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Battle Tested!: Gettysburg Leadership Lessons for 21st Century Leaders
You may never visit the Gettysburg battlefield, but understanding historic lessons from Battle Tested! will have a profound influence on not only your leadership abilities, but also your life, organizations, and career.
In order to be a truly effective leader, it is necessary to learn as much as possible from the examples of history—the disasters as well as the triumphs. At Gettysburg, Union and Confederate commanders faced a series of critical leadership challenges under the enormous stress of combat. The fate of the nation hung in the balance. These leaders each responded in different ways, but the concepts and principles they applied during those traumatic three days contain critical lessons for today’s leaders that are both useful and applicable—whether those leaders manage operations at a large corporation, supervise a public institution, lead an athletic team, or govern a state or municipality.
In the twenty-first century, leadership is the indispensable quality that separates successful organizations from failures. Successful leaders communicate vision, motivate team members, and inspire trust. One must move both people and the collective organization into the future while, at the same time, dealing with the past. A leader must learn to master the dynamic requirements of decision-making and change.
In order to be a truly effective leader, it is necessary to learn as much as possible from the examples of history—the disasters as well as the triumphs. At Gettysburg, Union and Confederate commanders faced a series of critical leadership challenges under the enormous stress of combat. The fate of the nation hung in the balance. These leaders each responded in different ways, but the concepts and principles they applied during those traumatic three days contain critical lessons for today’s leaders that are both useful and applicable—whether those leaders manage operations at a large corporation, supervise a public institution, lead an athletic team, or govern a state or municipality.
In the twenty-first century, leadership is the indispensable quality that separates successful organizations from failures. Successful leaders communicate vision, motivate team members, and inspire trust. One must move both people and the collective organization into the future while, at the same time, dealing with the past. A leader must learn to master the dynamic requirements of decision-making and change.
- GenresCivil WarLeadership
272 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2020
14 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 17, 2021
Reader Tested! A great Gettysburg book!
This book is a masterful collaboration between two leaders in three fields — McCausland (leadership and strategy) and Vossler (Gettysburg history) — with the result that you learn how these determinant aspects of human action came together and played out in one of the most pivotal American events.
Why read the book? As the authors say in their introduction: “Fools say they learn by experience,” said Bismarck, “I prefer to profit by other people’s experience.” In this case, you’ll be learning from the experiences of those battling at Gettysburg from 1-3 July 1863: 163 thousand Union and Confederate soldiers. The authors will also enlighten you with a myriad of other not-well-known but fascinating statistics I can only imagine they calculated throughout their deep research.
Throughout the interweaving of leadership and strategy at Gettysburg, the authors also introduce confirming examples from other wars. For example, they quote General (later President) Eisenhower as opining: “Leadership is the ability to decide what has to be done and get people to want to do it!” They further explain that leadership involves vision, motivation, and trust, and elaborate for your full and clear understanding.
To help keep your attention while making their points, the authors engage in questioning. They provide a “Leadership Moment Vignette” for each of the twelve chapters. There, the authors have you parachute into a battle scene to take the “you are there” controls as an armchair president, general, or colonel. Without any apparent discrimination, the Union is “favored” with seven vignettes to the Confederate’s five. As an example, here’s Chapter 1’s vignette example (my words, and note that the Confederates come first!): As Confederate President Jefferson Davis, do you: 1. Send part of Lee’s army to Tennessee to advance into Indiana or Ohio, encouraging northern anti-war Democrats to force Lincoln to negotiate. 2. Send part of Lee’s army to Mississippi to stop the Union from splitting the Confederacy. Or 3. Let Lee take his army north into Maryland and Pennsylvania to seek a decisive battle with the Union? What do you decide and why? With a clear, illuminating rationale as to the correct answer, the book’s cavalry then comes to your rescue.
The authors have made excellent use of maps, portraits, and scenes images. The introduction, epilogue, and dramatis personae sections are exceptionally well done. IMHO, the book could have used a select bibliography, but the reference works are included in the endnotes, just not alphabetized and by themselves.
As an aside, let me also say I was fortunate to attend a Zoom class with the authors sponsored by the Army Heritage Center Foundation. During the event, they answered many thought-provoking questions, with mine being one of the last: “If you were Lee, what would you have done on Day 3?” Author and Gettysburg historian Colonel (ret) Tom Vossler’s answer to the question was that he would probably do what Confederate Brigadier General (of artillery) Edward Porter Alexander advised, as written in Porter’s book “Military Memoirs of a Confederate.” This means taking advantage of exterior lines (attacking a salient or bulge) by focusing Confederate artillery from the north and northeast onto Cemetery Hill using enfilade fire. Simultaneously, an attack would be made from the more or less sheltered area 500 yards to the west (near and west of the town of Gettysburg; as occupied on the night of 2 July by Confederate Major General Robert Rodes, whose division was idle on 2 and 3 July). Success in these efforts would allow the Confederates to then outflank and roll-up the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. I thought this was quite an unusually astute answer, as the common response of taking Longstreet’s advice of moving Lee’s army to the Union left flank was, according to one military strategist with impeccable credentials, no longer viable after 1 July.
