Wednesday
6 October 1999
0830-1130 (LS)
There is no better way of defending a long line than by moving into the enemy's territory.
Robert E. Lee
Introduction:
The American Civil War was the first major conflict to follow the Napoleonic wars and publication of the theoretical writings of Clausewitz and Jomini. Jomini was the most widely known and highly-respected military theorist of the time, and his ideas were taught at West Point to the generation of American officers who fought the Civil War. Clausewitz was hardly known and of negligible influence outside Prussia. Still, it would be incorrect to assume Jominian ideas dominated the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's background and campaigns indicate he probably was influenced by Jominian ideas. Union Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, on the other hand, both graduates of West Point who left the army for civilian life before the war began, apparently were influenced very little by Jomini and understood the evolving character and conduct of war better than did their Confederate counterpart. Moreover, the armies of both sides were citizen armies, officered predominantly by minimally trained civilians, some very proficient and some not.
Whether trained and/or proficient, senior officers and their staffs on both sides in the Civil War still had to determine the best way to employ military power in pursuit of policy objectives. For this topic and the one following, we will undertake a detailed analysis and critique of the war, in particular the Gettysburg campaign, and its relation to national strategy. We will analyze the plans and actions of the forces involved, both on their own merits and in light of the military theory we've studied thus far. Our aim is to begin developing/refining your skills in two important ways. First, we will introduce our framework for military strategy, a companion to the national security strategy framework you've learned in Course 5601. This framework will help you think through and resolve the various issues inherent in any military strategic problem.
Second, we will ask you to begin applying this framework both to analyze the soundness of military strategy and operations and to assess the applicability of military theory. These are skills you will continue to hone throughout the rest of this course and subsequent courses, particularly Course 5605.
The Civil War is the first of six case studies we use in this course to sharpen your analytical skills and illustrate how changes in the character and conduct of war affect the development of military theory. These historical examples provide excellent vehicles for evaluating theories, concepts, and hypotheses about national security and warfare. Students should be wary, though, of searching for "lessons learned." After all, each historical event is the product of a unique set of circumstances. Thus, the outcome of future events cannot be predicted based on a study of the past. "Lessons" should not be drawn with the expectation they will provide "answers" for the future. On the other hand, the analysis of historical cases can provide "vicarious" experience, sharpen critical faculties, and increase understanding of possible outcomes. By using the framework to analyze and critique the suitability of the military strategy developed for a particular conflict, you should gain insights that will enhance your judgment about how best to apply military power in future situations.
Your analysis of the changing methods of waging war and the problems confronting commanders should encompass many of the concepts addressed in the course thus far. Remember, you are trying to determine the applicability of the theoretical concepts in designing military strategy to suit a specific situation. Test the value of those concepts as you analyze the Civil War and the Gettysburg campaign.
Objectives:
- Using the NWC Framework for Military Strategy, determine how political objectives were translated into military objectives during the American Civil War. Critique the suitability of possible military strategies, given the political ends sought by both sides.
- Trace the development of viable courses of action using General Robert E. Lee's Gettysburg campaign plan as a case study to evaluate the employment options available to him and Major General Joseph Hooker.
Issues for Consideration:
- What were the political objectives of the Union and Confederacy in May 1863? Had they remained constant since the start of the war?
- What were the military objectives of the Union and Confederacy in May 1863? Had they remained constant since the start of the war?
- Assess the military objectives of the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac in late May 1863.
- What courses of action were available to General Robert E. Lee and Major General Joseph Hooker to accomplish their military objectives? What courses of action did they select? Why?
- Regarding General Lee's Gettysburg campaign: What were the most serious risks? What were the potential costs and benefits? What was the linkage between objectives and the conditions needed for successful termination of the campaign?
Required Readings:
* Department of Military Strategy and Operations, "The Framework for Military Strategy." (Reprint)
* Russell F. Weigley, "American Strategy from Its Beginnings through the First World War," Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age, ed. Peter Paret (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986), pp. 408-436. (Student Issue)
* Russell F. Weigley, "Napoleonic Strategy: R.E. Lee and the Confederacy" and "A Strategy of Annihilation: U.S. Grant and the Union," The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1973), pp. 92-152. (Student Issue)
Supplemental Readings:
* Edwin B. Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command (New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968).
* Bruce Catton, The Army of the Potomac: Glory Road (Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1952).
* Douglas Southall Freeman, Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command (New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1946).
* Jay Luvaas and Harold W. Nelson, eds., The U.S. Army War College Guide to the Battle of Gettysburg (Carlisle, PA: South Mountain Press, Inc.,Publishers,1986).
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