coco, showing how companies are arrayed in a regimental front. It listed them as follows:

A C D E F G H I K B

[cprljohnivey]

I think the statement that companies are arranged in order of Captain seniority and not company letter is correct.

[riptailedroarer]

from Casys

6, In a regiment composed of ten companies. eight Will be habitually posted from right to left in the following order: first, fifth.fourth, eighth,sixth,second, according to the rank of th captains. these Will be called battalion companies.

as I understand it, if the captain of company B is the senior captain then his company is posted on the right as the first company.
this also this means that in an eight company battalion the four senior captains are posted to command the four "Divisions."

[MassVOL]

I believe the two not ordered by seniority would be the Color Company and the Company of Skirmishers. The first having a required fixed position and the other not conforming to the general front in a battle line.

[Charles Heath]

Phil,

Don't forget to crack open your copy of P.I.E.

[Cornfed]

Charles,

Good idea. I've got a copy and didn't think about looking at it.

Thanks for all the help guys.

Phil,

Don't forget to crack open your copy of P.I.E.

[DougCooper]

All (manuals) are right here - the senior captain is Co A (1st), next senior Co B (2nd) etc. Co A and B are generally the skirmish companies because they are on the flanks for ease of deployment (and of course have theoretically the most experienced Captains).

Dom's P.I.E. has an outstanding table of company order when dealing with less than 10 companies.

[Charles Heath]

Dom's P.I.E. has an outstanding table of company order when dealing with less than 10 companies.

Phil, please take note of how handy that table can be when you need to order a whole bunch of company letters for an event. Not that anyone really does anything quite that hardcore. :wink_smil

Heheheh.

[acwillen]

from Casys

6, In a regiment composed of ten companies. eight Will be habitually posted from right to left in the following order: first, fifth.fourth, eighth,sixth,second, according to the rank of th captains. these Will be called battalion companies.

as I understand it, if the captain of company B is the senior captain then his company is posted on the right as the first company.
this also this means that in an eight company battalion the four senior captains are posted to command the four "Divisions."

Be careful with that - '62 Casey's also has a 'correction' by Stanton:

WAR DEPARTMENT,

WASHINGTON, August 11, 1862.

The System of Infantry Tactics, prepared by Brig. General SILAS CASEY, U. S. A., having been approved by the President, is adopted for the instruction of the Infantry of the Armies of the United States, whether Regular, Volunteer, or Militia, with the following modifications viz.:

First.--That portion which requires that two companies shall be permanently detached from the battalion as skirmishers, will be suspended.

Second.-- In Title First, Article First, the following will be substituted for paragraph 6, viz.:

" A regiment is composed of ten companies, which will be habitually posted from right to left in the following order: First, sixth, fourth, ninth, third, eighth, fifth, tenth, seventh, second, according to the rank of Captains."

EDWIN M. STANTON,
Secretary of War.
That arrangement is different than the one given above for Gilham (the two center companies are switched), but is the same across Casey's and both the '55 and '62 Hardee's (IIRC).

Either way, it is by seniority of company commanders, not company letter, as others have rightly stated. When a captain is lost (for whatever reason) that company pretty much goes to the back of the class and becomes the "tenth" company in seniority, or the seventh from the right end of the line.

[john duffer]

Something I noted in this thread that I hadn't thought about before - in the reenacting battalion the senior captain commands company A, the next B, etc., and we get the AFD........B formation. I'm thinking in the real world that would get ragged in time and the senior captain might command C or K. All the manuals I've looked at so far list the order by rank of captain - no mention of company letters. So, is company A on the right a slight reenactorism or did company letter have anything to do with placement

[Cornfed]

John,

It does not appear that the company letter designations had anything to do with how the companies were placed in line. The seniority of each captain was the deciding factor. If, for instance, the senior captain just happened to be commanding company A that company would be placed on the far right and would be designated 1st Company. It also appears that once in a more static situation (after a campaign or battle) a reshuffling would occur depending on company command casualties or absences for some other reason like sickness. Given all this, the regimental commander still held the perogative to make adjustments as he deemed necessary.
Something I noted in this thread that I hadn't thought about before - in the reenacting battalion the senior captain commands company A, the next B, etc., and we get the AFD........B formation. I'm thinking in the real world that would get ragged in time and the senior captain might command C or K. All the manuals I've looked at so far list the order by rank of captain - no mention of company letters. So, is company A on the right a slight reenactorism or did company letter have anything to do with placement

[RJSamp]

I'm going to give you this from memory, I hope I remember this right - I'm in a hotel and away from all my manuals:

10 Companies arranged in battalion formation:

A F D K H C E L G B

OK I've got a problem with this (and it is just me).....probably because I do so much reading on the ACW and much of this stuff is not illustrated, mapped, drawn out, photographed.

