The strategist and the soldier

From The Long Road to Antietam How the Civil War Became a Revolution 
by Richard Slotkin

In this book, both the daily, even hourly details of the approach to Antietam, and the day long battle are described with precision and thoughtfulness. By dissecting the many generals' and commanders' strategies and tactics along with their command and decision making styles, the battle lines become a visceral reality at times.

The commander's view:

...[General] Lee understood and accepted the fact that battle is chaos. The strategist does what he can to create a situation in which victory is likely and the gains of battle are commensurate with the risks. but battle is the violent collision of two highly complex human systems, driven by different impulses, organized in different ways, with different strengths and solidarities. The outcome may turn on  actions far down the chain of command, surprising local successes that boost the morale of one side and demoralize the other, shifts in momentum that produce a series of disruptive effects. Lee, like Napoleon, was a connoisseur of this chaos.

September 17
McClellan's response... was characteristic... The core of his military  doctrine was to ensure against the possibility of defeat before assuming the risks inherent in attempting to win a victory. He mistrusted the chaos and fluidity of battle, in which events could take uncontrolled direction...Lee's response to the crisis, like McClellan's was characteristic...He embraced the chaos, confident in his own ability to read the play of forces and the ability of his corps and division commanders to execute his orders with initiative, energy and good judgment...
Lincoln certainly thought McClellan mistrusted the quality of his force... By failing to demand that his army march and fight as hard as the Rebels, he implied a belief that his men as men were inferior to their enemies



The soldier's view:
The basis of battlefield tactics in the Civil War is the clash of troops formed in opposing lines of battle...the attackers advance shoulder to shoulder, the individuals in the mass feel the volume and accuracy of defensive fire, registered as noise and fury, but also by the sound of bullet impacts on their neighbors in the line, the dull thud of a body blow or the sharp crack of bone-break, and they sense the weakening of their line as comrades fall right and left...they may back away or break and run to the rear-or come to a stand and begin firing again at much closer range.