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I have heard references to an animosity between Lee and Pickett after the war (if not during). Don't know if it had to do with that forlorn charge at Gburg or the shad bake incident, or both, but here's a few links which mention this supposed strained relationship:
Like the link said and I'm basing this on my own readings, for Pickett, it was Gettysburg that gave him a bone of contention against Lee. For Lee, it was Pickett's absence and defeat at Five Forks because he was absent at a shad bake that incensed Lee so much that he referred to Pickett as "that man."
When Pickett complained to Mosby in the post-war era, Mosby pointed out that Lee had immortalized Pickett with that charge. Personally, I think it's poor consolation.
Like the link said and I'm basing this on my own readings, for Pickett, it was Gettysburg that gave him a bone of contention against Lee. For Lee, it was Pickett's absence and defeat at Five Forks because he was absent at a shad bake that incensed Lee so much that he referred to Pickett as "that man."
When Pickett complained to Mosby in the post-war era, Mosby pointed out that Lee had immortalized Pickett with that charge. Personally, I think it's poor consolation.
I thought that was Longstreet............?
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Long Live The Special Relationship!
Pickett blamed Lee for ordering the charge. Gary Gallenger in his book on Lee and the leadership of the ANV(name escaping me! "Lee and the Command of the ANV?") says that Lee lost his trust in Pickett when Pickett broke down in the immediate aftermath of the charge. Lee's theory was, if you can't command yourself, you can't command others. Pickett was absent his command for health and personal reasons too much for Lee's taste(after Gburg, according to Gallanger), so the shadbake absence was the last straw. To what degree(IMO) that Lee couldn't tolerate a angry resentful reminder of his greatest blunder, influenced his relationship with Pickett I couldn't say.
Don't quite understand where you think Longstreet figures in except for Longstreet getting blamed by the Lost Cause crowd for Gettysburg, and Longstreet's defense against that blame. Am not familiar with particular hostility between the two.
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
lee's animosity to pickett is from five forks, as far as i understand. pickett's absence from the front, about two miles i believe was inexcusible. having visited that place i learned of the acoustic anomaly that allowed pickett and friends to eat their fish totally unaware of the destruction of the army nearby. bad luck for him, and worse for the ANV. i don't blame lee a jot. his comment, "is that man still with the army?" is perfectly reasonable. can one picture general john adams, kia at franklin having anger towards lee (or hood) because of an ordered charge that went very badly? no! in fact, at franklin, adams was the total cavalier, the total gentleman, and hero. his last words, when given water by the yankees behind the works at the cotton gin, "it is the soldier's duty to die for his country", is the total opposite of pickett's response after the charge on the third day at Gettysburg. pickett is overrated. we only talk about him thanks to lasalle and general lee. folks like pickett get far more press than they merit. and general adams and gist and carter and granbury and strahl are but footnotes!? this is a cruelty and injustice of history that we as historians ought to rectify.
Last edited by formerYank : 07-21-2007 at 11:27 PM.
that a great general, by the time of Five Forks, didn't know every Confederate death was in vain.
The war was lost; the United States was not going to accept anything but the total defeat of the Confederacy. And that was near at hand.
The many desertions in the last five months showed the common Confederate soldier understood it. The Confederacy could not protect its territory and was surely running out of supplies to field its armies.
Pickett's division got destroyed at Gettysburg, there is no doubt of that fact. But Lee had little choice, but attack. That was his opinion on the first day. Lee could not await an attack. Lee had led his army into a bad place, Gettysburg.
On the morning of July 3rd, Lee needed egress for his army, in the presense of a powerful foe. While he didn't get victory, Lee's army bought two egress roads for the army to escape back to Virginia, with its great sacrifice on July 3, with Pickett's Charge.
One Union general observed during the artillery barrage, that Lee was either going to attack or withdraw. Lee did both. July 3rd was the price the Confederate army paid to withdraw without destruction.
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