Comments on: What is PFD and How Do You Find It?: Counting Heads In Civil War Regiments, Part 1 http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/2008/07/28/what-is-pfd-and-how-do-you-find-it-counting-heads-in-civil-war-regiments/ Informed Amateurs Blog the American Civil War Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:41:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Fred Ray http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/2008/07/28/what-is-pfd-and-how-do-you-find-it-counting-heads-in-civil-war-regiments/comment-page-1/#comment-994 Fred Ray Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:38:39 +0000 http://www.brettschulte.net/CWBlog/?p=1359#comment-994 It gets even more complicated than that. As a general rule something like 15-20% of any regiment was detailed off doing something. But sometimes the detailed men fought with the regiment (e.g. cooks). After 1863 most Confederate regiments had one man in six detailed as a sharpshooter (meaning a skirmisher). Sometimes these men rejoined their regiment for the actual battle, but sometimes they fought separately. Figuring out when they did that can be a challenge. Example: O'Neal's brigade was short 1/6th of its men at Chancellorsville on May 2 because they were off with Maj. Blackford's sharpshooter battalion. However they rejoined their regiments the next day and fought with them. It gets even more complicated than that. As a general rule something like 15-20% of any regiment was detailed off doing something. But sometimes the detailed men fought with the regiment (e.g. cooks). After 1863 most Confederate regiments had one man in six detailed as a sharpshooter (meaning a skirmisher). Sometimes these men rejoined their regiment for the actual battle, but sometimes they fought separately. Figuring out when they did that can be a challenge.

Example: O’Neal’s brigade was short 1/6th of its men at Chancellorsville on May 2 because they were off with Maj. Blackford’s sharpshooter battalion. However they rejoined their regiments the next day and fought with them.

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