during the american civil war the standard formation for both attacking and defending was the line formation. the line allowed the maximum number of soldiers to fire their weapons without hitting their own men. the line formation worked best in open fields. the line could not move well in wooded areas or in rough terrain. both sides were still using tactics that were used in the american revolutionary war. during earlier wars including the napoleonic wars, single-shot smoothbore muskets were used with fixed bayonets. a line would advance to about from the enemy line and fire in volley (all at the same time). muskets were not very accurate and by all firing at the same time they were more likely to hit enemy soldiers. after firing their one shot the soldiers would all move the line forward for a bayonet charge.