But back to the book — If you’re like me, moderately well-read about the Battle of Gettysburg, by the end of the first chapter on page 25, a tenth of the book, you’ll have felt you got your money’s worth. By the end of the book, I believe you’ll be amazed at how the authors have made learning so much about leadership, strategy, and the Battle of Gettysburg into an extremely enjoyable read. Bottom-line: highly recommended!
Of possible interest: George Washington's Liberty Key: Mount Vernon's Bastille Key - the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul, a best-seller at Mount Vernon. “Character is Key for Liberty!” and
Strategy Pure and Simple: Essential Moves for Winning in Competition and Cooperation
This book is a masterful collaboration between two leaders in three fields — McCausland (leadership and strategy) and Vossler (Gettysburg history) — with the result that you learn how these determinant aspects of human action came together and played out in one of the most pivotal American events.
Why read the book? As the authors say in their introduction: “Fools say they learn by experience,” said Bismarck, “I prefer to profit by other people’s experience.” In this case, you’ll be learning from the experiences of those battling at Gettysburg from 1-3 July 1863: 163 thousand Union and Confederate soldiers. The authors will also enlighten you with a myriad of other not-well-known but fascinating statistics I can only imagine they calculated throughout their deep research.
Throughout the interweaving of leadership and strategy at Gettysburg, the authors also introduce confirming examples from other wars. For example, they quote General (later President) Eisenhower as opining: “Leadership is the ability to decide what has to be done and get people to want to do it!” They further explain that leadership involves vision, motivation, and trust, and elaborate for your full and clear understanding.
To help keep your attention while making their points, the authors engage in questioning. They provide a “Leadership Moment Vignette” for each of the twelve chapters. There, the authors have you parachute into a battle scene to take the “you are there” controls as an armchair president, general, or colonel. Without any apparent discrimination, the Union is “favored” with seven vignettes to the Confederate’s five. As an example, here’s Chapter 1’s vignette example (my words, and note that the Confederates come first!): As Confederate President Jefferson Davis, do you: 1. Send part of Lee’s army to Tennessee to advance into Indiana or Ohio, encouraging northern anti-war Democrats to force Lincoln to negotiate. 2. Send part of Lee’s army to Mississippi to stop the Union from splitting the Confederacy. Or 3. Let Lee take his army north into Maryland and Pennsylvania to seek a decisive battle with the Union? What do you decide and why? With a clear, illuminating rationale as to the correct answer, the book’s cavalry then comes to your rescue.
The authors have made excellent use of maps, portraits, and scenes images. The introduction, epilogue, and dramatis personae sections are exceptionally well done. IMHO, the book could have used a select bibliography, but the reference works are included in the endnotes, just not alphabetized and by themselves.
As an aside, let me also say I was fortunate to attend a Zoom class with the authors sponsored by the Army Heritage Center Foundation. During the event, they answered many thought-provoking questions, with mine being one of the last: “If you were Lee, what would you have done on Day 3?” Author and Gettysburg historian Colonel (ret) Tom Vossler’s answer to the question was that he would probably do what Confederate Brigadier General (of artillery) Edward Porter Alexander advised, as written in Porter’s book “Military Memoirs of a Confederate.” This means taking advantage of exterior lines (attacking a salient or bulge) by focusing Confederate artillery from the north and northeast onto Cemetery Hill using enfilade fire. Simultaneously, an attack would be made from the more or less sheltered area 500 yards to the west (near and west of the town of Gettysburg; as occupied on the night of 2 July by Confederate Major General Robert Rodes, whose division was idle on 2 and 3 July). Success in these efforts would allow the Confederates to then outflank and roll-up the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. I thought this was quite an unusually astute answer, as the common response of taking Longstreet’s advice of moving Lee’s army to the Union left flank was, according to one military strategist with impeccable credentials, no longer viable after 1 July.
But back to the book — If you’re like me, moderately well-read about the Battle of Gettysburg, by the end of the first chapter on page 25, a tenth of the book, you’ll have felt you got your money’s worth. By the end of the book, I believe you’ll be amazed at how the authors have made learning so much about leadership, strategy, and the Battle of Gettysburg into an extremely enjoyable read. Bottom-line: highly recommended!
Of possible interest: George Washington's Liberty Key: Mount Vernon's Bastille Key - the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul, a best-seller at Mount Vernon. “Character is Key for Liberty!” and
Strategy Pure and Simple: Essential Moves for Winning in Competition and Cooperation
September 19, 2020
Thousands of books have been written about the battle and gone into great detail about the regiments and soldiers. Not many have discussed the various leadership choices and lessons within. This book does that and ties it into current lessons for everyday leadership.
As a Gettysburg enthusiast, I enjoyed this book greatly and will use it's leadership lessons in my everyday life.
As a Gettysburg enthusiast, I enjoyed this book greatly and will use it's leadership lessons in my everyday life.
August 20, 2021
This is a great book incorporating the study of leadership with the Gettysburg Campaign of 1863. The authors successfully weave together examples from the Campaign with modern day examples illustrating that leadership is an art, craft, and skill that transends the ages.
July 9, 2022
Excelent book
December 15, 2022
Great leadership book combined with history. Learned a lot about Gettysburg and the Civil War. Lots of highlights.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews