"[instructing Chamberlain on troop movements] Line of battle consists of two lines of men, one behind the other, so that while one line fires, the other reloads. Behind them is a line of file closers - lieutenants and sergeants. But two lines make a regiment unwieldy on the move, so we need to switch to column of fours. We need to be able to change from column of fours into line of battle and back again quickly. It is not difficult to move from line of battle to column of fours. It is much harder to move from column of fours into line of battle, and if we're called upon to make that move, it will be when we're under fire. I'm sure you can understand, Colonel, how important it is that these moves are learned so thoroughly that the men could perform them in their sleep."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gods_and_Generals_(film)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Gods and Generals (film)
22 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Gods and Generals (film) →
Related Quotes
"[first address to his brigade, prior to First Manassas/Bull Run] Men of the Valley! Citizen soldiers! I am here at th…"
"Carsten Norgaard - Maj. Gen. Darius N. Couch"
"[farewell address to the Stonewall Brigade, prior to Fredericksburg] Throughout the broad extent of the country throu…"
"[last words - May 10, 1863] Let us cross over the river...and rest under the shade of the trees."
"[at Fredericksburg, as the Army of the Potomac crosses the Rappahanock] In the Roman civil war, Julius Caesar knew he…"
"[in winter quarters, to his brother Tom] War is a scourge, but so is slavery. It is the systematic coercion of one gr…"
"It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it."
"[to artillerist E. Porter Alexander, at Fredericksburg] Colonel Alexander, Federal troops amassed across that river a…"
"[after Jackson's wounding] He's lost his left arm...I've lost my right."
"Malachy McCourt - Francis Preston Blair"