Texas Brigade Drill Manual

[ClintonWinkler]

When the Texans came east and sworn into Confederate service, what drill manual was used to train them?

[john duffer]

Re: Texas Brigade Drill Manual

When the Texans came east and sworn into Confederate service, what drill manual was used to train them?

Most likely SCOTT'S, GILHAM'S or HARDEE'S 1855/1861 :confused_

I have HOODS TEXAS BRIGADE: LEE'S GRENADIER GUARD by Simpson but the only mention I saw skimming thru was during the first winter in Virginia they studied "HARDEE'S tactics and other manuals" which isn't a great help. You may luck into a mention in a memoir or someone on here that's lucked into one.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Texas Brigade Drill Manual

Hallo!

I have not (yet) seen documentation that speaks to which.

IMHO, Simpson was filling in a blank with inference to the available manuals of the time and not documenting with an historical citation or reference.

Curt

[a_williams63]

Re: Texas Brigade Drill Manual

You may have some luck searching letters or personal papers from the period by company and field grade officers. For my own unit, the Stonewall Brigade, some of our members discovered mentions of Brigade officers acquiring copies of Gilham's manual early in the work. In one, a captain of the 5th Virginia ask his brother, who was home on leave, to ""Go to Leiut. Mesmer's house & tell his wife that Bud Newton said send him Gilums [sic] drill book." The 33rd Virginia sent an officer to Richmond in August 1861 to purchase copies of Gilham's Manual and the Army Regulations from the Richmond publishers West & Johnston for several Brigade officers (including General Jackson, who apparently didn't need Gilham's but requested army regulations. This research is contained here. Hopefully you can find something similar for the Texas Brigade. Good luck with your hunt!