I placed this under Army Red tape since its a better fit here.

The Federals began the war with a Regular Army organized into an essentially Napoleonic, musket-equipped structure. Each of the ten prewar infantry regiments consisted of ten 87-man companies with a maximum authorized strength of 878. At the beginning of the war, the Federals added nine Regular infantry regiments with a newer "French Model?" organizational structure. The new regiments contained three battalions, with a maximum authorized strength of 2,452. The new Regular battalion, with eight 100-man companies, was, in effect, equivalent to the prewar regiment.  

Here comes my questions.
Was the company lettered A thru H for each Battalion of the Regiment?
Example: 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment Company A thru H.
2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment Company A thru H.

The more I think about it I believe this to be the case since I have never heard or come a crossed a Company P.  

Also did each Battalion have their own Colors?

Thanks,  

--Last edited by hendrickms24 on 2007-12-05 11:35:44 --

The answer to your first question is yes, each battalion had (in theory at least) companies A-H. As for the colors, I recall reading that each battalion had nationals, but don't quote me on that one...

I don't know much about structure but certainly there must have been further expansion of structure.  My great grandfather enlisted in the 49th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry (Union) in August 1863.  Mustered in in September 1863 and out in December 1864 he served in Company I.

Hey Tom...my great grandfather was in company H of the 49th Ky.  And maybe my great great grandfather.  It's been a hard find, but I have seen rosters. We need to catch up on that one.

The regimental structures for the volunteer Infantry was based off of the old regular regiment of 10 companies (lettered A through K minus J.)  The new nine regular units that were organized by direction of the President May 4, 1861 and confirmed by Act of Congress July 29, 1861 were organized as a three battalion regiment.  Each battalion was organized with eight companies in each battalion.  So that’s why your G. Grandfather was in company I because his regiment was organized as a 10 company regiment like the majority of infantry regiments that were in Federal service.   I have not come a crossed any other regiment other then the 11th through 19 US Infantry that had this new structure.




I hope this makes sense  

--Last edited by hendrickms24 on 2008-09-30 10:05:13 --

Quote :

hendrickms24 wrote :   I have not come a crossed any other regiment other then the 11th through 19 US Infantry that had this new structure. It also seems (I maybe wrong) that these battalions were used as independent units and not as a consolidated regiment.

Mark,

Do we know that any Regular Army regiments were actually organized under this new structure? We know the Regulars had a very difficult time recruiting troops during the War. (Minimum bounties and stricter discipline.) Most of the Regular troops were sent back west, after Gettysburg, just shadows of their former selves.  

I didn't know that Ken.  I have a CD my brother-in-law gave me for Christmas on the Kentucky regiments but I've really only focusd on Company I of the 49th as my great grandpa Meece along with four other Meece boys from Pulaski County were in it with two of them dying at Camp Nelson of disease.

Quote :

Bill wrote :   Mark, Do we know that any Regular Army regiments were actually organized under this new structure? We know the Regulars had a very difficult time recruiting troops during the War. (Minimum bounties and stricter discipline.) Most of the Regular troops were sent back west, after Gettysburg, just shadows of their former selves.

The short answer is yes!  I'm not sure if all the 9 regiments had more then one battalion but the 12th and the 19th histories do state assignments done but different battalion in each regiment.  I'm not sure if the separate battalions functioned as independent units in the field or as one regiment.  I'm leaning towards just one for example Major X commanded Co A, B, D, H of 1st Battalion and Co A & B of the 2nd Battalion on the field of battle.  From the 19th history it seems that one of the field officers would recruit independent companies and send them to the other field officer who was in command of the regiment in the field.  See examples below.  

12th regiment's history states - Moved to New York August 16-19. (Cos. "F" and "H," 2nd Battalion, in N.Y. riots July, 1863.) Duty at New York until September 14. Rejoined army at Culpeper, Va., September 22.

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19th Regiment's Companies "G" and "H" 1st Battalion ordered from Indianapolis, Ind., to Washington, D.C., May, 1862.

Early in 1863 the band from Fort Wayne, and Companies G and H of 1st Battalion from the Army of the Potomac, had joined the headquarters in the field.  Company A, 2d Battalion, had also been organized and had joined the First Battalion at Murfreesboro.

On April 3, 1865, Lieut.-Col. Floyd-Jones assumed command of the regiment, and Major Lugenbeel proceeded to Lookout Mountain and assumed command of the 1st and 2d Battalions.

Company B, 1st Battalion, was reorganized in April and shortly afterwards was ordered to the field, as was also Company A, 2d Battalion. Company A, 3d Battalion, was organized May 16, and Lieut. L. T. Morris was assigned to it.

In August, 1865, the battalion marched from Lookout Mountain to Chattanooga, and from that point was transferred by rail to Augusta, Ga. During the month of October, Companies D and E, 2d Battalion were organized and sent from Fort Wayne to Augusta, and on the 11th of October the headquarters of the regiment and Company A, 3d Battalion, were transferred from Fort Wayne to Newport Barracks, Ky.

Mark,

Your question peaked my Interest. I went on the Sykes Regulars website and Dyer's Compedium. Based on what I read in Dyer's, it seems the Regulars usually acted as full regiments, rather than battalions. Battalions are only mentioned a few time in the unit histories. I only scratched the surface of the information available.  

BTW, I was wrong. I said many of the Regular units were sent west. In actual fact, many of them were sent to garrison various locations. My guess to replace the bloated Heavy Artillery units, that got sent to the Front.

Bill,

Your right from what I can see but it gets me wondering how the regiment handled the whole aspect of paper work.   From what I have seen and read each battalion had its own Adjutant and Sergeant Major but with each new company being sent to the front independent from its parent battalion it raises the question of accountability of each battalion’s companies.  I guess the only way to know for sure is to pull the battalion and regimental books!  One thing for sure it sounds like a paper work nightmare!!  

--Last edited by hendrickms24 on 2008-09-30 12:26:27 --

Bill also read this in the 11th Regiments history.

On the 14th day of May, 1861, President Lincoln issued an executive order, directing an increase of the regimental organizations of the Regular Army. Nine infantry regiments, of three battalions of eight companies each, were of the increase authorized. In G. O. No. 33, A. G. O., series of 1861, can be found the names of the officers appointed to the new regiments, the greater number from civil life. The order directing the formation of the 11th Infantry, designated Fort Independence, Boston Harbor, Mass., as regimental headquarters, where all appointees were directed to report, either in person or by letter, to the regimental commander. Fort Independence remained our headquarters during the War.

If Fort Independence was the regimental headquarters through out the war how did that the field command work?  Was the highest ranking battalion commander in charge? Was the regimental commander in the field but the regimental staff back at Fort Independence?   This gets more confusing the more I look into it!  LOL