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Let's assume Davis died suddenly, say of a heart attack. The new president is not a graduate of West Point and defers to Lee for his strategy. Lee is myopic and sees only the situation in Virginia. Gettysburg still happens then.
It's only if Lee is able to grasp the bigger picture, that he might have to sacrifice parts of Virginia to save the Confederacy, and dispatch units to upset the balance temporarily, perhaps even to save Vicksburg, can he prolong the war into late '64 and perhaps give the copperhead democrats enough momentum to put McClellan into office. Recognition would follow.
The idea of blockade runners dropping off supplies to non port areas entails a chain of smaller ships ferrying the goods from the blockade runner to land. Slow and inefficient, it would require evading Union picket boats and require the merchant being there (requiring some coordination) with sufficient wagons (because there's no port, there's no railroad) to take the goods. Blockade runners don't smuggle for free and the merchant or his agent will have to be there to pay him. By nature of having numerous small boats and plenty of wagons, this means a lot of people will know and sympathizers will leak the information to the Union.
If Pres. Davis government had been overthrown in a coup, I bet Lee would have follow the new leaders. He was obedient to authority not so much to Democratic values. His only goal was to win the war not setting up a Democratic from of government.
5fish, read up on the Boer War. IMO the events after the regular Boer armed forces had been neutralized would have been a microcosim of the events in the south after its regular armed forces are broken up.
In SA the British and Boers more or less agreed not to use native troops, keeping it a 'white mand's' war. In any case, the native peoples in SA had no real interest either sides war aims. The same could not be said for the millions of slaves and ex-slaves in and out of the Union armies.
IMO opinion such a war would have been a fight to the death with no quarter asked or given... And the bigger battalions would still win.
5fish, read up on the Boer War. IMO the events after the regular Boer armed forces had been neutralized would have been a microcosim of the events in the south after its regular armed forces are broken up.
In SA the British and Boers more or less agreed not to use native troops, keeping it a 'white mand's' war. In any case, the native peoples in SA had no real interest either sides war aims. The same could not be said for the millions of slaves and ex-slaves in and out of the Union armies.
IMO opinion such a war would have been a fight to the death with no quarter asked or given... And the bigger battalions would still win.
In 1863 the resolve of the North and South to continued the was still strong. If the south had turn it into a gorilla war then it may cause the war to last past 1965.
If the war did not look winnable in 1864 maybe McClellan would have won the election and I doubt he would have wanted to pursue war further.
In 1863. the south was unable to supple and maintain a modern army of that day. I think dissolving the war into a gorilla style war is a viable solution. By 1865, the south's resolve was gone and pursuing a gorilla war then would not have work and Lee knew this as well.
Well, anything is 'possible' but Lee, himself surrendered rather than have the war degenerate to such a state. It is quite unlikely that Lee would have had any interest in such a scheme.
In 1863 the resolve of the North and South to continued the was still strong. If the south had turn it into a gorilla war then it may cause the war to last past 1965.
If the war did not look winnable in 1864 maybe McClellan would have won the election and I doubt he would have wanted to pursue war further.
In 1863. the south was unable to supple and maintain a modern army of that day. I think dissolving the war into a gorilla style war is a viable solution. By 1865, the south's resolve was gone and pursuing a gorilla war then would not have work and Lee knew this as well.
I guess that would be the "Planet of the Apes" scenario.
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"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
If Pres. Davis government had been overthrown in a coup, I bet Lee would have follow the new leaders. He was obedient to authority not so much to Democratic values. His only goal was to win the war not setting up a Democratic from of government.
I suggest reading some biographies of Lee by historians. Lee was not the kind of person who would approve of a coup, which afterall is an illegal, unconstitutional act, and he would probably have marched the ANV into Richmond and restored Davis to power.
Lee was not the kind of person who would approve of a coup, which afterall is an illegal, unconstitutional act, and he would probably have marched the ANV into Richmond and restored Davis to power.
A very large Amen! Lee gave his allegiance but once. It didn't shift or move about. Just one of the admirable things about Marse Lee.
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
I suggest reading some biographies of Lee by historians. Lee was not the kind of person who would approve of a coup, which afterall is an illegal, unconstitutional act, and he would probably have marched the ANV into Richmond and restored Davis to power.
Regards,
Cash
Cashie!
Lee was fed up with Pres. Davis's handling of the war and tried to encourage him to chance his war policies. He was from an authoritarian back ground both in life and in the army. If someone with his social class had led a successful coup he would not have objected to it.
He knew the war effort would be better helped with Pres. Davis out of the way. He would have submitted to the will of the coup leaders if it would have aided in his war efforts.
Lee was gentleman but an elitist and elitist never are great believer's in Democratic values if it does not support their status in society
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