Major General George Gordon Meade and the Philosophy of Mission Command at the Battle of Gettysburg
Abstract
This research studies Meade's leadership during the Battle of Gettysburg through the lens of the Army's 2019 leadership doctrine, specifically the philosophy of mission command. Gettysburg was Meade's first battle as commander of the Union Army of the Potomac and occurred only three days after he assumed command. This paper explains the Army doctrine on the philosophy of mission command from the March 28, 2014 version of ADRP 6-0 which contains change two. It then assesses Meade's leadership during each of the three days of battle and how it enabled his corps commanders. Each of these days provided Meade with different and difficult problems. While acknowledging that the philosophy of mission command was not Army doctrine or formally codified for several more decades, the analysis of Meade's leadership during Gettysburg shows that he led in a matter that resembles modern doctrine. This historical example can be useful when envisioning leadership in a communications degraded environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 14, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1084858
Entities
People
- Gregory A. Bassett
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College