On a warm Tuesday in June 2016, a group of students stood at the edge of a grassy field on the historic American Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. They were about to step onto the same path taken by thousands of soldiers from opposing sides almost 153 years before. These students were police leaders from across the United States who had traveled from Iowa, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia to walk this field of battle. They traveled different distances, but they came for the same reason: to learn about leadership from the costly lessons of the past. They could sense the atmosphere of battle, imagine the feelings of those fallen soldiers, and almost hear the undeniable call of “Charge!” After an in-depth study and field walk, one of the students said this study and discussion was “The best leadership class I have attended in my 33 years of law enforcement.” Other notable comments included, “Great course and field study combination,” and “This is a great program. Using a real event as our case study is a good foundation.”¹

Two armies, the Union army and the Confederate army, clashed for three bloody days in what many scholars consider the turning point of the American Civil War. The Gettysburg Battlefield is a historical landmark ripe for the study of leadership. This living classroom allows current leaders to walk in the footsteps of those who have gone before them to learn from their successes and failures. The battlefield case study offers participants the opportunity to learn about the unique variety of personalities, the cause, and the challenges faced by leaders on both sides of the conflict, including one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history, Abraham Lincoln.

Teaching with Historical Places

Across the United States, there are more than 2,500 historic sites representing the sacrifices and journeys that have made the it the country it is today. Teaching with Historic Places is a method supported and leveraged by the U.S. National Park Service to teach students about the lessons of the past. On that warm June day in 2016, law enforcement leaders experienced a similar teaching approach. This field study method differs from traditional school field trips and has proven to be effective in stimulating students’ motivation to learn and apply leadership principles to the challenges they face in today’s law enforcement climate. According to the National Park Service, an effective field study contains the following three elements:²

1. Students will have the experience of “being there.” In this case, being at Gettysburg provides what has been called “empathetic insight” to their thinking. They walk through different aspects of the battle as it unfolded, able to touch the ground, the stones, and the actual cannon used by soldiers on both sides of the battle. Students stand at the place where Union General John Buford stood over 150 years ago as he watched thousands of Confederate troops marching towards Gettysburg.
2. The three-dimensional aspect of the experience provides evidence to use in historical inquiry. Law enforcement leaders thrive on evidence. They investigate and ask questions. What evidence supports and affirms the accounts of what happened? Are there original documents or battlefield landmarks that help the study of what happened? What were some of the witness accounts that illustrate what had occurred?³
3. The means for students to see the place and understand the changes that happened across the spectrum of time—they can see from old photos and architectural elements how the area looked in the past and compare that image to what it looks like today.

An effective field study requires preparation. Before stepping onto a historic landmark, the group must be provided with historical focus and leadership theory backgrounds. There are three sequential components to ensure students internalize the historical significance of the events and leadership education in a successful field study.

First is the pre-field study component. This includes the inquiry or problem-solving process, the review of place evidence, and the discussion of the historical context of the site. The majority of this component is conducted in a classroom environment. Pre-class assignments are also used in this phase, such as reading The Killer Angels and watching the movie Gettysburg.⁴ In this venue, discussion of the battle is imperative as students digest the events and the people involved.

The second component is the actual field study, where students walk the battlefield. The instructor’s role in this component is to ask students questions and help guide them through the context of the landmark and the events. The goal is to challenge the students to find and interpret evidence in the field. This is a full-day event for the Battle of Gettysburg, but it is one of the most fulfilling aspects of the field study.

The third part is the post study, where students come back to the classroom and discuss what they experienced, felt, and learned while on the field. The important of this component cannot be understated. A great deal of information is digested and discussed during the final two components. Empathetic insights are discussed as the instructor reaches out to the students to see how they interpreted the experience and evidence.

Many law enforcement agencies near Gettysburg choose to take “day trips” to the field to study leadership. Although still considered forward thinking, this is not the most effective approach. Past work has shown that the practice of using Teaching with Historic Places impacts students significantly in their learning, and in this case, the study of leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg.⁵

Conducting a field study is not new for law enforcement. Investigations in law enforcement take a similar approach and will yield similar results. Information is obtained through witness accounts, scene evidence, and circumstantial input to arrive at a conclusion that best fits the root cause. Law enforcement relies on past actions to put together a historical event: how the crime occurred. The field study occurs in a similar fashion. So, in this regard, it is not new. However, using this approach requires intentional teaching methods and is a relatively different approach to teaching leadership in the law enforcement realm.

Battle of Gettysburg—Leadership Study

On June 30, 1861, Union Brigadier General John Buford arrived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with the 1st Cavalry Division of 3,000 men. After assessing the situation, he realized it was prime ground for the Union army to fight a battle with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. After consulting with his command staff, he made the decision to deploy his men in a defensive position, facing overwhelming odds, in an attempt to hold the ground until reinforcements could arrive. It was this decision that set up the Union forces for success by allowing the Army of the Potomac to occupy the strategic and critical high ground surrounding the town of Gettysburg. Examination of this decision, in the context of General Buford’s followership style, makes it possible to extract a few key points that are critical to understanding how his leadership and his followership were impactful in this battle.

