Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

56 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of field arTillery
and two hundred four batteries of light artillery for federal service. 23 In addition
to these units, one light and thirteen heavy artil lery regiments were raised for the
United States Colored Troops and Corps d’Afrique. Although all were black units,
most of the officers were white. 24
The Confederate States Army, established by acts passed on 28 February and
6 March 1861, gave the president control of military operations in the South. The
government also authorized the acceptance of state forces and 100,000 volunteers
for a period of one year. On 8 May, enlistments were extended for the duration of
the war. The total number of Confederate forces has been estimated to be between
800,000 and 900,000. 25
The act of 6 March 1861 called for a Confederate artillery corps, one that would
also be charged with ordnance duties. It was to consist of forty companies of artillerists
and artificers and to have as staff one colonel, one lieutenant colonel, and ten
majors. In addition, the colonel could appoint one adjutant and one sergeant major
from the officers and enlisted men of the companies. In August, three additional
personnel—a lieutenant colonel and two majors—were assigned to the staff. Each
company was authorized four artillery pieces, except that a provision was made for
as many six-gun light artillery batteries as the president deemed expedient but not to
exceed four in peace time. In 1862, the organization of the batteries was established
as that shown in Table 7. Heavy artillery companies (those at permanent batteries)
were organized along the lines of infantry units and were usually authorized between
six and nine heavy guns. 26
In the Union army, state and volunteer units entered federal service in various
states of organization, training, and equipment. About one-fourth of them brought
a few guns and carriages, but the weapons lacked uniformity. Only one-sixth of the
units arrived with their own horses, and less than one-tenth of the state batteries
came fully equipped for service. An artillery training camp was set up a few miles
east of Washington, D.C., where the units assembled, equipped, trained, and refitted
when necessary. Some later manned the fortifications from which Regular Army
23 Frederick H. Dyer, comp., A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, 3 vols. (1908; reprint,
New York: T. Yoseloff, 1959), 1:37–39, 3:997–1723. The figures for the number of units can only be
approximated because of possible duplications in designations and terms of service. Many of the same
units enlisted more than once during the war. Some militia units, such as the Pennsylvania troops in the
summer of 1863, also served on active status, but they are not included in the numbers listed.
24 In addition to the black units in the United States Colored Troops and Corps d’Afrique, several
states furnished such organizations. Some black enlisted soldiers had served in the Revolutionary War and
a few had aided in the defense of New Orleans during the War of 1812, but no record exists of any others
since that time. The Union army contained approximately 200,000 black soldiers. While the Confederate
States Army did include black soldiers, none performed as artillery troops. See Russell F. Weigley, History
of the United States Army (New York: Macmillan, 1967), pp. 211–13.
25 War Department, War of the Rebellion, 4/1:117, 126–31, 302; Richard P. Weinert, “The
Confederate Regular Army, 1861–1865” (Master’s thesis, American University, 1964), pp. 6–7.
26 War Department, War of the Rebellion, 4/1:128, 580, 964–65 and 4/2:153. See also M. W.
Humphreys, “Notes on Confederate Artillery Instruction and Service,” Journal of the United States
Artillery 2 (October 1893): 560–88.