It was the common soldiers who did most of the fighting and dying in the campaign and battle of Gettysburg, but they relied upon their leaders, from lieutenants to presidents, for motivation, inspiration and direction. They also relied upon those leaders to take care of them, and to preserve them from harm's way whenever possible.

Nowhere is leadership put to a more severe test than in time of war, when lives hang in the balance of every decision. The national leader must inspire the home front to maintain the struggle, while the regimental commander must motivate his men to risk their lives in furtherance of the cause. Gettysburg tested the leadership of these men as no other campaign of the war to that point had. How those leaders met that test and dealt with the challenges the campaign and battle presented to them is a subject that still has relevance today. While weapons have changed the face of warfare, the characteristics of good leadership have not.

The Gettysburg National Military Park 2002 Seminar probed the critical role of leadership in the campaign and battle. The papers of this seminar range from a study of the successes and failures of Lincoln’s leadership in the campaign to the impact of the leadership of a 21 year old New Hampshire colonel who led his men through the bloody fighting in the Peach Orchard on July 2. These papers provide insight into both how the leaders at Gettysburg developed as well as how they performed when put to the test.

A special thanks goes to Evangelina Rubalcava, for her hard work in handling all the logistics that made the seminar happen, to Scott Hartwig, for his work in putting this book together, Chris Little, for her editorial skills, and to John Heiser, who produced the excellent maps that accompany the text.

John Latschar
Superintendent
Gettysburg National Military Park
March, 2002