16 Union Armies, 23 Confederate Armies. They were the largest operational organization. An army was named after the department it came from; but the department was named for the general area where it was located. Union armies were named for the rivers where they operated; Confederates named theirs after states or regions they came from. (Examples: Army of the Cumberland; Army of the Potomac; Army of Northern Virginia). A confusing example was the Army of the Tennessee, a Federal Army named after the Tennessee River. Try not to confuse it with the Army of Tennessee from the Confederate State of Tennessee. There were also exceptions. The Army of the Potomac was found on both sides. The Confed’s Army of Mississippi was also called the Army of the Mississippi; but this is not a problem, because both were located in the South.

Union army established a total of 43 corps by the end of the war; Confederates had a heretofore unknown number. A corps is comprised of 2 or more divisions and included all arms of service. The exception was the Cavalry Corps, which was just cavalry, of course. The Union army established Corps in March 1862 by Major General George B. McClellan. A major general was in command of each corps. Each corps was given a number I to XXV, and most corps adopted their own badge and was worn by both officers and enlisted men. Confederates organized their corps by November 1862. They were designated by numbers duplicated in the East and West. Their corps were often referred to by the name of their commander. The II Corps in the East was referred to as Jackson’s Corps, even after he died.

The division is the second largest unit of the field army. The ascending order of size :Company, Regiment, Brigade, Division, Corps. Company strength was 100; Regiment was 1,000; Brigade was 4,000; and Division was 12,000. This is the number of men in each, and is theoretical; hardly ever were any of these numbers in full force, especially by the end of the war. Union armies actually only had 40-50% of their force by 1863. The Southern armies had higher strength, but mainly because it assigned new recruits to existing companies instead of creating new companies. Confederate armies occasionally had army Battalions of 2 to 10 companies in their ranks. Union armies had 2 to 4 divisions in each corps, though it was usually 3. Union soldiers wore corps badges, along with division badges for recognition. The flags were 1st red, 2nd white, 3rd blue, 4th green, 5th orange. They were led by a brigadier or major general. The frontage of a Union division by 1863, drawn up in a double line with no skirmishers deployed, would have been almost a mile. Southern soldiers numbered their divisions, which later came to be known their commanders’ names. Brigadier generals commanded brigades in the Confederate army, and major generals commanded the divisions. These divisions were generally superior to the Union divisions.

The tactical infantry unit of the Civil War, consisting of 4-6 regiments. As the war progressed this number shrank to as little as 2 regiments, and when the Confederates consolidated their brigades, as many as 15 regiments. There were 3-4 brigades to a division and several divisions in a corps. Brigadier generals commanded brigades. The brigade’s staff was comprised of a brigadier general, his aide, the quartermaster, ordnance and commissary officers, and inspector, and one or more clerks. A colonel would command brigades for three reasons: a brigade too small to warrant a brigadier general, when a brigadier general was absent a senior colonel would step in, or temporary brigades put together for a special purpose. Confed brigades were known by the names of their commanders or former commanders. This was quite confusing. (The unit of “Pickett’s Charge” at Gettysburg shown in Steele’s American Campaigns as “McGowan’s Brigade” was commanded by Pettigrew until July 1, 1862 and then by Marshall. Pettigrew commanded “Heth’s Division”, Trimble commanded “Pender’s Division,” Mayo commanded “Brockenbrough’s Division,” Marshall is commanding “McGowan’s or Pettigrew’s Brigade,” Fry is commanding “Archer’s Brigade,” and Lowrance is commanding “Scales’ Brigade.”) Western Confed brigades included the Orphan Brigade of Kentucky and the 1st Missouri Brigade.

The Brigade’s effectiveness depended on regimental and company commanders instructing their 1,000-1,500 men in the complicated maneuvers of the period, and on each regiment coordinating its movements with the others under the brigade commander. A poor commander might watch his brigade’s actions dissolve into regimental or company level conflicts coordinated loosely, if at all, by the brigadier.

These were composed of 10 companies, with the exception of the 12-company heavy artillery regiments that had been retrained as infantry. Cavalry regiments also had 12 companies. The Union lettered the companies, omitting the letter “J.” (It is not known why there was no J Company.) Battalions did not exist in the infantry regiments, but the “Heavies” were composed of three 4-company battalions, each commanded by a major. Regimental headquarters had a colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, adjutant, quartermaster, surgeon (major), two assistant surgeons, and a chaplain. Noncommissioned officers were the sergeant major, quartermaster sergeant, commissary sergeant, hospital steward, and two principal musicians. Authorized strength of an infantry regiment was 845 to 1025. Confeds were organized in almost the same way. Some had battalions, and the 7th Alabama had two cavalry companies originally. The North raised the equivalent of 2047 regiments during the war: 1696 were infantry, 272 were cavalry, and 78 were artillery. Allowing for the fact that nine infantry regiments of the Regular Army had 24 instead of 10 companies; the total number of regiments would come to about 2050, not including the Veteran Reserve Corps. The South raised the equivalent of 764 regiments that served all or most of the war. Including irregular organizations and militia, this came closer to 1009 and ˝ regiments.

An infantry company here had a maximum strength of 101 officers and men, and a minimum of 83; any less than that and the company was dissolved or absorbed into another company. They were allowed to recruit a minimum of 64 and a maximum of 82 privates. Then, there was 1 captain, 1 1st lieutenant, 1 2nd lieutenant, 1 1st sergeant, 4 sergeants, 8 corporals, 2 musicians, and 1 wagoneer. Company officers were elected in volunteer units. This was the best and fastest way of getting the number of troop leaders needed.

Dress was just as important for the look of a soldier. The following describe differences between CSA uniforms.

• General Officer – He carried a sword, and a binocular case slung from his left shoulder. The buff sash and stars on the collar indicate a General Officer and his rank.
• General of Cavalry – He carried a saber and revolver and a binocular case slung from his left shoulder. He wore a short jacket, lapels turned back with a buff collar, cuffs and a sash mark the General Officer. Stars on his collar would indicate his rank.
• Infantry Officer – He carried a sword and revolver. A blue forage cap (kepi), collar and cuffs identify him as infantry. Bars on his collar would identify his rank.
• Cavalryman – His equipment included a saber and revolver. A carbine is attached to the sling across his left shoulder. Yellow chevrons, collar, and cuffs identify him as belonging to the cavalry.
• Infantryman – The typical confederate soldier’s equipment included musket, cartridge box (on the right hip), bayonet and scabbard, canteen, haversack and tin cup. A blanket roll is slung across his shoulder. Uniforms of butternut or brown were also worn extensively by infantrymen. The blue cap, collar, and cuffe identify him as an infantryman.
• Artilleryman – Equipment included saber and revolver. On the battlefield he would have a sponge and rammer used to swab out the cannon barrel and ram home the charge about to be fired. The red cap, collar, and cuffe identify him as an artilleryman.