Of Duty Well and Faithfully Done

by Newell, Clayton R.; Shrader, Charles R.; Coffman, Edward M.

• ISBN13: 9780803219106
• ISBN10: 0803219105
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-07-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

On the eve of the Civil War, the Regular Army of the United States was small, dispersed, untrained for large-scale operations, and woefully unprepared to suppress the rebellion of the secessionist states. Although the Regular Army expanded significantly during the war, reaching nearly sixty-seven thousand men, it was necessary to form an enormous army of state volunteers that overshadowed the Regulars and bore most of the combat burden. Nevertheless, the Regular Army played several critically important roles, notably providing leaders and exemplars for the Volunteers and managing the administration and logistics of the entire Union Army. In this first comprehensive study of the Regular Army in the Civil War, Clayton R. Newell and Charles R. Shrader focus primarily on the organizational history of the Regular Army and how it changed as an institution during the war, to emerge afterward as a reorganized and permanently expanded force. The eminent, award-winning military historian Edward M. Coffman provides a foreword.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
The Regular Army on the Eve of the Civil War	p. 1
The Role of the Regular Army in American Society	p. 1
The U.S. Army before April 12, 1861	p. 3
The Staff Departments, April 1861	p. 6
The Line of the Army, April 1861	p. 8
Stationing of the Army, January 1861	p. 8
Conclusion	p. 13
Regular Army Leaders and Personnel
Headquarters of the Army	p. 17
Commander in Chief	p. 17
Secretary of War	p. 19
General in Chief	p. 24
Formulation of Strategy	p. 30
Direction of Operations	p. 34
Civilian Personnel of the War Department	p. 35
The Army Budget, 1861-1865	p. 36
Conclusion	p. 37
Regular Army Personnel, 1861-1865	p. 39
Decision to Keep the Regular Army Intact	p. 39
Expansion of the Regular Army, 1861-1865	p. 40
Temporary Regulars	p. 43
Enlisted Personnel	p. 44
Officers	p. 48
Losses of Personnel	p. 58
Conclusion	p. 62
The Staff Departments
Overview	p. 67
Evolution of the Staff Departments to 1861	p. 67
Expansion of the Staff Departments	p. 69
Staff Officers in the Field	p. 69
Staff Enlisted Personnel in the Field	p. 71
Common Challenges and Common Solutions	p. 72
Conclusion	p. 83
The Administrative Departments	p. 85
Adjutant General's Department	p. 85
Inspector General's Department	p. 90
Judge Advocate General's Department	p. 94
Pay Department	p. 98
Temporary Bureaus	p. 104
Conclusion	p. 107
Subsistence Department	p. 109
Mission and Functions	p. 109
Leadership	p. 109
Personnel	p. 110
Organization	p. 111
Operations and Issues	p. 112
Challenges and Achievements	p. 118
Ordnance Department	p. 119
Mission and Functions	p. 119
Leadership	p. 119
Personnel	p. 121
Organization	p. 122
Operations and Issues	p. 127
Challenges and Achievements	p. 135
Quartermaster's Department	p. 139
Mission and Functions	p. 139
Leadership	p. 140
Personnel	p. 141
Organization	p. 142
Operations and Issues	p. 151
Challenges and Achievements	p. 161
Medical Department	p. 163
Mission and Functions	p. 163
Leadership	p. 164
Personnel	p. 166
Organization	p. 168
Operations and Issues	p. 177
Challenges and Achievements	p. 188
The Army in the Field
Transition to War	p. 193
Army Life on the Eve of the War	p. 194
Confrontation in the East	p. 196
Surrender in Texas	p. 198
Events in the West	p. 200
Adding More Regulars	p. 203
The First Big Battle	p. 205
War Begins in the West	p. 210
A Year of Transition	p. 213
The Infantry	p. 215
Regimental Colonels	p. 218
The Old Regiments	p. 219
The New Regiments	p. 223
Casualties	p. 227
Valverde, February 1862	p. 227
The Regular Infantry Division in the East	p. 230
The Regular Infantry Brigade in the West	p. 237
Regular Infantry in the War	p. 242
The Cavalry	p. 245
Regimental Colonels	p. 245
Regiments	p. 247
Casualties	p. 252
Cavalry Horses	p. 252
Cavalry with the Army of the Potomac	p. 252
The Army of the Shenandoah	p. 260
The Last Campaign, 1865	p. 262
Regular Cavalry in the War	p. 263
The Artillery	p. 265
Artillery in the Mexican War	p. 265
Regimental Colonels	p. 266
Regiments	p. 267
Casualties	p. 271
Guns	p. 271
Artillery Horses	p. 272
Horse Artillery	p. 273
Artillery in the Army of the Potomac	p. 274
Gettysburg, July 1863	p. 278
Other Union Army Artillery	p. 281
Shiloh, April 1862	p. 281
Regular Artillery in the War	p. 282
The Fighting Bureaus	p. 285
Corps of Engineers	p. 285
Signal Corps	p. 292
Reflections on the Regular Army in the Civil War	p. 303
Transition to Peace	p. 304
ôThe Efficient Discharge of Dutyö	p. 306
ôThe Performance of Gallant Deedsö	p. 308
An Epitaph for the Regular Army	p. 312
Appendix: Selected Acts of Congress Pertaining to the Regular Army	p. 315
Notes	p. 321
Glossary of Acronyms Used in the Text	p. 367
Selected Bibliography	p. 369
Index	p. 377
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