Longstreet's Advice to Lee on July 3, 1863

[Lifeisgood]

After reading "The Killer Angels" and after watching "Gettysburg" Why didn't Lee believe Longstreet when he said that he knew this attack would fail. I also read about this in Bruce Catton's book "Gettysburg The Final Furry". If Lee believed him wouldn't the attack have been halted.

Thanks

[larry_cockerham]

In "Gettysburg" the movie, one almost gets the sense that Lee wanted the battle and certainly the war to end at that time. A sense of fatalism? On the other hand, I've read opinions from some 'learned' military students who claimed that had all gone as Lee conceived, there was a possibility of splitting the US positions on the ridge and gaining victory. Tell that to the men in Pickett's division.

[samgrant]

Longstreet was proved correct. Some have speculated that Lee was in somewhat poor health at the time and that might have affected his judgement. I suspect he came down with a bad case of the hubris.

"Once again Lee encountered opposition to his battle plan from Longstreet. Lee estimated about 15,000 men would participate in the Rebel charge on Cemetery Ridge. Longstreet responded, "It is my opinion that no 15,000 men ever arrayed for battle can take that position." But Lee was unmoved. The plan would go on as ordered." -historyplace.com

[manofdreds]

Lee has always been "offensive" minded, even to the point of being reckless i.e. Seven Days campaign and Antietam. But the ordering of the attack on Day 3 seems desperate. Tactically Longstreet is correct but morally and strategically, I believe Lee had little choice. If he retreated prior to the attack it definitely would have been another Antietam and with such loses as procurred on the previous two days, he gained nothing. He definitely would've loss the military portion of the grand strategy as well as the political front. A successful attack would've secured all of the above.