Osprey Men-at-Arms 179 : American Civil War Armies (3) : Specialist Troops

At the time of the American Civil War, with two million men under arms, a US Army that in pre-war days had depended upon a minute number of technical troops now required virtually an army of specialists alone. There were more full generals in the wartime army than there had been engineers of all ranks in the pre-war army. Special sharpshooters were recruited for skirmishing duty; men whose wounds would have led to their discharge in the past now found themselves guarding important posts in the Veteran Reserve Corps; and large numbers of civilians found themselves in uniform as members of the Telegraph or Hospital Corps. Philip Katcher examines the organisation and uniforms of the specialist troops who served in the armies of both sides during the conflict, including on the Union side the Medical Department; Corps of Engineers; Signal Corps; Veteran Reserve Corps; Revenue Marine/Revenue Cutter Service and the Marine Corps. Also covered are the Medical Department and Specialist Corps of the Confederate Army and the Confederate States Marine Corps, plus officer's uniforms on both sides. Packed with a wealth of information plus contemporary photographs drawn from a number of sources, this book is ideal for anyone interested in military uniforms or the American Civil War, and also includes eight full page colour plates by Ron Volstad.

Contents

• The US Army
• The US Navy
• The US Marine Corps
• The Confederate Army
• The Confederate Navy
• The Confederate States Marine Corps
• The Plates