An Armchair Tactician
George Douglas Brewerton was a West Point graduate whose many adventures included accompanying Kit Carson in the 1848 expedition to New Mexico Territory. Realizing early in the Civil War that most members of the infantry had no training in military tactics, he devised the Automaton Regiment, an instructional kit intended to educate the user in planning troop movements. Brigadier General Rufus Saxton, awarded the Medal of Honor for his 1862 defense of Harpers Ferry, was sufficiently impressed with Brewerton’s creation. He believed “its invention will prove a useful and valuable assistant to every student of military tactics. I take pleasure in recommending it accordingly.”
George Douglas Brewerton was a West Point graduate whose many adventures included accompanying Kit Carson in the 1848 expedition to New Mexico Territory. Realizing early in the Civil War that most members of the infantry had no training in military tactics, he devised the <em>Automaton Regiment</em>, an instructional kit intended to educate the user in planning troop movements. Brigadier General Rufus Saxton, awarded the Medal of Honor for his 1862 defense of Harpers Ferry, was sufficiently impressed with Brewerton’s creation. He believed “its invention will prove a useful and valuable assistant to every student of military tactics. I take pleasure in recommending it accordingly.”