"The Moral Courage in Risk Taking " Topic

"The Navy was more successful in its campaigns like Port Royal, S.C. and New Orleans than the Army during the American Civil War particularly in the Virginia Theater. According to Pulitzer Prize-winning author James McPherson, it was "partially due to the professionalism of Navy leadership in high positions." Dr. McPherson answered these and other questions on 4 January during a speaking engagement at the Society for Military History George C. Marshall lecture series in Washington, D.C.

James McPherson discusses the role of naval operations in the war in his most recent work, War on the Waters: The Union & Confederate Navies, 1861-1865. Concerning his talk, he argued that "determined commanders can make [some of] their own luck," as Ulysses S. Grant and David G. Farragut did at Vicksburg and Mobile Bay, respectively.

Both Grant and Farragut shared the "moral courage to take risks and accept failure." Citing Farragut's decision to press forward at Mobile Bay after his lead ship Tecumseh struck a mine and sank, while Brooklyn, second in formation, veered off course and stopped. It was at this point that Farragut could have said, "Damn the torpedoes!" He added that Mobile Bay "was the first unequivocal Union victory of 1864," followed by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's takeover of Atlanta and Brig. Gen. Philip Sheridan's burning of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. McPherson stated that these three victories secured Lincoln's re-election and the Union's determination to win the war…"

Full article here.
link

Hope you enjoy!

Amicalement
Armand

Moral courage is key to any venture, but has the highest cost to reward ratio in military operations.

Remember the motto of the Special Air Service:
"Who dares, wins"