Warfare in the 19th century was generally pretty static because of the technological imitations. In your picture they still have cannon, muskets and cavalry. Things started to change with the Gatling gun but actual machine guns were still a ways off.

>>16535397
what I'm asking is, were line formations the best use of the technology at the time (during the civil war in particular) or were they just unwilling to try something new?

why would standing in formations be useful for ranged combat

>>16535447
>why would standing in formations be useful for ranged combat
Inaccuracy of individual shooters and more efficient to have everyone shoot at the same thing, at the same time in a coordinated fashion.

>>16535447
Yes. Even when they were using rifles the firearms were slow firing enougn that you needed to maximize volume of shot downrange. It’s only when you had breechloading rifles where a platoon could kill wipe out a company in a minute that linear warfare became a liability. Also rapid fire shrapnel artillery helped force looser and smaller formations, but rapid fire infantry weapons was the biggest thing.

>>16535601
>>16535512
I don't understand how having everyone shoot at the same time increases efficiency or makes it more likely that you're going to hit someone.
the only think I can think of is that in that case the smoke will clear up between volleys. other than that, it seems like allowing people to fire and aim at will would be most efficient, and allowing them to take cover would reduce their death toll

>>16535382
Tighter the formation, the more barrels there are in a given area. When your average engagement range is around 120 yards and your rof is ~3/min, that's really important if you want to stop an attack coming at you.

>>16535757
If everyone fires at once you can do tactics like have the first line fire, kneel and reload, have the second line fire, kneel and reload, have the third line fire and by the time they're done the first can stand and fire again.

>>16535382
While rifled muskets were certainly more accurate than the previous smoothbore pieces, individual marksmanship was seldom trained for.
And linear formations had another important role - that is granting unit cohesion and ease of communication. In the early before portable radios, orders had to be relayed through the words of messangers and officers, flags and instruments. All sounds that "compete" with the noise of firing artillery & muskets as well as the screams of the wounded and dying. Having a tight formation that acts as unison as it can, just makes coordination easier.