In this work, author Perry D. Jamieson takes a look at the battle tactics deployed by the United States Army during the latter half of the 19th century. Weapons improved rapidly after the Civil War, raising difficult strategical questions in the field of battle. The most fundamental problem was the dominance of the tactical defensive, when defenders protected by fieldworks could deliver deadly fire from rifles and artillery against attackers advancing in close-ordered lines. The vulnerability of these offensive forces as they crossed the so-called deadly ground in front of defensive positions was even greater with the improvement of armaments after the Civil War.