Civil War Tactics

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Complex calculation, unique tactics, and advancement in technology are all fundamental staples of warfare. In order to win a war, states must conduct new strategies in order to get ahead. As Alexander Rose points out in Men of War: The American Soldier in Combat At Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima, during the American Civil War, these features were missing. Despite this, the Civil War is viewed as one of the bloodiest wars in history. In this war, the limited capacity of the people made complex minovers and strategies impossible to conduct efficiently. Moreover, the limited medical knowledge at the time made the death count associated with the American Civil War to increase tremendously, due to limited knowledge by today’s standards and …show more content…
They lacked the proper training that would be required to conduct complex strategies and properly run tactics. Furthermore, communicating between squadrons was still incredibly difficult at this time, making complex flankings and cooperation between neighboring units was another unrealistic choice. Even in regards to a single unit, officers would regularly give inconsistent commands to their underlings and warfare itself was often too hectic to hear the shouting through the battlefields. The colonels understood the shortcomings of their commanders and their soldiers, and thus eventually chose to conduct the least complicated strategy they could think of, the frontal assault. Due to the lack of tactic or strategy associated with this plan, the risk for casualties was high. This lead to battles that any soldier with half a brain could conduct, but ones where death was highly likely. Soldiers who were part of the frontal assault were easy targets for the defenders to go after, as they had limited protection while they rushed through the field. This decision lead to a much higher rate of casualties then what has been seen before, and with soldiers that are sluggish and tired, the numbers increased …show more content…
On hot Summer days, like that of Gettysburg, soldiers were sluggish and weak. This was especially apparent due to the growing popularity of a New York Times post, warning the dangers of drinking water on hot days. This ignorant article spread throughout America, and influenced many soldiers to not drink water during their march. These dehydrated men would regular pass out or die, noting that seventeen of Colonel Gleason's 2th New York died within a day of dehydration. The soldiers that made it to the battlefield were still susceptible to fatigue and hallucinations due to a lack of water. These issues made the soldiers’ performance struggle and the casualty rate of those fighting to rise as a result. These medical decisions by the soldiers lead to their own demise, but the medical advice of the professionals were not much
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