Four Marketing Lessons from the Battle of Vicksburg

Gettysburg has been cited so frequently as the decisive turning point of the war that it seems to be common knowledge. The tagline for the 1993 film about this important battle was this: In 1863, the Northern and Southern forces fight at Gettysburg in the decisive battle of the American Civil War.

James Arnold, in his insightful book Grant Wins The War, begins by arguing that the Battle of Vicksburg was the the  decisive victory that broke the back of the South. When the Union Army captured Vicksburg, they effectively took control of the Mississippi River, cutting off all supplies from the West so that with the blockades it would only be a matter of time and the Armies of Northern Virginia would be depleted and defeated.

Arnold's intro notes that of the twenty most brilliant campaigns in military history, more than half were by Napoleon. Only two were conceived and executed by generals in the U.S. Civil War. The first was General Stonewall Jackson's Shenandoah Campaign. The second, Grant's victory here at Vicksburg.

Here are three important marketing and leadership lessons that stand out from this battle. Each could be elaborated on with illustrations from businesses today.

U.S. Grant. National Archives.

1. Fight the Right Battles
James Arnold begins this book by presenting the significance of the battle of Vicksburg. A key to success, whether in war or business, is not simply winning battles but in fighting the right battles. What propelled Grant to fame was not winning victories alone, but recognizing the importance of the objectives he pursued. Vicksburg, in Arnold's estimation, was even more significant than Gettysburg in bringing down the South.

2. When Your Plan Isn't Working, Change Your Strategy
In assessing the situation, General Grant observed that the firepower and high ground that Vicksburg controlled overlooking the Mississippi made it impregnable from an assault from the river side. After much consideration the first plan conceived was to re-route the river. The objective was important enough that time was less important than speed. In May 1863 digging commenced. After a while it became apparent this was an ill-conceived plan that wouldn't work. General Grant abandoned the idea and produced a superior strategic initiative.

3. Learn from Previous Experience 
Like many generals of the Civil War, U.S. Grant participated in the Mexican War a number of years earlier. There were two generals he served under and from each he learned something invaluable. From General Taylor he learned how to manage a big operation, how to maintain supply lines including food and munitions and how to coordinate movements. From General Winfield Scott he learned about taking initiative and the power of speed and the unexpected. With a small army and a sudden surprise appearance in Mexico City, his hundreds of men terrified tens of thousands of Mexican soldiers.

Here's how this played out in Vicksburg. Grant decided to bring his forces downstream for a similar surprise maneuver, abandoning his supply lines. In a series of skirmishes Grant's army remained mobile and could not be located by Confederate forces because they survived by foraging. He also sent a small raiding party southward as a decoy, generating rumors that kept the enemy confused and fearful. They seemed to be here, there and everywhere.

4. Know the Condition of Your Troops
General Grant not only made sure the men were fed, but also rested. In addition, he was very much in touch with the morale of his troops. For example, at the beginning of the war, he wanted his untested troops to come away from the first battle with confidence. He knew, from Mexican War days, that General Hood was a bit quick to run away from battle in order to preserve the numbers under his command. Grant used 1000 men to conquer a fort in which 500 of Hood's men were stationed. Hood fled as expected. Grant told his men that they just defeated an army of 2000 with minimal losses. His objective -- give the men experience in battle without undermining confidence -- was achieved.

Here is a story from Vicksburg that illustrates this point as well. The army had to cross a narrow wooden bridge at one point. He went first, parked his horse on the other side, facing his men as they came across. As they marched passed he greet each one, looking them in the eyes, assessing their morale, their readiness for what lay ahead. 

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Much more can be said about this significant victory for the North, but my aim here has been to draw attention to several features that make it a useful model for business lessons today, especially in marketing.

For more, here are Four Books on U.S. Grants
Related: Lessons from Desert Storm

Why General Stonewall Jackson's Shenandoah Campaign Was So Significant

David Chandler, in his comprehensive 1200-page volume The Campaigns of Napoleon, begins by laying down the groundwork for why Napoleon was such a significant force in European history, exhausting us for over a hundred pages before introducing his subject, Napoleon and the art of war.

James R. Arnold, in his book Grant Wins the War, a detailed account of the Battle of Vicksburg, also begins with praise for Napoleon. Of the top 20 military battles in history, according to historians, more than half were engineered by Napoleon. Arnold notes that only two battles from the U.S. Civil War made this top 20 list. They were General Grant's Vicksburg Campaign and General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

In my readings this past week I read a comment about the Civil War that brought to mind the above passage from the book by James R. Arnold. The statement was this: the South didn't have to win the war, it only had to survive until the North lost the will to fight. A light bulb ignited. I suddenly understood General Jackson's significance.

So what was it that General Jackson had done? He used speed, audacity and concealment to undermine the Union's confidence, producing confusion and uncertainty. Here's how he did this. He took his calvary and flew up the Shenandoah Valley to a pass 100 miles to the north, went through and won a skirmish over the soldiers he encountered, then disappeared, rushed south along the valley and produced another skirmish, retreated and marched more men up the valley. Back and forth he went, with the general effect of creating a massive panic amongst the Union soldiers and their generals, leaving them emotionally paralyzed.

Panic is a powerful force. It's also irrational. Here's a story to illustrate.

When I was living in Puerto Rico in 1979 a friend and I decided to go ocean snorkeling. Essentially, you swim out into the deep and there's a reef where you can see conch shells and marine life amongst the coral. Unfortunately, the water was murky that day because of inland rains and the rivers spewed muddy waters into the deep blue sea. While we were swimming out further and further from shore my friend suddenly turned to hightail it back toward the beach. I was confused, but having been trained on the buddy system (you don't swim alone) I also turned toward the beach. Then the fear crept in. "What did he see? Why is he swimming so fast? Did he see a shark? Barracuda?" These last thoughts shot adrenaline into my bloodstream and I flew through the water like a torpedo, my brain racing even faster.

We got to shore and it turned out to be nothing. My friend was simply in a panic because he couldn't see through the murky water. His imagination got the best of him and triggered my own fear-swilled imagination.

That's what happened to the undisciplined Union army at Bull Run, and those were the emotions the Union army had become bathed in as a result of General Stonewall Jackson's impossible-to-anticipate maneuvers. The general's efforts to generate panic were achieving the goal he'd set out to achieve: paralyzing the North from advancing, and prolonging the conflict with minimal loss of Southern life.

This was why President Lincoln called in General Grant from the Western front. He needed a leader who would take the initiative against the South, a leader who would press forward and not leave the Union armies stagnating on the periphery of Washington.

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The story contains several lessons. Here are six.

1) When panic settles in, reason flies out the window.
2) Do not feed your fears. They will only grow larger, sometimes to monstrous proportions.
3) Fear is irrational. You can't reason with it either. So don't try.
4) Whereas emotions cannot be controlled, your thoughts can be. The mind is like the engine of a railroad. Once your thoughts are put on track the rest of the train cars will follow.
5) Great leaders operate from a higher purpose. Rather than reacting out of fear to every frenzied report from the front, the strive to give proper weight to what they see and hear, and act in accordance with the bigger picture.
6) Both Grant and Jackson were original thinkers and men of action who took initiative. They understood the objectives that would achieve their aims, and did whatever it took to achieve these ends.

Tragically for the South General Jackson was killed by friendly fire during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Hs death at age 39 was a loss from which the South never recovered.

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