Company A is on the RIGHT Flank....that makes it 1st company.....

Company B is on the LEFT Flank....that makes it 10th Company......

Everyone always writes it like you state Paul, but it's counterintuitive to us English reading flow challenged individuals (I read from Left to Right, Top of the Page to Bottom of the Page...and North is the Top of the Page, as well as the facing/Front for a Battalion).....

+++++++++++FRONT

LEFT A F D K H C E L G B RIGHT

which is WRONG.

IF you meant

RIGHT A F D K H C E L G B LEFT

+++++++++++++FRONT

That would be correct.......except that C and H companies would be reveresed (Right Center Company is C company, Left Center Company is H)

and Then I need to turn my computer or piece of paper upside down.....argggh

The reason that B company is so often the skirmish company for a Regiment is that it's deployed from the left flank.....leaving 4 companies to either side of the color company.....nice and balanced.


Of course this all changes when Captain's leave their position and they re-sort the battalion.

[RJSamp]

Adding more confusion to this question is a diagram found in Civil War Infantryman : In Camp, on the March, and in Battle, by Gregory Coco, showing how companies are arrayed in a regimental front. It listed them as follows:

A C D E F G H I K B


Coco is CooCoo. This is possibly correct for a single regiment at a single point in time for a period of time (say 6 months) somewhere during the American Civil War.....but it's not how they all started out......

And as I pointed out to Paul.....I read from Left to Right......and the Left side of the Screen is the LEFT of the BAttalion......FRONT is to the top of the screen.....RIGHT is to the Right of the Screen....

LEFT FRONT RIGHT
A C D E F G H I K B
although possible, this is not 'the norm'....i.e. it's not what they started out at.

B is on the Left, A is on the Right....and C is the Right Center Company (and the Flag/Color Guard is on their Left......... how do I know this? Because the Field Musician's have to track down the Flag all of the time and then align themselves on the LEFT Center Company.....the Flag is up to the right of us......much of the time.

[Cornfed]

The reason that B company is so often the skirmish company for a Regiment is that it's deployed from the left flank.....leaving 4 companies to either side of the color company.....nice and balanced.

Now you have arrived at the essence of why I asked this question in the first place. While taking a look at how events unfolded during the Battle of Bristoe Station on Oct. 14, 1863, I found that the 46th NC was on the extreme right of Cooke's Brigade. Federal skirmishers, to include the 1st. Minn, came up on this regiment's right rear. Col. Hall, commander of the 46th NC, stated in his report that he sent out the right most company of the 46th to engage these skirmishers. Additional research, including every account that could be found in the OR's, failed to reveal the identity of that company. Ironically, the company that suffered the most casualties in the 46th during the battle (determined by my own research to be about 26%) was company B. So, one would think this makes sense if this company did advance as skirmishers (merely because they were under fire the longest).

Given the information provided in this thread, the manuals do not state that Co. B was always on the extreme right of the regimental front. The placement of this and other companies was according to captain senority. If this is the case, why then are there references (like Paul's) that indicate otherwise?

I had hoped to find information that it was Co. B that advanced as skirmishers. According to captain senority, that honor would go to Co. I. That company only suffered 3 wounded!

[Cornfed]

I found an account on page 198 of James A. Wright's No More Gallant A Deed: A Civil War Memoir of the First Minnesota Volunteers that may be of some interest. Written at about the time of Antietam, it states:

"There were some internal changes going on in the regiment that were of interest to Company F. Lieutenant Colonel Miller had been commissioned Colonel of the Minnesota Seventh Regiment, then organizing, and was to leave at once for the state. His resignation and a number of new commissions made several changes. Captain Colvill was promoted to be Major. Second Lieutenant Martin Maginnis was made a First Lieutenant and transferred to Company H. It was about this time that the new method was adopted to recognize seniority among officers by transfer instead of changing the position of companies in the line. This brought John J. McCallum of Company G to Company F as its Captain, and John Ball of Company K, as its First Lieutenant. Second Lt. Josias King, promoted from Sergeant in Company A, was temporarily detailed to the company. It was not the choice of the company to go into battle under the officers with whom they had had no experience, but they had no choice in the matter, and the officers proved to be good ones."

