Earlier this month I attended another seminar led by Bill Hewitt, sponsored by MHO. Bill is a retired Lt. Col. and in the four or so years that I have known him, his approach to the battle of Gettysburg is just a bit different…at least it makes ME look at it differently. You see, Bill approaches such topics as Pipe Clay Creek Circular and the PPT Charge from a military perspective. Much different than the perspective of the historian – and the discussions that I have had over the years with Bill have broadened my understanding of some of the command decisions.
The first part of the day was spend in the classroom and Bill opened with an overview of the evolution of military tactics. He posted a brilliant slide that details the journey of tactics which can be applied in both a macro and micro sense. The four main elements of the tactical journey include “doctrine, leaders, equipment and units.” The “fifth element”, not to be confused with the awesome Bruce Willis movie, is “dimension.” Dimension covers length, depth, height and the all important time factor.
As Bill laid out the journey he then applied the impact of changes within the elements and provided a micro study within the American Civil War…..the morning went by quickly and it was all we could do to absorb as fast as possible.
I was able to record the morning event and I am working with Bill to turn the content into a few podcasts. I have the rough draft done of the first podcast and the goal is to segment them into a series. Hopefully, Bill and I can offer the podcasts for sale in the near future….we are trying to work out the logistics and pricing models now. More to follow as that happens….
Angel's Share: Musings of a bourbon sipping ACW Student 
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