Generalship in the Civil War

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GENERALSHIP IN THE CIVIL WAR BY E. J. STACKPOLE A SCHOLARLY ARTICLE REVIEW BY CHARLES W. SMITH TROY UNIVERSITY HIS-4413-XTIA15/T4 DR. SAUNDERS ABSTRACT The author of the article “Generalship in the Civil War”, E. J. Stackpole, is a trustee of the American Military Institute. He is also the author of several books on Civil War battles and campaigns. In this article, Mr. Stackpole discusses what he has determined to be nine principles of war. According to Stackpole, these nine principles are: The Objective, The Offensive, Mass, Economy of Force, Movement, Surprise, Security, Simplicity, and Cooperation. He then describes pre-war training during the time of the Civil War and the limitations that officers often faced. Stackpole then goes into specific civil War leaders and evaluates them according to his nine principles of war. The leaders he specifically discusses are: George B. McClellan, John Pope, Ambrose E. Burnside, Joseph Hooker, Robert E. Lee, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, and George G. Meade. Stackpole then compares the opinions about them to the real situations, and giving reasons for some of the actions (or inactions) they took leading troops during the war. THE NINE PRINCIPLES According to Stackpole (1960), “In the evolution of warfare throughout the ages, the strategic and tactical employment of troops in such a way as to achieve success in battle have stood the test of time to qualify as principles.” (pg. 57) Stackpole has listed a total of nine of these battle tested principles that are used to evaluate the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of certain military leaders. The first principle, “The Objective”, consists of the designation of a specific battle plan aimed at achieving victory. The second principle, The Offensive”, consists of a commander using initiative against the enemy in order to gain a decision.
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