Unit Organizations
of the American Civil War

Booklet

by Bob Sarber

In this booklet, the author gives a brief overview of the way in which units were organized by the Confederate and Union forces, the differences and similarities between the opposing armies and how the paper organizations were affected by the realities of war. The booklet is divided into three sections, Unit organizations, Historical Units, and Orders of Battle. The first section gives Tables of Organization for cavalry, infantry and artillery units of the Regular Army and shows the changes that occurred in the state raised volunteer units of both the Union and Confederacy. This includes a detailed breakdown of the numbers of officers, NCO's, privates and other sundry personnel authorized in theoretical full strength units. In addition, a typical organization of the regiments into brigades, divisions and corps is given.

Historical Units show how the authorized strength varied in typical units of both sides in the Eastern and Western Theaters. Short histories of units like the Stonewall Brigade, the Pennsylvania Bucktails and the 18th Indiana Light Artillery Battery show the changes that occurred in actual units as men and equipment were lost in combat and later replaced by reinforcements. The final section covers the order of battle for the forces engaged at 1st Bull Run, Wilsons Creek, Shiloh, Antietam, Gettysburg and Chickamauga. This section continues the theme of the difference between authorized strengths and the actual numbers present in the units during battles. The decline in the size of a brigade from 2-3000 men at 1st Bull Run to 1-2000 at Gettysburg is evident in the orders of battle. Large variations occurred throughout the war with some brigades being nearly as large as a few divisions of the same side and at the same battle.

In my opinion, this booklet will prove a useful piece of background information for anyone interested in the Civil War and is definitely worth looking at. I would caution anyone intending to use this booklet to design Civil War scenarios that this is not the author's purpose and that though troop strengths are given, there is no indication of the quality of the troops or their leaders.

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