20 A Geological Miscellany

Friday, 18 March 2005
1:00 PM - 4:40 PM

INFLUENCE OF GEOLOGY ON STRATEGIES AND TACTICS DEVELOPED BY LEADERS IN CIVIL WAR CAMPAIGNS AND BATTLES

Paper number: 20-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 1:00 PM – 1:20 PM

Authors

Abstract

Geologic structure, lithologies, and the resulting weathered landforms play a role in Civil War campaigns and battles. Many Northern and Southern Generals attended West Point, received terrain training, and fought in the Mexican War. Their experiences, the national strategy, and the advance in range and accuracy of battlefield weapons required new strategies and tactics in the Civil War, the first modern war. Generals use combinations of offensive or defensive tactics and strategies to achieve battlefield objectives. The mapping of landforms and resulting interpretation of maps by commanding officers in many cases determined the outcome of the battle. Topographic interpretation ranges in scale from large in establishing a strategy and planning maneuvers to the small scale in the final execution of tactics. The influence of the setting, troop protection, and the deployment of troops and artillery are all in the commander’s mindset days, hours, and minutes before as well as during the battle. Even during battle chaos, terrain is an integral part of an officer’s evaluation of advance, stand, and drawback options.