During the Civil War, there were number of different positions and organizations that made up an Army. The army structure that made up the units were organized from skirmish lines to Corps. Each section of the army had different numbers of soldiers and units within each unit. Here are the following that will lead a Corps to war.
- One Company has around 100 soldiers in the unit
- Ten Companies have around 1,000 soldiers in it, making it one Regiment
- Four Regiments have around 4,000 soldiers in it, making it one Brigade
- Three Brigades have around 12,000 soldiers in it, making it one Division
- Three Divisions have around 36,000 soldiers in it, making it one Corps
- Any number of Corps makes it an Army
At the battle of Gettysburg, the number of soldiers within a regiment was much lower due to causalities, death, and disease. The average number of soldiers within a regiment for the Confederate and the Union was around 300 to 350 men.
4 Star General Officer Shoulder Straps
The commanding officers lead the soldiers around the Civil War and the individual battles. For the most part, there are the officers that were in charge of a regiment, brigade, division, corps, or the army. Here is the list of officers in order that may have led each unit.
- Regiment lead by a Colonel, Lt. Colonel, or a Major
- Brigade lead by a Brigadier General
- Division lead by a Brigadier General or a Major General
- Corps lead by a Major General or Lt. General
- Army lead by a Major General
Usually if a commander fell in the line of battle, the next in command would take charge of the unit. The same goes with if a soldier within a unit fell in the line of battle and were carrying the colors (the flags), someone else would drop their musket and take their place. In some instances at Gettysburg, a number of color bearers would be shot and killed during one advancement upon the enemy.