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From: Len Riedel, Executive Director
Date: 2/9/2004
Time: 8:26:43 PM
Remote Name: 24.53.156.243
A Staff Ride is a process of studying the battles and leaders. On a staff ride you try to get into the head of the people who were there. As such we need to train you to think and look critically at a battlefield and the people who were there. To prepare you will need to know the order of battle (who was there), what controversies arose?, Who wrote reports and what did they say--why would they say what they said? We will provide all of that in preparation. As to what to read? Start with Kenneth Noe's book on Perryville. The entrance exam will be based upon that. That will give you the overview you must have, then consider reading both Joe Harsh's book Taken at the Flood about the Maryland Campaign and Peter Cozzen's book on The Corinth/Iuka Campaign It is called the Darkest Days of the War. These two books give you the context of the fall of 1862 across the country. Two other good reads to prep you are Stephen Woodworth's Jefferson Davis and his Generals and Stephen Engle's biography on Don Carlos Buell The Most Promising of All. Army Field Manuel 100-5 discusses the principles of war--we will train you on that as the frame work for evaluation of the battle and indeed other battles. Let me know if I can provide other info. Len Riedel