Civil War History - The Eastern TheaterDiscuss any and all battles, movements, and events occuring in the Eastern Theater here! This includes any actions in tha area east of the Appalachian Mountains in the vicinity of the river capitals of Richmond and Washington D.C.
General Lee, did make some bad decisions at Gettysburg. It's also true that he wasn't the only one. I don't think that the loss at Gettysburg, would be Stuart's fault. Lee, might have received better information, about the enemy, if Stuart, had been there, at the start, but it seemed, that Lee was dead set, on fighting there. I know, there's been alot written, about Lee, being ill with a possible heart problem, which might be correct. But it is known that, he had a case of diarrhea, which certainly would have interfered with directing the battle, as well as he could have.
I have often thought that Lee's way of giving commands had a lot to do with the battles. Some of the things Jackson, Hill,Forrest and Stuart accomplished owes more to their own ingenuity than any orders given by Lee in the strictest sense. They innately knew what he wanted to accomplish.
Stuart does catch a lot of flak about "Where were you?" and I have a tendency to believe he was arrogant. Too bad this time it worked against so many courageous men in the field at Gettysburg.
Lee seems to me to have been "up against it" so to speak at Gettysburg. I think he felt this was a "do or die" situation. And clearly Pickett's Charge proves this was not Lee's finest hour. Whether he had some affliction or not during this period that would have impaired his judgement I do not know.
But the more I read of Gettysburg, the more I come back to one nagging problem: Why didn't Meade pursue? If he had, can we agree that the war would have been over sooner and many generations would not have been left to weep and wail?
The more I read about these generals the more I see men cast as heroes, who either rose in stature, or in many cases, revealed their feet of clay. It is not ours to judge them, but it is interesting to try to get inside their heads and figure out what they were thinking!
__________________ Thea
No one has permission to use any material from any of my posts on any CWT forum, the archives, or any other forum without my express written permission.
Stuart had a rough deal at Gettysburg, there were IIRC four or five regiments of Cav available to Lee on the first day... Lee was not w/out cav. Add to that that Stuart brought 150 odd wagonloads of much needed captured supplies.
Why Meade didn't pursue has been a question repeatedly brought up since July of 63. There are a variety of reasons prime perhaps being the fact that he had three seperate Corps that had been heavily engaged and had suffered badly. 1st Corps was a wreck and would in fact never again take the field as it's own entity. The majority of his Arty was VERY short of ammunition and it took time to rearm them. While it's true he had a powerful artillery force in the Artillery reserve of the AoP many of his freshest troops were quite green. He had been a Corps commander and some have said he was still getting into the groove of being an Army commander, that may very well be true. But keep in mind that he still beat Lee and quite handsomely at that.
There was a comment earlier in the thread that Meade was a second rate General... no he wasn't. He proved to be an excellent Corps commander, good enough that Grant felt it prudent to keep him on.
It can be argued that Meade didn't push his army hard enough after Lee withdrew... Meade could see how worn down his men were and knew that even when down the ANV was NEVER out and would be capable of putting up a stiff and bloody fight.
Both sides should be commended for their efforts at Gettysburg, there were increadibly brave moments for both armies.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Before I begin my Monday Night Generalship, let me acknowledge that I could not have done better than either Lee or Meade or any of their soldiers. I would have ran away as far as I could as fast as I could. Does Oh Canada strike a familiar cord?
In my uneducated opinion, Stuart may only be blamed for the first day. Lee could have disengaged and choose a more favorable place but yet he stayed and fought on.
Longstreet's perspective (as reflected in the flick Gettysburg) is that the Confederates should have fought defensively and compelled the Union to attack them. While Longstreet did discuss this with Lee prior to the campaign, Lee never agreed. He only acknowledged hearing what Longstreet suggested (See Freeman, Lee's Lieutenants). When Longstreet criticized Lee after Lee's death, he ignited a controversy and Lee's supporters blamed Longstreet's tardiness for the loss of the battle. (Col. John Haskell makes an interesting point in that the Confederates could have easily captured Little Round Top had they moved faster. Haskell and a few others rode up there hours earlier and there was nobody there.)
Hancock's injury had a role in Meade's failure to pursue Lee when Lee retreated. Attack immediately after the 3rd day could have spelled failure since the defender generally has the advantage. Lee may have redeemed himself if the ANV could inflict heavy losses on The Army of the Potomac. The opportunity to attack was after Lee initiated his retreat. While Meade's army was badly mauled, so was Lee's and Lee had the disadvantage of a very long and slow ambulance train. A vigorous effort against Lee's army may have resulted in a spectacular victory and had Hancock not been injured, Meade may have been emboldened to a more aggressive course of action (Recall that Hancock urged an attack as he was taken away).
Let me say that first that I agree with some of the previous points. I think that Lee was just whipped by Meade. Really for the first time, Lee had been beaten by better leadership. Meade did a great job of orchestrating the AOP during the battle. But I think that beyond that, some of his other Generals stepped up to the plate. We think of Reynolds on the first day, Warren, Chamberlain, Vincent on the second day and Hancock, Webb on the third. I think that the strength of leadership for the union had finally come together at Gettysburg.
As we look at the ANV, there was a let down in leadership for the first time since Lee had taken over. Stuart, Heath, and Ewell on the first day; Longstreet and Ewell on the second and I believe Longstreet and Lee himself on the third. In my opinion, leadership played a key role in the AOP victory at Gettysburg.
CivilWarTalk.com -
A free and friendly Civil War community. 
Linear Mode
