Taming The Tar Heel Department: D.H. Hill And The Challenges Of Operational-Level Command During The American Civil War
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An examination of Hill’s tenure as commander of the Confederate Department of North Carolina from February to July 1863 found that he was uncomfortable translating discretionary orders into action, he was unable to adequately visualize his operational environment, and he did not construct a coherent campaign plan to accomplish disparate missions and support Confederate strategic aims. Some of Hill’s struggles were due to the inability of the Confederate high command to articulate strategic priorities, the actions of the Union forces, and lack of experience in higher level commands. Previous tactical-level experiences in the war made Hill more cautious about committing force when presented with ambiguous situations and in his capacity as department commander he did not grasp his responsibility to provide recommendations to strategic-level decision makers regarding force disposition and types of combat operations.
Major Brit K. Erslev
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Taming The Tar Heel Department - Major Brit K. Erslev
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Text originally published in 1998 under the same title.
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TAMING THE TAR HEEL DEPARTMENT: D.H. HILL AND THE CHALLENGES OF OPERATIONAL-LEVEL COMMAND DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
BY
MAJ BRIT K. ERSLEV, U.S. ARMY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
ABSTRACT 5
INTRODUCTION 6
CONFEDERATE STRATEGY AND THE DEPARTMENT SYSTEM 10
D.H. HILL: BACKGROUND, HISTORIOGRAPHY, AND ARRIVAL IN NORTH CAROLINA 13
ADJUSTING TO OPERATIONAL-LEVEL COMMAND: STRIKING THE BALANCE BETWEEN INDEPENDENCE AND OVERSIGHT 16
THE FIGHT FOR INFORMATION: MAINTAINING VISUALIZATION OF THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT 24
THE DILEMMA OF PLANNING AND EXECUTING MULTI-FACETED CAMPAIGNS 28
CONCLUSION 34
BIBLIOGRAPHY 38
Manuscript Collections and Archives 38
Published Primary Sources 38
Government Publications 38
Secondary Sources 38
REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 41
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this monograph is to identify skills and capabilities required by commanders to excel at the operational level of war and in the practice of operational art. The author evaluated the performance of Confederate Major General Daniel Harvey Hill in his role as a department commander during the American Civil War. Department commanders were responsible for sequencing tactical operations to support the accomplishment of their government’s strategic objectives but received little guidance on how to fulfill their missions. The monograph concludes that twenty first century American military officers in similar command positions must be able to make decisions given ambiguous guidance and a fluid operational environment, be creative and active in developing innovative techniques to better understand the operational environment, and be able to craft holistic campaign plans that go beyond offensive and defensive operations.
An examination of Hill’s tenure as commander of the Confederate Department of North Carolina from February to July 1863 found that he was uncomfortable translating discretionary orders into action, he was unable to adequately visualize his operational environment, and he did not construct a coherent campaign plan to accomplish disparate missions and support Confederate strategic aims. Some of Hill’s struggles were due to the inability of the Confederate high command to articulate strategic priorities, the actions of the Union forces, and lack of experience in higher level commands. Previous tactical-level experiences in the war made Hill more cautious about committing force when presented with ambiguous situations and in his capacity as department commander he did not grasp his responsibility to provide recommendations to strategic-level decision makers regarding force disposition and types of combat operations. Today’s senior officers must take advantage of a decade’s worth experience of war as well as an educational system which did not exist in the nineteenth century to embrace operational-level responsibilities, ask pertinent questions, and be able and willing to act given vague guidance.
INTRODUCTION
History is replete with examples of generals who excelled at brigade and division-level command, only to falter when promoted to positions of higher responsibility. Identifying skills and capabilities that these men lacked or did not develop to full advantage can aid current Army leaders in preparing themselves for the transition from tactical-level command to operational-level command. This ability to adjust is crucial in today’s joint and multi-national operational environments where general officers command geographically large areas of responsibility encompassing multiple actors and complex political, military, economic, and social situations.
During the American Civil War, both the Union and the Confederate States of America used a department command system to assist in meeting each side’s respective strategic objectives. In early 1863 the Confederacy established four main departments comprising broad swaths of territory commanded by full generals who reported directly to President Jefferson Davis.{1} Davis charged the four generals with overseeing and coordinating operations in their departments to support a defensive-offensive strategy. These generals fulfilled administrative duties and commanded field armies on campaigns. Each of the departments, particularly in the east, consisted of various smaller departments and districts, typically overseen by major generals or brigadier generals, the size of which varied over time according to the enemy threat, subordinate commanders’ skill level, and how the four commanding generals envisioned their subordinates’ support to Confederate strategic aims. In essence, all of these commanders worked at what we today define as the operational level of war. As U.S. Army