Hell by the Acre, a book about the Stones River Campaign

I recently read “Hell by the Acre”,  a new history of  the Stones River Campaign. It’s a deep dive into the story. Most histories contain some accounts by participants. This one has  way more of them  than usual.

 

Those accounts confirmed some notions I’ve had about the Civil War. First, in the west, the standard position for infantry in combat was prone. Sometimes units would stand up to open fire, usually startling the target. If terrain offered some cover, they would remain standing. One account featured a firefight with a Union regiment standing while the Confederates lay prone. I assume the Union troops had some cover from the shape of the ground, since in most accounts all lay prone. Reloading while prone must have taken more than 15 seconds.

 

Second, accounts of the time almost always refer to enemy “columns”. It becomes clear in this book that “column” means a body of formed troops, not skirmishers. One account even says a “column” is in line formation. When a specific type of column is mentioned, as in column on the right division, then you can be assured the unit isn’t in line. But otherwise, it’s a body of formed troops.

 

The Union advance was slowed by the multi-day delaying action fought by the Confederates to allow Hardee’s corps time to concentrate with the rest of the army.

 

One interesting account of a delaying fight was the action by Captain Edgarton’s Union battery. Called upon to help another battery under artillery fire, he paused his guns in a wood and rode out with his section commanders. They all had their watches out. Each time the Confederate guns opened, they all noted how many seconds passed before the rounds hit. With the range calculated, they rode back into the wood. The battery was ordered out at the gallop. They rapidly deployed and opened fire. One percussion shell struck an enemy gun wheel, disabling the piece. Another struck just under another gun’s axle and exploded, throwing the gun end over end. Edgarton had a reputation as one of the most scientific gunners in the army.

If you’re looking for a detailed account of Stones River, this is the book for you. I have a Stones River scenario for Bloody Big Battles and this will help me update it.