Gettysburg Staff Ride

Contains more than 20 maps, diagrams and illustrations If neither General Meade nor General Lee planned to fight at Gettysburg, how did it happen that the first three days of July 1863 were to become arguably the most important span in the Civil War? That question cannot be fully answered without viewing McPherson's Ridge or Oak Hill, nor can one really understand the urgency of Chamberlain's bayonet charge nor the audacity of Pickett's division at the Angle without visiting those places. Accordingly, the purpose of a Gettysburg staff ride is to visit these and other locations on the battlefield and analyze the battle through the eyes of the men who were there, both leaders and rank and file soldiers. Hopefully, by understanding the actions, inactions and reactions of commanders and their troops in real situations we may gain insights into the human condition under stress and decision making during combat.

This edition of the staff ride has been edited for improved readability to include better map resolutions, period photos and a clarified set of battle orders.The first three days of July 1863 were to become arguably the most important span in the Civil War. The purpose of this Gettysburg staff ride is to visit battlefield locations and analyze the battle through the eyes of the men who were there, both leaders and rank and file soldiers. Hopefully, by understanding the actions, inactions and reactions of commanders and their troops in real situations, one may gain insights into the human condition under stress and decision making during combat.

Discusses how to plan a staff ride of a battlefield, such as a Civil War battlefield, as part of military training. This brochure demonstrates how a staff ride can be made available to military leaders throughout the Army, not just those in the formal education system.

Contains more than 20 maps, diagrams and illustrations Although "Fighting Joe" Hooker skillfully executes a well-conceived plan and out-flanks his adversary, months of offensive planning are shelved as he suddenly orders his army on the defensive. Lee seizes the initiative and achieves what has often been called his most brilliant victory. How could this happen when Hooker's army outnumbers that of Lee 2 to 1 and is far superior in artillery and logistics? Answers to these and other questions concerning leadership, communications, use of terrain, and the psychology of men in battle, are often found by personal reconnaissance of the battlefield. This book offers a staff ride briefing of Chancellorsville. Since 1906 staff rides have been used to in the education of U.S. Army officers to narrow the gap between peacetime training and war.

In the early 2000s in a top secret facility located deep beneath Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, years of research on time travel technology by the United States military finally comes together. But the initial excitement soon wanes when a startling reality surfaces and captures a moral dilemma. Suddenly, everyone is speculating what will happen if they start changing history. As the team, led by United States Army Colonel Barton Stauffer, begins testing the new time technology using the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg as an experimental bed, they focus on placing a defensive temporal capability in position before other global powers can develop time travel capabilities of their own. But harnessing time proves challenging, and Stauffers team soon discovers that their technology is inadequate. As incredible temporal energies are mistakenly unleashed, army officers begin disappearing into brilliant flashes of light. Stauffer soon realizes his team is doing much more than just observing battlefields through observation portalsthey possess the ability to reset history for all humankind. All it takes is a flip of a switch to return to the beginning and halt the project. Now Stauffer must decide which is more importantleaving the past as it was or saving the future.