Joseph Scroggs
In the Civil War, the officers commands can be immensely important to the outcome of the battle. A second lieutenant in command of the 5th Regiment African Infantry, Joseph Scroggs, reveals his part in the Battle of Petersburg in a journal entry written about the battle, "I wish I could write that our operations ceased at this juncture for then commenced our misfortune. Our troops were exhausted but instead of ordering in fresh troops, plenty of which had stacked arms and were leisurely taking their ease in the woods just in rear of our position, the 3 Divs. were halted to rest and reform. The enemy opened on them a destructive enfilading fire from both directions, solid shot, shell, grape and canister [sic] tearing through their ranks with terrible effect." What Scroggs wrote in his personal journal describes how much officer's commands can affect what happens throughout the rest of the battle. This is because when "the 3 Divs. were halted to rest and reform" as a result of this choice "the enemy opened on them...from both directions". Had a command not been given to the soldiers for them to rest, the massacre on the field may have never occurred. Scroggs believes that they might have had a chance in the battle had "the operations" not "ceased". The complete "misfortune" that came upon the soldiers was only given from the officer's commands, thus proving the importance of them. The soldiers were "opened upon...with terrible effect" mainly the importance of the executive commands given in the battle. The outcome of battles in the Civil War is determined by the commands given from officials.
http://www.historynet.com/joseph-scroggs-observations-from-his-diary-about-the-1864-petersburg-campaign.htm
http://www.historynet.com/joseph-scroggs-observations-from-his-diary-about-the-1864-petersburg-campaign.htm