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.
An interesting point Texas, the stunning victory at Chancellorsville by its' unexpected compleness, seemed to be confirmation of Lee's ability to defeat any Union Gen. and the complete dominance of the AoNV over the AoP, no matter what the odds.
The war in the west was being lost and some generals and even Richmond was toying with the thought of sending part (if not it's commanding general, also) west to reinvigorate the war in that area. Lee was quitely adamant in his refusal to leave Va. In the reflectied light of the victory at Chancellorsville, those in authority over Lee managed to convince themselves that Lee and the AoNV could save the west by another stunning victory in the East (Pa. specifically).
A convincing argument can be made that the very soundness of the victory, lured the Conferateracy into a strategic disaster that set the stage for the the final destruction of the Confederacy.
As a really, relly big aside, Barbie is 48 hears old.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Are you a Barbie fan too? My granddaughter's new Barbie has a Ph.D. and intellectually is in the top 10% of nation! Good looks and a brain - hard to beat that....Happy B-day Barbie!
I was serious about Chancellorsville. Although I am not a fan of interpreted history - you know - where sociology and psychology meet the ACW player's motivies and means...In this instance I think that is what we have.
Chancellorsville was a blip on the radar of victories. The rippling effect though was tremendous.
Chancellorsville's victory allowed Lee to continue his loyalty to the ANV and Virginia - I came to realize - through this board I might add - that what was good for Virginia was not necessarily good for the Confed.
Chancellorsville cost the Confed. Jackson but more importantly it cost Lee both a General he could count on and a good friend.
I don't think Lee's actions have ever been satisfactorially explained at Gettysburg. Years later he told a family member that if he had just had Jackson things would have been different at Gettysburg. He could of meant that in a military sense but I think he also meant that he lost a good friend and made bad decisions. Maybe in retrospect he realized his errors.
Several notes and eyewitness accounts from that point in time support that Lee was mourning and in a depression - eager to end the war - tired of the war.
His very actions fit in with schemas of mourning and depression. He had tunnel vision with a big emphasis on his personal well-being. That's because he was in a personal crisis.
He wanted an end to the war and again Gettysburg would have been the victory that would have changed the course of the war.
Chancellorsville could have very well cost the Confederacy Gettysburg.
IMHO, as a demonstration of Lee's superior Generalship,
Chancellorsville ranks second only to 2d Manassas. Lessened only slightly by the inferiority of the Union Army Commanders he faced, in both battles.
If 'great' for our purposes here, is defined as significantly better than average, then IMO Chancellorsville was definitely a cut above the average battles that Lee fought in as commanding general.
As Texas has pointed out its strategic repercussions on the ending of the war was significant indeed.
Well, I see after many weeks out of the country and not visiting the board for awhilethe debate rages on. Did it merely postpone the inevitable by blunting yet another incompetantly executed Federal offensive or should it be evaluated on its own merits? With the CSA operations in the West starting to cave in perhaps in retrospect we see similarities with Davis/Lee that Thieu/ Nixon and Abrams faced deceiving themselves into thinking that trading ground for time would allow the ARVIN to save the day.
That said, no offense to the Southern fighting man comparing him to even the ARVN Rangers, but the strategic situation does have parallels.
Spartan
It was great in that it must have finally convinced Lincoln that there was no one in the AOP who could win battles, and that he needed to "find a General".
__________________ -
"It was a very peculiar time." - Franklin D. Cossitt
Ancestors in USA Army: 6th IA Inf, 11th IL Cav, 1st AL Cav; 122nd NY Inf; 6th MI Cav; 35th MA Inf; 100th IL Inf; 1st CO Inf/Cav; 22nd IN Inf
Lincoln had one. Unfortunately, that one was in the Western Theater kicking major Confederate butt. However, that wasn't obvious until Vicksburg and Chattanooga. Don't know who in the east was a better choice than Meade. There might have been one or two, but that's another discussion.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
"That Lee produced a victory here is as I say amazing."
I believe that this victory only showed Confederate logistics shortfalls, that would not produce victory. If this was the Confederacy at its best, its best was not good enough.
You won at Chancellorsville, but why did you start the war, Confederacy.
The war lasted in Virginia until 1865, but was over earlier in the other Confederate states. By late 1864, it was a time of desperation, not a time for victory.
Many of the common soldier, the Confederate private, knew the war was over, long before their generals and president would admit it.
In many small towns of the South, there are monuments to the ordinary soldier, who bore the sacrifice. Where are the great monuments to the memory of the Confederate government?
Chancellorsville is an important battle in many different ways. First and foremost, it set the stage for the battle of Gettysburg, and had a significant effect on the outcome of that battle. During the battle of Chancellorsville, many unit commanders, from company, all the way to corps, were killed or wounded. Because of this, many of the unit commanders at Gettysburg were new, untested in command positions during battle. Chancellorsville also prompted Lee to make his second foray into Northern territory, feeling he would be fighting a demoralized command who had no faith in their commander, who had no faith in himself.
Chancellorsville was also a brilliantly thought out and executed tactical victory on the part of General Lee. He had a significantly outnumbered force, and yet he divided his army, and engaged the AotP on two fronts. This battle added more affirmation of the fact that Lee was a brilliant tactician.
However, Chancellorsville isn't a great [i]strategic[i] victory. It turned Hooker back from attacking Richmond, but that was done so many times during the war by the Confederates that it wasn't that big a deal. Chancellorsville had important impacts, but all in all, it wasn't any different from many other battles fought in the war.
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Chancellorsville a Great Victory? 
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