The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | October 2022
The Antietam Leadership Staff Ride for Law Enforcement : Award-Winning Program in a Historic Location
Since 2004 , the NJ State Association of Chiefs of Police has presented Staff Rides for Law Enforcement Leaders . These programs w ere predicated upon adapting the military staff ride concept for the needs of police professionals . Our Staff Rides to Gettysburg , Antietam , Washington ’ s Crossing , Trenton & Princeton , and Monmouth Courthouse have been among our most popular programs of any type or form .
This year , we returned to Sharpsburg , MD , the site of the battle of Antietam . From September 16 th – 18 th we walked upon that hallowed ground where exactly 160 years ago to the day the events took place – a day that is known for the “ bloodiest one-day battle in American history .”
What contemporary leadership and administrative lessons can today ’ s law enforcement professionals bring home from a Civil War battlefield ? If we examine the leadership and management challenges — then and now — we will find many striking parallels . There are the pressures of limited resources — people , supplies and equipment . There are also pressures from those above to perform at a peak level , despite these limited resources . There are personnel challenges from those who bring with them emotional issues and then cannot perform with clear minds . There are those driven by political concerns — the drive for recognition or the fear of risking too much . And there are others who are set in their ways — the “ old ” ways that do not fit today ’ s circumstances . The communications issues , as always , are there : from unclear communications to lack of information .
These challenges are with the contemporary police leader as they were with the leaders at the Battle of Antietam .
Not only is the Antietam Staff Ride for Law Enforcement Leaders immensely popular with chiefs and other police executives around New Jersey , but it also caught the attention of association leaders outside the law enforcement community . NJSACOP received the 2005 Positive Impact Award from the New Jersey Society of Association Executives for the Antietam Staff Ride . The program was chosen for this honor as an example of “ original thinking to successfully implement a project that produced a positive impact on the organization , its membership , and its vital communities …. NJSACOP looked for an innovative approach to broaden the horizons of law enforcement leaders . [ The ] ‘ Staff Ride ’ is a certified program that helps police commanders learn from the past by analyzing the Civil War battle of Antietam through the eyes of those who were there . This 3-day experience focuses on strategies , command structures and battlefield leadership and helps professionals evolve their own decision making skills .”
The Battle of Antietam ( or Sharpsburg , as it is called in the South ) took place just 18 days after the Confederate victory at Second Manassas , 40 miles to the southeast in Virginia . Our program began by exploring the strategic dilemma facing Confederate General Robert E . Lee following his stunning success at Second Manassas . He could attack Washington , DC , he could put his army in camp , or he could set them on the march .
If he chooses to move his army , why would he choose to go North instead of East , West or South ? How does Union General George McClellan react to Lee ’ s decision to invade Maryland ? What choices do Lee and McClellan make that force the battles at South Mountain and Sharpsburg ?
We explored what General McClellan was planning for September 17 , 1862 , and analyzed General Lee ’ s Strategy for that fateful morning . We followed General Hooker ’ s flank march toward the north end of the field with stops at the North Woods and the Bloody Cornfield , sites of furious fighting by , among others , the Iron Brigade and Hood ’ s Texas Brigade . We followed Sumner ’ s Second Corps to the Dunker Church , one of the most noted landmarks on this great field of combat . The Dunker Church ranks as perhaps one of the most famous sites in American military history .
We further discussed and explored the Army of the Potomac ’ s confused command structure , and how it lead to a near debacle on the shores of the Antietam Creek at the 125-foot-long bridge known as the Burnside Bridge , named after Union General Ambrose E . Burnside .
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