Gen. Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg

Running head : GENERAL ROBERT E . LEE AT GETTYSBURG

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Introduction

The military appointed me to provide psychological services to the confederate troops stationed in Virginia during the civil war . I served under Gen . R . Lee in the year 1863 . I was privileged to work with a man who performed well under pressure and for who despair featured not in his vocabulary . I have detailed seven key concepts that guided us on military psychology especially in the run up and the end of the Battle

br of Gettysburg

Selection and Classification of War Fighters

As the war progressed the commitment of soldiers towards the war effort in the confederate army of the state of Virginia began to come into question . Some fought with their conscience over the fact that they had to go to war against their brothers and sisters over what was basically a political matter . There was the other group that welcomed a battle against the union forces seeing it as an opportunity to assert themselves and gain real independence . The loss of troops on their side , encouraged about 75 of the troops . To them it was a worthy sacrifice for worthy cause

To ensure that the best fighters were placed in the most strategic areas it was necessary to conduct a discrete `commitment audit ' of all exiting soldiers and new recruits . They were classified into class A , B and C Class a consisted of those who were diehard supporters of the confederate aims . They also had some previous military experience . Class B was made up of those men whose commitment was tempered by the family responsibilities but whose resolve was theless very strong . Thirdly class C was made of inexperienced men who s decision to join the army was not very clear . Most likely peer pressure and the threat of reprisals from those who had joined played a part in their recruitment

As a general rule , class C were given the menial duties class B formed the frontline and class A the vanguard . At the Battle of Gettysburg , the huge losses forced a rethink of positioning and a lot of those in class C were thrown into the frontline . It was only towards the end of the war that the confederate army attempted to recruit black slaves to help in the war effort . But it was too little too late

Leadership Style

General Lee was an exceptional leader . Initially he was against the succession of Virginia from the Union . But when he changed his mind and joined the confederate forces he gave himself 100 to the war effort . He had a very high self esteem and confidence in his abilities which shone through in battles like that of Seven Days Battle and the Second Battle of Bull Run . He had compassion for his troops and never lacked words of encouragement . He was a man of humility who accepted mistakes when he made them . After the loss at Picket 's charge he met his troops saying...