[styler]

Let me throw in my pet peeve:
In a battalion formation we usually don't balance the companies. Companies should have the same number of men. It aids in manuevering in battalion formations. For political and experiential reasons we don't do this. IMHO, we should. I believe it's the Sergeant Major's job when he receives the consolidated reports to figure this all out.

(Don't get me started on markers.)

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Let me throw in my pet peeve:
In a battalion formation we usually don't balance the companies. Companies should have the same number of men. It aids in manuevering in battalion formations. For political and experiential reasons we don't do this.

Steve,

I agree that one doesn't see companies equalized in numbers all that often in reenacting. That said, have you ever read a first-person account of a Civil War regmient having its companies equalized in numbers? I have not. I have read of certain regiments having their companies officially, selectively consolidated here and there--one of the better-known examples is that of the Irish Brigade's three New York regiments being officially consolidated in June 1863 into three battalions each with two companies, and with the three battalions functioning in the field as a single, six-company battalion carrying one set of colors.

Informal consolidation of companies occured frequently in understrengthy regiments, particularly when the unit had a shortage of commissioned officers. One example is the 155th New York Vols in the immediate aftermath of the late-August 1864 battle of Reams Station, Virginia. The regiment went into the battle severely understrength with 10 companies mustering about 75 men and officers present for duty; it lost nearly 50 percent of its men in the battle, and came out with only 38 enlisted men and three commissioned officers, all lieutenants. Despite this, the regiment retained--at least officially--it's ten-company organizational structure. Shortly after the battle, the lieutenant commanding the regiment issued a general order stating that until ordered otherwise, Companies U, W, X. Y, Z would all be under the command of Lt. So-and-so, and that Companies N, O. P. Q. R would all be under the command of Lt. Such-and-such. As the regiment regained its strength over the coming months--eventually mustering about 130 of all ranks present, it again resumed its ten-company structure; it must've had pretty small companies even then, but appears to have had a faiir number of officers. Thus, the "consolidation" into two functioning companies in the aftermath of Reams Station was not an official consolidation, despite how abysmally under-strength the regiment was. At least three other regiments in the same brigade were in the same condition, numerically, at this time.

However, official consolidations, while not rare by a long shot, were probably more the exception than the rule. One observes in such "official" consolidations that the men were officially moved around from Company Q to Company Z (or whatever). I do not, however, observe much evidence of re-assigning of men in rosters provided in regimental histories or in the New York State Adjutant General's report (where the names and basic muster-in info, and brief service record, is provided for each enlistee). I know that the manuals and handbooks suggest that company size should be equalized, and certainly battalion drills are a heck of a lot easier when all companies are similar in size, but have you (or anyone else) seen much evidence that company strengths were typically equalized?

[john duffer]

The manuals don't say to permanently reorganize the companies. This is Hardee but I believe the gist is the same in all:

11. For manoeuvring, the companies of a battalion will always be equalized, by transferring men from the strongest to the weakest companies.

The French manuals, 1831 & 1845, have companies which are the standing organization and peletons during drill, a company level concept similar to the regiment / battalion.

[Rob Murray]

I found an account on page 198 of James A. Wright's No More Gallant A Deed: A Civil War Memoir of the First Minnesota Volunteers that may be of some interest. Written at about the time of Antietam, it states:

"There were some internal changes going on in the regiment that were of interest to Company F. Lieutenant Colonel Miller had been commissioned Colonel of the Minnesota Seventh Regiment, then organizing, and was to leave at once for the state. His resignation and a number of new commissions made several changes. Captain Colvill was promoted to be Major. Second Lieutenant Martin Maginnis was made a First Lieutenant and transferred to Company H. It was about this time that the new method was adopted to recognize seniority among officers by transfer instead of changing the position of companies in the line. This brought John J. McCallum of Company G to Company F as its Captain, and John Ball of Company K, as its First Lieutenant. Second Lt. Josias King, promoted from Sergeant in Company A, was temporarily detailed to the company. It was not the choice of the company to go into battle under the officers with whom they had had no experience, but they had no choice in the matter, and the officers proved to be good ones."

