Disaster Planning Lessons from a Civil War Battle

I recently finished a good book on a seemingly obscure Civil War battle, called Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign, February 1862. Oddly enough, as I finished it, I came to realize there are many parallels between this particular battle and business continuity planning.

In short, General U.S. Grant marched his largely inexperienced army against two forts to seize control of two rivers at the Kentucky/Tennessee border.

The battle wasn't won so much by a superior force defeating a smaller or less armed one. Instead, it is a classic example of bad managerial decision-making that created a set of circumstances that resulted in a disaster of their own making, and an avoidable one at that.

Here are a few lessons that any business leader can take from it:

Any planning requires leadership buy-in

The fort commanders were never able to convince the Western theater general , General Albert Sydney Johnston, of their positions' importance and likelihood of an attack. Therefore, any planning they did was almost a moot point until it was too late. Their defenses were only loosely tied to the Confederacy's larger strategy and enjoyed little, if any, support from above.

Lesson: Any plan, whether it is in business or battle, must have support from leadership. Moreover, they must believe in the intrinsic value so necessary resources can be allotted. Otherwise, it is doomed to fail.

Align priorities

Because Johnston failed to ensure his subordinates' defense plans linked to the overall strategy, his own priorities were misaligned. For example, Johnston directed his scarce resources in many directions during the months leading up to the battle; The forts themselves were poorly positioned for the terrain because no engineers were available during the design phase. As a result, Fort Henry flooded in the weeks leading up to the battle.

In another example, Johnston stretched his combat troops over a long, thin line across Kentucky and Tennessee rather than concentrating them to meet an enemy force in any particular location.

While looking at the broader strategy of holding every inch in the Western Theater, Johnston initially failed to establish appropriate priorities for his subordinates, much less re-prioritize as events unfolded. Resources and combat troops continued to move to areas that were not threatened even once the battle was underway.

Lesson: In business continuity planning, leaders must take a good, hard look at their organizational functions to determine which ones are mission critical so they may focus all efforts and resources on protecting or re-establishing those functions as quickly as possible in the event of an interruption.

Leaders must admit that they cannot protect every part of their business simultaneously during a disaster. Nor can they resume all operations at the same time in the disaster recovery phase. Therefore, some elements will fall into second and third tier levels of importance, which dictates that they get sequenced lower on the priority list.


Establish a clear hierarchy

Through Johnston's lack of leadership, four Confederate brigadier generals were on the scene at Fort Donelson. One was formally in command, though the others contested his status. As a result, no clear command structure existed through which orders were issued.

Lesson: In the planning phase, and especially during the execution stage, a clear hierarchy is absolutely necessary. Anything less will make matters difficult, at best.

Recognize when a disaster is at hand

Once the battle was underway, Johnston failed to react in a timely manner. Fort Henry fell within a matter of hours to Grant's army, who then quickly marched from Fort Henry to seal off Fort Donelson just a few miles away. The stage was then set for the eventual loss of an entire army.

Johnston held thousands of troops near the battle, but did not commit them for fear of a second attack in another area, which never materialized. The end result was that he sat idly by, gave no direction to his subordinates in the conflict, and allow a preventable disaster to unfold.

Lesson: Disasters may not always be recognizable as soon as they begin, but once it does become known, action is required. Businesses should watch for signs that events are already unfolding and take appropriate measures.

Disaster Preparedness Consulting, LLC