Re the Civil War tactics of standing in line formations. Both sides started out doing this. Both sides initially were armed with muskets as well as the new Minie Ball rifle. The term itself is misleading as the minie ball is a hollow base conical head bullet, similar to today’s bullets. Its base rested on the powder in the barrel. When the powder ignited, the exploding gas expanded the sides of the hollow base driving them into the rifling. This extended the range from 60 yards to 350 yards. The extended range increased the number of rounds which could be fired from the time of engagement until the opposing line was upon the firing line, from at most two to at least 6 if not 8 rounds. What is more important, is that once a walking man was inside 80 yards he was virtually certain to be hit. However this technological improvement was only invented 6 years before Fort Sumter. The officers and NCOs of both sides had no idea that the new rifles would dramatically increase the lethality of firearms. Prior to the Minie Ball, the bayonet was still the principle battlefield weapon. No more. There were relatively few stand up battles prior to the Wilderness Campaign. Most batlles lasted a single day. Prior to the Wilderness few men would have actually been in combat more than 5 or 6 times. This wasn’t enough experience to cause a wholesale change in tactics. The wholesale change started during the Wilderness as this was a prolonged period of combat, really lasting 10 weeks until Grant crossed the James river. During one of these battles, Spotsylvania Courthouse and the Bloody Angle, Union troops forsook the the standing line. They charged as skirmishers under close artillery support. This was really the start of modern battlefield tactics. Don Conrad