FORT SILL, Okla. - Is there any better way for a field artillery captain to learn about tactics and maneuvers in combat than studying a historic battleground where one of the most influential encounters of the Civil War took place?
The Soldiers in the Captain’s Career Course don’t think so.
In April, more than 60 captains traveled to Pea Ridge, Ark. to study the largest artillery engagement in the Civil War up to that point, March 6-8, 1862.
“Each student was given a portion of the battle to teach the class,” said Capt. Douglas Hoer, C Battery, 1st Battalion, 30th Field Artillery. “In my case, it was the overall summary of the two armies during the battle. I did an analysis of who was fighting where and such. Each student was assigned to evaluate the little portions of the battle to make the whole make sense.”
“Basically the battle is broken up into stages,” explained Capt. Jonathan Tyson, C/1st-30th FA. “Given the number of students in the small group, each person was given a portion of the battle. The library in Snow Hall has books on the Battle of Pea Ridge, so we were all able to study up on our portions. Also, having an overall knowledge of the battle helped put everything into perspective.”
This iteration of the Captain’s Career Course, was broken up into four small groups. Each small group maneuvered through the battlefield and briefed each other on each portion.
“We drove the six hours to the battlefield and had time to go through it with our small groups,” said Tyson. “The field is set up to strategically take you through the battle, and we briefed as we went through.”
“The battlefield has several points you can go through and pretty much each student spoke at one of these points,” said Hoer. “It is about a seven-mile loop.
“This is a national historic site set up to educate. Instead of reading plaques at each site, we talked about the military perspective of everything.”
“This particular battle was very relevant to field artillery,” admitted Tyson. “There were a lot of cannon engagements. This was the first battle of the war where field artillery was extensive and vital to the outcome of the war. It was perfect timing in class to take the trip. We were talking about tactics in class and everything else we were talking about, we learned about at Pea Ridge. Seeing how someone else handled the exact things we were learning helped make it real for us.
“We learned to pay attention to the constraints you put upon yourself. That was the most significant thing I learned from Pea Ridge. The confederates pressed their troops to the point of exhaustion and failure. Their goal was speed and surprise. But, because they wanted speed, they left behind a lot of food and ammo. They took one blanket with them, and it was snowing. By the time they got to the combat portions, they were exhausted and worn out.”
Tyson and Hoer explained that the trip to Pea Ridge was a perfect way to get out of the classroom and make what they were learning more tangible.
“From the field artillery perspective, Pea Ridge was a great lesson,”stressed Tyson. “The experience and everything we learned brought things to fruition. If we think back to everything we learned so far, Pea Ridge put it into light.”
“This trip was our class coming off of PowerPoint and putting it into real life,” said Hoer.“You can’t get that experience just reading about it. Seeing the pristine battle ground, virtually untouched since the Civil War, tied in a lot of things together and made it all tangible.”
What can Fort Sill do to heighten the knowledge to the captains in the CCC?
“We need more military maneuver experience,” said Tyson. “If we were able to take more trips and see real life examples, it would tie-in with the course and make things more tangible.”
“Exactly,” concluded Hoer.
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