Читать книгу American Civil War For Dummies - Keith D. Dickson - Страница 114

The basic building block of the Civil War army was the regiment. The regiment had 10 companies of 100 men each for an official strength of 1,000. A colonel commanded the regiment. A lieutenant colonel (second in command), a major (third in command), and a small staff (which took care of the administrative needs of the regiment) assisted the colonel. Four regiments formed a brigade, commanded by a brigadier (obviously) general. This makes an official total of 4,000 men. Three brigades made up a division, commanded by either a brigadier or major (not so obviously) general. This makes an official total of 12,000 men. Three divisions made up a corps (pronounced “core”), commanded by a major general (if a Union division) or a lieutenant general (if a Confederate division). This works out to an official total of 36,000 men. See Table 4-1 for a comprehensive reference of army structure. See Table 4-2 for army hierarchy.

TABLE 4-1 Army Structure

Unit	Unit Multiples	Number of Soldiers
Company		100
Regiment	10 Companies	1,000
Brigade	4 Regiments	4,000
Division	3 Brigades	12,000
Corps	3 Divisions	36,000

TABLE 4-2 Army Hierarchy and Command

Unit	Commanding Officer
Regiment	Colonel Lieutenant or Colonel Major
Brigade	Brigadier General
Division	Brigadier General or Major General
Corps	Major General or Lieutenant General

In 1861, two divisions made up a Union or Confederate army. In 1862, Union and Confederate armies were made up of corps, usually made up of three divisions, but an army could have any number of corps (which is why Civil War armies had such wide variances in numbers). Union armies were primarily named after major rivers (the Potomac, the Cumberland, the Ohio, the James). Confederate armies were named after locations or rivers (the Army of Northern Virginia in the east, the Army of Tennessee in the west). A major general commanded Union armies. A general commanded Confederate armies.