Why did Civil War generals use Napoleon Bonaparte's famous military strategies?

Answer 1

At the time Napoleonic tactics were a widespread and accepted military doctrine in many military institutions around the world and Napoleon's campaigns had widespread influence on the western world. These tactics were feverishly taught at West Point where a majority of the American generals were taught. So much so that students were required to learn French to be able to translate the reading material given to them on Napoleon. You also have to understand that for over 20 years Napoleon and his French armies dominated the other powers of Europe and defeated multinational coalitions brought up to defeat him so it would make sense they would be studied and emulated by future generations. Many military commanders in the American Civil War also idolized and emulated Napoleon and his tactics along with dreams of glory and grandeur. The basic point of Napoleonic tactics was to have masses of infantry in shoulder to shoulder ranks usually three men deep to maximize their firepower against the enemy. Unfortunately technology had far outpaced the tactics by this time. By this time most weapons used rifling which greatly increased the accuracy of artillery and muskets as well as the minie-ball which resulted in the horrendous casualties during battles. By wars end these tactics had been largely abandoned such as the Siege of Petersburg which quickly transformed into trench warfare and a lesson Europe would wait to learn in World War One.