Analytical Decision-Making. Upon arriving at Gettysburg, General Buford observed a superior Confederate force making efforts to enter the town. He had to make a critical decision, whether to stay and fight or not. This decision would impact not only his cavalry but the entire Union army. Making the right decision requires analysis of the current situation, as well as character, experience, intelligence, boldness, perception, and discernment. General Buford possessed these attributes. He maintained the high priority of intelligence gathering, sending out cavalry troops to do what they did best. They scouted and reported on the movement of the Confederate army, which was coming from the north and northwest leading down the Chambersburg Pike toward the town of Gettysburg.

General Buford knew a major engagement was about to transpire, and to win, they needed the high ground, which consisted of four hills: Culp’s Hill, Cemetery Hill, Little Round Top, and Round Top. A long crescent-shaped ridge called Cemetery Ridge connected these hills. Buford deployed his cavalry division to fight unmounted and in defensive positions to keep the high ground. The cavalry was not accustomed to this type of defensive, unmounted fighting. The function of the cavalry during the American Civil War included intelligence gathering, reporting on enemy troop movements, and occasionally disrupting enemy supply lines. General Buford chose to deviate from that function because he felt it was the right thing to do. His decision to stay in Gettysburg and defend the town was a result of experience, good tactics, and courage, supporting the overall mission of the Union army—to defeat the Confederate army.

Buford’s experience allowed him to forecast the Confederate army’s marching down the Chambersburg Pike toward the town of Gettysburg in an attempt to gain the high ground. He was bold to use cavalry against well-equipped infantry. His commitment to winning the battle and the war represented his integrity and courage. Without direct communication with his commanding officers, Major General Alfred Pleasonton, the cavalry corps general, or General George Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac, General Buford made a decision that he thought best for the Union army. His decision required critical thinking and a high level of organizational engagement, both traits of an exemplary follower. Followership is studied and discussed in the classroom environment before the field study.

What We Can Learn from This Case Study

Like the soldiers of the past, today’s law enforcement leaders experience decisive victories every day at the tactical and strategic level. At the command level, some leaders might experience a gap in information and understanding because of time and distance from the front lines. The “boots on the ground” officers often make critical decisions. Leaders look for and recognize those “exemplary followers” in their organizations. These men and women are out there every day making good decisions for their agencies. Leaders need to understand when their officers have the best vantage point and expect their officers to make those crucial decisions.

Embracing the leader and follower attributes of historical figures such as General Buford can inform law enforcement leaders. His ability to function effectively in both leadership and followership roles serves as a model for others to stretch their leadership competencies to a higher level. General Buford was a good field tactician because he learned from his past mistakes. In law enforcement, whatever role is assigned to an officer, he or she can do it well by conducting research to increase the relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities. Learning points from this Gettysburg field study can then be applied to the challenges the profession of law enforcement faces today.

• Always have good intelligence on what’s coming over the horizon. Leaders should always be reading and understanding what is happening in the current landscape of community relations, national news, and international news.
• Know organizational values. Inculcate them in everything you do. Ensure that the goals of the organization are internalized in the culture of your area of responsibility. General Buford embraced the Union goal to defeat the Confederate army not only just in Gettysburg, but also across the entirety of the war.
• Get all the information possible before making a decision. Tactical and strategic decisions should not be made in haste. General Buford sent scouts to a wide area north of Gettysburg to observe the behaviors of the Confederate troops. He studied the topography and constructed a battle plan to defend the area. Because of his efforts, he was able to hold the Confederate army long enough for General John Reynolds’ First Corps to move up and support the defense.

General Buford has been overshadowed by other great leaders of the time, to include Colonel Chamberlain with his notable defense and charge on Little Round Top and General Pickett for his valiant charge toward the Union center. However, the Battle of Gettysburg contains many such lessons of exemplary followers and leaders.

In the American Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg is one of the most powerful national landmarks for using the Teaching with Historic Places methodology. Law enforcement leaders can take much from studying the great leaders at the Battle of Gettysburg and other battles. By studying the past, law enforcement leaders gain critical insights to improve their leadership abilities in the present. The Gettysburg Battlefield is one of the most complex, controversial, and exciting battles through which to study leadership. ♦

Notes:

¹ Sergeant Scarff, Sergeant Sanger, and Kim B. Wadding, “Gettysburg Leadership,” testimonials (June 2016).
² “Teaching with Historic Places,” National Park Service.
³ Samuel S. Wineburg, “Historical Problem Solving: A Study of Cognitive Processes Used in the Evaluation of Documentary and Pictorial Evidence,” Journal of Educational Psychology 83, no. 1 (March 1991): 73–87.
⁴ Michael Shaara, The Killer Angels (New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1974); Gettysburg, directed by Ron Maxwell (Culver City, CA: TriStar Television, 1993).
⁵ Wineburg, “Historical Problem Solving.”