civil war tactics?

Question

what infantry tactics were used in the american civil war? it seems like they all just ran at each other in a huge open field until a bunch of guys died then one side would leave the battlefield. what tactics and strategies would determine if a side won a battle?

Answer 1

Napoleonic tactics proved to be outdated during the civil war, unfortunately, the boys on Marys Heights and Cemetery Ridge learned the hard way. The true winning tactics for this new type of war were the trench warfare of Petersburg....which lasted all the way up to WWI.

Answer 2

The officers on both sides were trained at West Point where the instructors came from Europe. European warfare was open field warfare using cavalry, artillery, and infantry in large numbers. To keep the infantry organized, they were taught to drill together and march together and maneuver together in battle in fairly sizable groups.

What worked in Europe (see Battle of Waterloo) did not always work in the States.

Answer 3

the Americans used guerilla warfare tactics... instead of lining up and fighting like the British did in European wars, the Americans knew the land and had many of their greatest successes in surprise attacks (such as Trenton) and in hiding out in the swamps (like in the Carolinas)