Sir,

I do not recall the exact source at the moment but your reference on the soldiers being five foot apart "on the firing line" was actually when they were in the entrenchments. It would have been impossible for any force to attack in a linear formation with any sort of effectiveness and they would have been instantly captured because they would have had no way to mass fires to resist.

I hope this helps.

Respectfully,

Gerald D. Hodge, Jr.
War Between the States Historian
Historian: 39th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment
http://39thgavolinfrgt.homestead.com/39thHomepage.html