By Warner Todd Huston
Since the 1980's the battalion formation has been the preferred way to organize and participate in civil war enacting and we have come a long way from the times when such an organization was simply a gaggle of separate companies banded together under one banner. Increasingly, a battalion has become expected to understand the drill manuals of the 1860'¹s with reprints of Hardee's, Casey's and Gilham's as well as a host of others filling the bookshelves of sutlers across the country. We have even had a few books written by knowledgeable hobbyists like Don Heitman and Dom Dal Bello who have parlayed their knowledge into how-to manuals, a sort of drill manual for dummies series! But, one aspect has seemed to evade the attention of many civil war enactment battalions. A properly working and trained battalion field staff.
It seems to many battalion staff members out there that they are finished with their efforts once they get the position and have bought that pretty new uniform. Let us take note of what August Kautz said of officers, " It is a great mistake to suppose that when the commission has been obtained there is nothing more to be done, except to draw the pay and display the uniform. In reality, the field of study has just opened..."(1) Nothing could be more correctly observed nor so often ignored in civil war enacting.
For what reason should we have a fully functional staff in a hobby situation? One reason that might easily be forgotten is simply a need for respect from the men of your battalion for the rank staff members represent. Another is the need for other organizations to respect your battalion because those staff officers are knowledgeable and able men. Surely if the men of your own battalion feel that certain staff members are useless or unnecessary the feeling must be shared by members of other groups. What could undermine the trust, respectability and effectiveness of your battalion faster than to have battalion members and others laughing at your staff behind their backs?
Secondly, without an energetic and learned staff a battalion simply cannot move with alacrity on the field in drill OR in a battle scenario. We have all observed those battalions out there that just don't seem to be able to move quickly. It is often due to the fact that just one man, the Colonel, is trying to get everything going while his subalterns stare off into space. This also hinders the safety of the battalion in relation to the other battalions moving about on the field.
Unfortunately, it is like pulling teeth to ascertain what the Lt. Col., Major, Adjutant and the Sgt. Major are supposed to be doing much of the time by reading the manuals of the day. It IS there but their duties, positions and actions are not too terribly clear. This might, perhaps, account for the general feeling that the positions have little TO do in a civil war battalion as we read those manuals so far removed form the war and its use of those officers. But nothing could be further from the truth. In reality these positions were extremely important to alignment, cohesion and the execution of orders of an Infantry battalion. They definitely were not empty uniforms and, naturally, the Lt. Col., Major, Adjutant and Sgt. Major had to be as knowledgeable about the manuals as the Colonel to assist the Colonel in drill and battle.
The most important job that the staff has on the drill field and in battle is execution of the Colonel's orders for maneuver and the alignment of that formation. Gilham¹s Manual for Volunteers and Militia notes, " The adjutant and sergeant major ... assist the Lt. Col. and Major ... in the maneuvers."(2) This informs us that the field staff must be able to execute the orders of drill and assist the Colonel in that duty.
It was, for instance, the Lt. Col's duty to set the markers to mark the line in most cases. "The Lt. Col. , placing himself in succession in rear of the left guides, will assure them on the direction as they arrive..."(3), and " The Lt. Col. will place a marker abreast with the right guide of the leading company."(4) goes another typical reference in Hardee's. Yet again: "The Lt. Col., placing himself in succession in rear of the left guides, will assure them on the direction as they arrive..."(3) Another citation states, " ...the leading one will move in the direction indicated to him by the Lt. Col."(5) This clearly indicates that the Lt. Col. had specific duties in drill, march and battle.
The Lt. Col. and the Major are, naturally, the commanders of the two halves, or wings, of the battalion; the Lt. Col. the right and the Major the left. The adjutant and Sgt. Major assist the Lt. Col. and Major respectively in those duties. All should be mounted, though this may be difficult and not always necessary in enacting the civil war.
We should address one important thing that is most often done incorrectly in an enactment battalion; echoing commands. As Dom Dal Bello notes in his Parade, Inspection and the Evolutions of the Infantry Battalion, "Members of the companies should remain silent* so that the Battalion Commander can continue to be heard. At most, company commanders warn their men in undertones what movements they are to execute."(6) The reason for this rule is to make certain that the battalion commander's orders are promptly executed by the battalion. If a battalion commander had to wait as umpteen company commanders and first sergeants echoed every order it would take that much longer for those orders to be executed.
No echoing is fine and proper in the calm and quite of the drill field where the Colonel's chief duty is instruction of the battalion but what of battle? In battle this directive can lead to a break down in command if strictly adhered to. It is incumbent upon the battalion staff, then, to develop a working relationship such that the Colonel's orders may be relayed to the men in the din and confusion of battle in a prompt fashion. In battle a Colonel's voice may not be heard from one end of the battalion to the other. Therefore, the staff officers must be paying close attention to their Colonel, keeping an eye on him at all times, and be ready to relay the Colonel's orders to their respective wings (And the company commanders should be watching their wing commanders and not necessarily the company allowing the 1st. Sgt. to command the men). The staff should develop such a working relationship that hand signals might be used, as well as verbal commands affording the Colonel the ability to have command of the wings when separated or together without himself being cut in half to do it!
These are a few of the main points of the use and training of a field staff and the importance of that staff. Certainly, there is much, much more to it than what I delineated here. One has but to thoroughly read the manuals to find that out. Just remember, the field staff is NOT just men in pretty uniforms. They had important and detailed duties and our enactment battalions would increase their abilities and efficiency if we treat these positions with the respect due them.
* Mr. Dal Bello also notes, however, that the execution orders of March and Halt should be echoed by company officers so that the battalion executes these order all at the same time eliminating marching and halting by fits and starts.
Footnotes
1. Customs of Service , Page 191, article 574, by August Kautz (1864)
2. Gilham's Manual for Volunteers and Militia , page 35, section 10
3. Hardee's school of the battalion , Part II, Para 130, Close column by division.
4. Hardee's school of the battalion , Part II, Para 86 to break the companies to the right to march to the left.
5. Hardee's school of the battalion , Part II, Para 97 to march by the left flank.
6. Parade, Inspection and the Evolutions of the Infantry Battalion , 4th Edition, Page 68, On Repeating Commands, by Dom Dal Bello
