SHILOH, Tenn.--About 35 Army Contracting Command Soldiers and civilians learned how contracting and logistics planning helped the U.S. Army defeat the Confederate Army at the Battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War, lessons ACC Soldiers and civilians say are still relevant to Army operations.
Led by Mikhael Weitzel, command historian, participants toured the grounds of Shiloh National Military Park here March 30. They stopped at several locations to discuss key turning points in what was at that time the bloodiest battle in American history, according to the park's website.
The two-day battle April 6-7, 1862, resulted in more than 23,700 casualties as nearly 110,000 troops battled on the banks of the Tennessee River and in the densely-wooded, rugged terrain of what is now Shiloh National Military Park.
"Participants learned the importance of logistics and Army contracting on strategy and tactics during the Civil War and at the Battle of Shiloh," Weitzel said. "They also learned how the continued supply of ammunition led to heroic defenses and how the shortage of food could destroy command and control."
He told the staff riders of a nearly two-hour break in Confederate command and control when Confederate troops, short on food, began looting a U.S. camp and eating recently deserted breakfasts rather than pressing the attack.
Weitzel also explained the importance of Army contracting in having more than 150 steamboats under contract to ferry Union reinforcements across the Tennessee River during the night of April 6, 1862. He discussed the importance of joint operations and the effect of the combined U.S. Army and U.S. Navy artillery on the final Confederate attack toward the U.S. headquarters.
Tora Henry, ACC acting Equal Employment Opportunity manager, said the lessons of Shiloh are still relevant today.
"It was 154 years ago when the battle occurred and the relevance of that war is still prevalent in today's military," she said. "We still need good contracting, logistics, supply, and most importantly, a leader who cares."
Maj. Vernon J. James, ACC Inspector General's Office, said the staff ride reinforced how logistics drives operations on the strategic, operational and tactical levels.
"It showed the impact that the presence or absence of effective logistics had from the perspective of the warfighter; a sobering reminder why we in the Army Contracting Command do what we do, and why we must continue to do it well," he said.
Sgt. Steven C. West, U.S. Army Expeditionary Contracting Command executive driver, concurred.
"Logistics always has an effect on the mission and war," he said. "Lives depend on it. Nothing happens until it moves."
Prior to the battlefield visit, participants attended a class on Army contracting from the Mexican-American War through the beginning of the Civil War, developments in contracting and logistics by the U.S. and Confederate armies during the first year of the Civil War and the specific impacts of contracting and logistics on the Battle of Shiloh.
Weitzel said staff rides have been around since 1906 as a part of leadership and professional development.
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