Inspector General Sylvester Churchill's Efforts to Produce a New Army Drill Manual, 1850-1862

INSPECTOR GENERAL SYLVESTER CHURCHILL'S EFFORTS TO PRODUCE A NEW ARMY DRILL MANUAL, 1850-1862 J. W. A. Whitehorne An ARMY without FIELD MANUALS, bulletins, and circulars is almost unthinkable to those of us in die twentieth century with some form of military experience. These publications are die sources ofthe doctrine and the guidance necessary to train quickly the officers and soldiers ofany new or growing force. The magnitude of the problem faced by the federal government at the opening ofdie Civil War is made even more acute when it is realized that no such doctrinal base was available in 1861. Quantities of literature concerning the battles and personalities of the American Civil War have been produced with the result that few Americans have not heard of Shiloh and Gettysburg or Lee and Grant. The impression rendered is that diese vast forces somehow miraculously materialized when the need for them arose. Little reference has been made to the problems encountered in making them a viable force. These problems were particularly serious in the area of training. There was no standardized doctrine with accompanying official publications available to assist the inexperienced leaders as they tried to organize and drill their gathering hordes of enthusiastic volunteers. There were several semiofficial manuals, printed by private firms, such as those written by Winfield Scott or William J. Hardee.1 These were frequently out of date and often fundamentally different when prescribing critical moves. Furthermore, there was no requirement tìiat a commanding officer adopt their use ifhe felt he knew of a better drill. The potential for chaos in drill, and, consequently , on the battlefield is obvious. 1 Winfield Scott, Infantry Tactics, 3 vols. (1840); William J. Hardee, Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics, 2 vols. (1855). Civil War History, Vol. XXXII, No. 2, ©1986 by The Kent State University Press 160CIVIL WAR HISTORY Most studies ofdie administration and training given the Federal armies during the American Civil War cite this fact that the growing armies had no single series oftraining manuals or policies to guide them. There was, as a consequence, a serious lack of uniformity in the critical areas of tactical drill, conduct of guard, and drill and ceremonies as well as muster and inspection procedures. It was not until late 1862 that a standard manual, Casey's, was adopted by the War Department.2 The department has been criticized ever since as the results of this lack of standardization and uniformity revealed itself when units took to the field. The assumption has been that, except for the works then in print, such as the various manuals mentioned above and the Army Regufotions, the government was complacently resting on its laurels. The implication has been that no effort was being made by any memberwithin die War Department to bring order and system to the plethora ofmethods and procedures available. Despite this general agreement about the War Department's apparent inaction to correct a difficult situation, die truth is that efforts were being made to produce a standard infantry drill manual. At one point, the secretary of war proposed to convene a board to study the issue. More significantly, the senior inspector general of the army, Brevet Brigadier General Sylvester Churchill, devoted most of his time throughout the 1850s to producing a uniform drill manual, applicable to regulars and militia alike. His project had the approval of the secretaries ofwar and the encouragement ófsome ofthe most prominent military men ofhis day. His thoroughness and desire to be definitive required coordination with foreign attachés, state military officers, and his colleagues. This took a great deal oftime. When his final draft was ready, time, it will be seen, ran out on him. His project became enmeshed in the issues of secession and fell victim to more pressing emergencies as civil war broke out and it was eventually forgotten. His efforts merit greater recognition. Churchill was a Vermonter, born at Woodstock in August 1783. He began a career as a publisher, only to enter the army as a lieutenant in the third Artillery in March 1812. He ended the second war with Britain as a temporary major, having served as the inspector general on the staffs...