Military Disorganization Analysis

The first sign of disorganization in the Union Army is the separation of the divisions. Many divisions are formed based on the state they came from, for instance, the 20th Regiment of Infantry, which consists of Maine volunteers and The Old Second Maine (Shaara xix and 17). Because many divisions are put together in different states, these divisions are dispersed and will only come together if Washington sends orders to meet in a specific state. However, state control of the Union divisions is quite unusual which causes a lot of disorganization within the Union Army. According to Dora Costa and Matthew Kahn, “an unusual feature of the Civil War military is that the federal government did not explicitly control this assignment—all company

It is not a mere coincidence because in previous battles, letters were received late due to the vast distances of the Union division and Buford’s division lost the battle at Thorofare Gap (Shaara xx). Shaara portrays the advantage of Buford’s actions from Confederate Lieutenant Longstreet, “gazing back on that black hill above Gettysburg, that high lighted hill already speckled with fires among the gravestones, he smelled disaster like distant rain” (127). Longstreet is describing Cemetery Hill, which was secured by Buford and was filled with night camps of Union troops. The Union Army can now see any Confederate attack, has the vantage point to destroy the Confederate Army, and can win the battle. The disorganization in the formation of the Union divisions causes the divisions to be scattered, which then causes communication to be difficult and Buford to plan ahead of orders. Since communication never worked well before due to the distance among the Union division, planning ahead of orders allows the Union Army to secure higher ground, giving them advantage in the battle of Gettysburg. Buford was an example of a leader who was affected by disorganization and so has another military

Although the Union secures Cemetery Hill, order is still a problem among the army. Without order in an army, winning a battle seems near impossible, as it was near impossible for the battles that occurred before, but not at the battle of Gettysburg. In the Union, order is not present, leading to a few cases of mutiny. Mutiny is present in undisciplined soldiers, particularly the Union soldiers. A few days before the battle of Gettysburg, Colonel Chamberlain receives Maine deserters from a captain. This captain is blatantly disrespectful and undisciplined when addressing Chamberlain; rather than referring to Chamberlain as “Colonel Chamberlain, “ he calls Chamberlain without his title and he does not salute Chamberlain until Chamberlain corrects him. Even then, the Captain takes “a moment, then he slowly saluted” (Shaara 21). One of Chamberlain’s Sergeants, Tozier, recognizes how undisciplined these Union soldiers were: “… be a damn site easier handlin’ these here new recruits if the officers would act like they got some sense, sir” (Shaara 121). Agreeing with Toizer is Joel Hamby; Hamby claims “mutiny is least controllable among infantrymen” (576). Infantrymen, Union soldiers in general, spends a length of time with their leaders and the leaders who they grow comfortable with, which makes them believe that undermining orders is allowed. Hamby, further, explains that during the Civil War, “the mass armies were made up of conscripts and volunteers, not picked