The Civil War infantry firing line was two ranks deep. The front rank knelt; the rear rank stood. Both ranks loaded and fired their muskets together on command — first the front rank, then the rear rank firing over the heads of the kneeling men, then both reloading at their own pace before the next volley. The kneeling posture put the front rank's heads below the rear rank's musket barrels and held them steady for accurate fire. It was the U.S. Army manual of arms position, drilled into recruits until they could execute it under fire and at night. A regiment of five hundred men in two-rank line could deliver roughly fifteen hundred rounds a minute when the volleys were well-spaced, and could keep up that rate until the cartridge boxes emptied at sixty rounds per man — then resupply or retreat. The Iron Brigade was drilled to regular-army standards. They held the prescribed cadence.

This W. Britain figure depicts an Iron Brigade soldier in the regulation kneeling-firing position — right knee down, left knee raised to support the left elbow, rifle musket leveled and steady. He wears the M1858 nine-button infantry frock coat in dark blue, light blue kersey trousers, the white canvas gaiters Gibbon kept the brigade in, the tall M1858 Hardee hat with brass eagle insignia, and the standard infantry kit on his back: the Model 1855 knapsack with rolled blanket, the blue-covered M1858 smoothside canteen on his hip, and the cartridge box angled forward for access while kneeling. The rifle is the Springfield Model 1861 or Pattern 1853 Enfield. The kneeling figure is the front rank of any two-rank firing line, and pairs naturally with the brigade's standing figures to build a full two-rank firing diorama: one kneeling, one standing behind, both firing together. Pair this figure with Iron Brigade Standing Firing in Gaiters, the standing rear-rank companion for the two-rank firing line; with Col. Henry A. Morrow of the 24th Michigan, the brigade's regimental commander at Gettysburg; or with Color Sergeant Abel Peck, the brigade's color sergeant killed on Day 1 of the same battle.

Scale: 1/30 (60mm). Matte-painted metal. W. Britain model 31406. From the American Civil War range. Single foot figure, supplied painted and ready for display.