In the next paragraph Wright goes on: It is the theory of war that there are no vacancies in actual service. That when a superior falls or leaves for any cause, the next in seniority or rank takes his place and performs his duties until such time as the matter is covered by general or special orders. For this reason, both rank and seniority are important. This rule applies to all grades from major general to corporal. pg.198 Bold words are Wrights

And at the time of Colvills promotion he was the senior captain and therefore his company ("F") was the right or 1st company. If I'm not mistaken company F stayed in that position for the duration of the 1sts' enlistment. Lt. Ball would be promoted Capt. and command Co. F at Gettysburg. As to skirmish companies being left companies, James Wright also writes When Capt. Ball recieved the order, he advanced the company a few paces, faced by the left flank until beyond the left of the regiment,deployed,..... pg 296 More stuff to muddy the waters.

[paulcalloway]

Coco is CooCoo. This is possibly correct for a single regiment at a single point in time for a period of time (say 6 months) somewhere during the American Civil War.....but it's not how they all started out......

And as I pointed out to Paul.....I read from Left to Right......and the Left side of the Screen is the LEFT of the BAttalion......FRONT is to the top of the screen.....RIGHT is to the Right of the Screen....

LEFT FRONT RIGHT
A C D E F G H I K B
although possible, this is not 'the norm'....i.e. it's not what they started out at.

B is on the Left, A is on the Right....and C is the Right Center Company (and the Flag/Color Guard is on their Left......... how do I know this? Because the Field Musician's have to track down the Flag all of the time and then align themselves on the LEFT Center Company.....the Flag is up to the right of us......much of the time.

RJ -
I think what you're forgetting here is the orientation of the Battalion officers in relation to the battalion battle line.

When they are out in front of the battalion and facing their battalion their left is the battalion right and A C D E F G H I K B is correct to their orientation - and for the purposes organizing and commanding the battalion, it is only their orientation that really matters.

[flattop32355]

To Recap:

Companies are placed in line according to seniority of the captains/commanders, the most senior being Company A/First Company, etc.

The most senior company is always on the right flank, second most on the left flank, and third on the right center.

NOTE: Keep in mind that for a battalion with an odd number of companies, the left wing (half) gets the extra company, and the left-most (always 2nd Company/Co. B) will be a division unto itself.

The Color Company is always the right-center company, except when only three companies are present; then it is first company/Co. A. The Color Guard is on the left of and functions/maneuvers as a part of the Color Company. Battalions of four or less companies are not supposed to display colors, except on Reviews.

The commander of divisions is always the more senior commander of the two companies.

For battalions with even numbers of companies, if you divide the number of companies by 2, it will give you the difference between the number designations of the members of a division. (It doesn't work for an odd number of companies.) For example: Six companies, divide by 2 = 3

1-4, 3-6, 5-2. Note that the most senior commander gets the most senior "non-senior" commander in his division, etc.

Once the companies have been placed in the line, that numbering system is abandoned, and the companies are then numbered 1-"X", up to 10, from right to left.

[RJSamp]

RJ -
I think what you're forgetting here is the orientation of the Battalion officers in relation to the battalion battle line.

When they are out in front of the battalion and facing their battalion their left is the battalion right and A C D E F G H I K B is correct to their orientation - and for the purposes organizing and commanding the battalion, it is only their orientation that really matters.

gotcha, I assumed that the Battalion commander was ABOVE the letters, not below the letters.

file closers are here
right BAND FM A D E F C G H I K B left Facing towards bottom of page

THE CO Facing towards the top of the page

When you look at most (actually 99%+) Regimental formation diagrams, the Battalion Commander is always ABOVE the line, never below the color line.

CO

Left Two Ranks + FM + Band Right
File Closers

And I 're'placed C as the right flank color company. instead of 2nd in line....

[markj]

I published an article in "The Watchdog" some years ago, incorporating material from the United States Service Magazine (published 1864-1866), which may be helpful. Scroll down to the May 1865 "Military Notes and Queries," as well as Footnote 13, and peruse away.

Yours, &c.,

Mark Jaeger

[markj]

This comes straight from the horse's mouth, so pay heed:

Army & Navy Journal, 30 July 1864

TO DETERMINE THE POSITION OF COMPANIES.

To the Editor of the Army and Navy Journal:

SIR: -- I have the honor to forward you a copy of “Formula” for determining the positions of captains in a regiment according to their rank, which was forwarded to me by order of Major-General CASEY, President of Examining Board, Washington, D. C.

Respectfully, &c.,

JOHN H. TAGGART, C. P.
[Copy]
BOARD OF EXAMINERS, 212 F. ST.,
WASHINGTON, D. C.

