Re: Bayonet Charges
Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:30 pm
There was a fairly in depth discussion of this here: Regiment Disorganization
According to the OR Anteitam had 3 or 4 melees and Gettysburg had 6 or 7 in three days. Charges were fairly common but contact was almost never made. As Saddletank said, melees did not occur due to casualties, they did not occur due to fear of being stabbed. Most firing, regardless of range was too high. That's why old photos of battlefields show mostly bare trees.
According to the OR Anteitam had 3 or 4 melees and Gettysburg had 6 or 7 in three days. Charges were fairly common but contact was almost never made. As Saddletank said, melees did not occur due to casualties, they did not occur due to fear of being stabbed. Most firing, regardless of range was too high. That's why old photos of battlefields show mostly bare trees.
