Staff Ride Handbook for the Overland Campaign, Virginia, 4 May to 15 June 1864: A Study in Operational-Level Command

The Staff Ride Handbook for the Overland Campaign, Virginia, 4 May to 15 June 1864, is the tenth study in the Combat Studies Institute’s (CSI) Staff Ride Handbook series. This handbook analyzes Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant’s 1864 Overland Campaign from the crossing of the Rapidan River on 4 May to the initiation of the crossing of the James River on 15 June. Unlike many of CSI’s previous handbooks, this handbook focuses on the operational level of war. Even so, it provides a heavy dose of tactical analysis, thereby making this ride a superb tool for developing Army leaders at almost all levels. Designed to be completed in three days, this staff ride is flexible enough to allow units to conduct a one-day or two-day ride that will still enable soldiers to gain a full range of insights offered by the study of this important campaign. In developing their plan for conducting an Overland Campaign staff ride, unit commanders are encouraged to consider analyzing the wide range of military problems associated with warfighting that this study offers. This campaign provides a host of issues to be examined, to include logistics, intelligence, psychological operations, use of reconnaissance (or lack thereof), deception, leadership, engineering, campaign planning, soldier initiative, and many other areas relevant to the modern military professional. Each of these issues, and others also analyzed herein, are as germane to us today as they were 150 years ago.

Dr. Curtis S. King is an associate professor for the Staff Ride Team, Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and an adjunct professor at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a B.S. in History and English Literature, and received a Ph.D. in Russian and Soviet history from the University of Pennsylvania. While on active duty, Dr. King served as an instructor at the United States Military Academy, a professor at the Combat Studies Institute, and spent a 6-month tour in Sarajevo, Bosnia, as a NATO historian. He retired from the Army in May 2002, and since October of that year he has been with the Combat Studies Institute. Dr. King has published numerous articles and entries to edited works on a wide variety of military history topics. Dr. William Glenn Robertson is the Command Historian, US Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, and the Deputy Director, Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Previous positions include Chief of Staff Rides, Combat Studies Institute; and Professor and Associate Professor, Combat Studies Institute. He received a B.A. in History from the University of Richmond, an M.A. in History from the University of Virginia, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia. Dr. Robertson's published works include The Staff Ride; Staff Ride Handbook for the Battle of Chickamauga, 18-20 September 1863; The Battle of Chickamauga; and numerous other publications and articles. Lieutenant Colonel Steven E. Clay is the Chief of the Research and Publications Team, Combat Studies Institute, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Previous assignments at Fort Leavenworth include Chief of the Staff Ride Team and Executive Officer of the Combat Studies Institute. He received a B.A. in History from North Georgia College, an M.A. in History from Southwest Texas State University, and graduated from the US Army Command and General Staff College. LTC Clay's published works include Blood and Sacrifice: A History of the 16th Infantry from the Civil War to the Gulf War; several entries in the Historical Dictionary of the United States Army; and various articles for professional magazines.