Small question

[Cyratis]

How many ranks deep was a firing line during the civil war? I'm curious as I am familiar with Napoleonic era tactics but am not very learned on the civil war though I do know that advancement was slower than in the European armies for whatever reason.
If this has been answered elsewhere I apologize....

[Beanbomb]

Typically they were 2 ranks deep

[Cyratis]

Really? that seems rather thin to me as the weapons of the day could easily tear through a line that small but still, thanks for your answer...

[Challis89]

The British had used 2 lines since before the napoleonic wars it allows for more guns to fire amd a larger frontage compared to the continental armies that were stuck in the old ways. But yes the US forces were lagging behind mostly due to them not wanting a large standing army.

[GeorgeCrecy]

If you look at Scott's Tactics, which was the standard for the military until 1855, it used lines that were three deep. However, as was mentioned by Challis, the two rank system was taken on due to the reasons he provided.