COLONEL: -- Major-General CASEY directs me to furnish you the following “Formula” for determining the position of companies in line of battle according to rank of captains:

1st. Place the chiefs of division pursuant to the rule in U. S. Tactics.
2d. Divide the number of companies present by two, and the numeral thus obtained, added to the number designating a chief of division, will give the number of the junior captain to be associated with such a chief in his division.
This applies to an even number of companies. If an odd number of companies be present, it is necessary to assume for the first division that one more company is present, and for the remaining divisions, one less.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully,

[Signed] J. B. YOUNG, First Lieut. and Recorder.
Col. J. H. TAGGART, Chief Preceptor, F[ree] M[ilitary] S[chool of Philadelphia]
************************

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[RJSamp]

Good stuff Mark.

US Tactics: formation of companies.....
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moa&cc=moa&idno=ajs4261.0001.001&q1=senior+captain&frm=frameset&view=image&seq=9

From Left to Right as you are looking at this page (the Men are facing the top of the screen):

2-7 10-5 8C3 9-4 6-1
B G K E H C I D F A

Using the formula 10 companies, divide by 2 and this to the Chief of divisions (the 5 senior Captains) company number
1-6
2-7
3-8
4-9
5-10

1st div: Company A 1 gets 6
5th div: Company B 2 gets 7
3rd div: Company C 3 gets 8
2nd Div: Company D 4 gets 9
4th div: Company E 5 gets 10

[Longbranch 1]

Anyone have any info on arms issued to companies.

Specifically, upon organisation in late '61 , co.'s A and B of the 35th NC were issued 1841 Mississippi Rifles, while the rest of the regiment was issued whatever was at hand. Unconverted '42's and up. The rest of the regiment was upgaded to Enfields in late May of '62.

Makes a bit of sense with Co.s A and B as flank/skirmishers.

Wondering if there might be similar instances of arms apportioned in this manner.

Thanks,
Kevin Ellis,
26th NCT

[Silas]

The 44th Tennessee Consolidated in early '63 had the classic two rifle/skirmish companies and eight smoothbore companies. I don't recall which companies were the ones armed with rifles and rifle muskets - there were both - in the rifle/skirmish companies. In these companies, there were a few Mississippi rifles and some Austrians, but the bulk were Enfields.

After Chickamauga, that certainly changed. Bushrod Johnson's Brigade - there commanded by Fulton - hit the jackpot in weapons captured from Rosecran's army during the breakthrough. Several hundred were netted. The exact number is in Fulton's official report.

[Dignann]

Wondering if there might be similar instances of arms apportioned in this manner.

From the Digest of General Orders and Letters from the Official Order and Letter Book of General T.J. Jackson:

"July 19th [1862]. [Capt. Alexander "Sandie"] Pendleton sends a circular that Commanders of Regiments whose flank Companies are not armed with long range guns will report the fact to Head Quarters and make requisitions for them."

Pendleton was Jackson's O.O. at the time. The above notes were made in the winter of 1864-1865 by Jedediah Hotchkiss. In March 1865, General Jubal Early's headquarters wagons were captured and contained Jackson's books. The books have never surfaced. Hotchkiss' notes are found on microfilm reel #49 of The Papers of Jedediah Hotchkiss, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Eric

[RJSamp]

I was just reading......hmmm, Shock Troops of the Confederacy, in the back of the book where it talks about Western Sharpshooters and Federal Sharpshooters.....they mentioned a bunch of units where the flank companies had 'special' weapons, including a Federal Regiment where A and B companies had Sharps Rifles......

[Kevin O'Beirne]

they mentioned a bunch of units where the flank companies had 'special' weapons, including a Federal Regiment where A and B companies had Sharps Rifles......

For what it's worth, the Army of the Potomac's 151st New York (the unit portrayed at "Winter 1864" and by the blue team at Payne's Farm 2005) had a company armed with Sharps rifles while the rest of the regment was armed with rifle-muskets. This company--Company A--was one of the companies portrayed at Payne's Farm 2005, with much of that re-created company comprised of guys who do Federal sharpshooter impressions--including folks ike Dan Wambaugh, Brian White, and others from their mess.

[Dignann]

Companies E and I of the 5th New York Infantry were armed with Sharps rifles and were posted on the regiment's flanks.

Eric

[markj]

Something to add to the mix regarding the original question about placement of companies by seniority of company commanders:

United States Army & Navy Journal, 12 November 1864, "Answers to Correspondents":

*****
COMPANIES should take position in line according to the rank of their captains, but changes are rarely made on account of a temporary change of company commanders. If a captain were permanently absent his company should take position in line according to the rank of its actual commander.

******

Yours, &c.,

Mark Jaeger