What Rank Are You?

[Colonel Dave]

Todd, he has some valid points. Many times I have seen commanders call for their subordinates to circle around so he can describe what is going to happen next. That should have been done before the men were formed up.
I have heard the "practice only what will be used in battle". My problem is that I don't know what the enemy.....guys like you.....will do that will make me use an evolution or formation that we did not practice.
Ask the battalion on the right of my brigade at Perryville. They found themselves suddenly charged by cavalry charging through terrain the overall commander assured me cavalry could not traverse. That battalion was well drilled except the formation of "square" had not been practiced for some time. The results were not pretty.

There is no doubt the hobby has, in my opinion, far more incompetent leaders then competent but the problem has many facets.
For one thing, each company has the burden of drilling without the benefit of any quality control. Good old boy Bob isn't going to tell good old boy Joe about an error that is not so large as to affect the overall efficiency of the unit. So what if there are minor mistakes and no one is trying to correct them.
Now, since we live all over the place and meet somewhere for an event, there are suddenly 10, 20 or more of those Bobs and Joes and each unit makes those small errors. But when the event contains many of those units, the aggregate total of the mistakes begin to define the event itself. Suddenly, the buzz is about those ten units that did certain evolutions wrong instead of how much fun the event was.
I am not smart enough to propose a solution but I do understand the problem.

[Pvt Schnapps]

It's "replies" like the above that should get this thread locked.
WTH

Why do you think so?

[Rob Weaver]

I have heard the "practice only what will be used in battle". My problem is that I don't know what the enemy.....guys like you.....will do that will make me use an evolution or formation that we did not practice.
Ask the battalion on the right of my brigade at Perryville. They found themselves suddenly charged by cavalry charging through terrain the overall commander assured me cavalry could not traverse. That battalion was well drilled except the formation of "square" had not been practiced for some time. The results were not pretty.

LOL - I learned twenty years ago that the kiss of death for any maneuver you're trying to learn is for one of the officers to say some variation of "Now pay attention because you might see this in the battle this afternoon." That really means "Thrash around hopelessly in the mud or dust for another hour in despair because you're never going to see this maneuver again as long as you continue to reenact."
I was a casualty in that battalion, as a result of that flanking action! I don't think forming a square was the best and easiest solution. Simply backward wheeling the battalion would refuse the brigade right flank and bring tremendous firepower to bear. That, and I think the square was so rare as to be nearly non-existant as an American Civil War maneuver. But I'm just a guy in the ranks...

[Colonel Dave]

Actually Rob, there were at least 13 squares formed in battle during the war. The last one I can find is a Confederate square at Resaca, Georgia in 1864.
We did a Divisional square in drill at 145th Gettysburg.

In hindsight, just blasting the cavalry may have been the right move but at the time...........

What irritates me is that I had warned the overall three times that our right was going to be turned but he insisted that I was wrong and to be in the formation we were in. I guess I am mad at myself for listening to him.

[RJSamp]

"Actually Rob, there were at least 13 squares formed in battle during the war. The last one I can find is a Confederate square at Resaca, Georgia in 1864. "

Dave that qualifes as " I think the square was so rare as to be nearly non-existant as an American Civil War maneuver. But I'm just a guy in the ranks... "

But they did practice and drill in it, even if it was only for the discipline of close order drill and following orders. I don't think the point of Perryville was to go Tactical on the actual battlefield attempting to reenact an actual battle.....but then again the cavalry wasn't there either and you reacted accordingly (the other battalion was chopped to pieces as I recall from my vantage point near the woodline 'exit' point).

Too bad we just couldn't all take off for a month or so and get into this.....

[Colonel Dave]

I don't think doing an oblique change front forward on the 2nd battalion, right in front, would have changed any scenario. It would have presented a brigade front to the cavalry. We could have easily gotten back into the column of battalions we were in when the cavalry struck.

[Choatecav]

I certainly am pleased that our C S cavalry flanking manuever at Perryville was so well appreciated by the Federal infantry. I would have hated to think that that wild ride through the briars, bushes and thick tree limbs and then jumping that ditch and gulley, was all for naught.

It does my heart good,......yes indeed!

regards,
Mark

[FloridaHoosier]

Moderator Note: This thread is about reenactor rank, not about tactical evolutions at mock skirmishes. Lets get this back on track so it doesn't have to be locked...

[FloridaHoosier]

That was the last freebie deletion - we can either stay on track here or lock it. Police yourselves so that "the man" doesn't have to....

[PMB1861]

Ross, in all seriousness this thread is mostly blow hards performing internet self-felatio. It was never a serious discussion and those doing most of the talking are just stroking their own "egos".

I'll make a point... I ask people to not refer to me by any "rank" in pre-event communications or outside of the time I'm actually portraying an officer or nco as part of a historical reenactment or immersion event. I'm Pete Berezuk and either I'm following or I'm leading and those following me know that and don't need to hang anything more on my name.

Those who jealously hang on to "Colonel" or "Captain" or even "Corporal" are small minded and shouldn't be followed or afforded the opportunity lead.

Leadership is a responsibility and not a priviledge. If you don't put the lives and enjoyment of those willing to follow you at a living history event first then you don't rate to wear a uniform, let alone a 'rank'.

OK, my rant is done, please go back to useless commentary at your leisure.

Moderators, Lock it down please, I already know who I won't follow at a reenactment from the content of this thread.