Civil War History - Gettysburg ForumGettysburg! It's not just a National Park. It's a Civil War Battlefield. For some it's historic and storied past are almost an obsession! All related discussions are welcome here!
Was Gettysburg the wrong place and the wrong time for the Confederate army to engage in battle, both logistically and tactically?
Was the Army of Northern Virginia asking for disaster when crossing two corps through the narrow gap of South Mountain, on the Chambersburg-Gettysburg pike? No easy way in to Gettysburg; no easy way out of Gettysburg.
Did General Robert E. Lee seriously overestimate the ability of his army, when he, for whatever reason, decided to move Hill and Longstreet Corps, east of the South Mountain, towards Gettysburg? Did he underestimate the terrain and the short supplies with which his army marched? Did Lee totally underestimate the terrain, because he had never been to Gettysburg?
I would say Lee was probably aware of most of those risks, and would have preferred not to have encountered them. But I think by mid-1863, he knew that if the south didn't put a big one in the win column then it could forget about any help from Europe. Plus he wanted to make the people of the north come to the realization that further bloodshed was useless, the war was never going to end, and that they had better go ahead and make peace with the new Confederate nation.
He may have thought that this 2nd invasion into the north was the souths last best chance for survival. He probably knew it was a gamble but felt he had no other choice, and he hoped for the best. Just my opinion.
TW
__________________ "In this great struggle, this form of Government and every form of human right is endangered if our enemies succeed. There is more involved in this contest than is realized by every one." Abraham Lincoln - August 18, 1864 Speech to the 164th Ohio Regiment
I think that Gettysburg was not a good place or time for a battle, but it was a risk that Lee had to take. He knew that he would probably never get his army into the North again. Moreover, he knew that only a victory on Northern soil could possibly force a political end to the war. A gamble extremely unlikely to pay off, butt an understandable one. I've grown more sympathetic of Lee's actions in PA as I have studied and pondered it more.
Respectfully
__________________ Up men, and to your post! And let no man forget today that you are from old Virginia!
I've never seen any historian, that I recall, ever question why Lee left Chambersburg and went to Gettysburg?
Adams County could never support many farms because of its historical lack of easily accessible water, thereby curtailing forage requirements for the Confederate army.
General Lee was entering Adams County with a minimum of forage in his wagons. The corn from the previous year's harvest in Adams County was probably depleted and rain in the previous weeks had curtailed any gathering of hay.
Adams County was not the place for 75,000 Confederates and say 20,000 to 30,000 horses and mules to look for water.
There never was going to be enough water in Adams County to meet the requirements of Lee's army for more than a short number of days. The wells were going to run dry.
Lee found his army in a bad place.
I've never seen any historian, that I recall, ever question why Lee left Chambersburg and went to Gettysburg?
Adams County could never support many farms because of its historical lack of easily accessible water, thereby curtailing forage requirements for the Confederate army.
General Lee was entering Adams County with a minimum of forage in his wagons. The corn from the previous year's harvest in Adams County was probably depleted and rain in the previous weeks had curtailed any gathering of hay.
Adams County was not the place for 75,000 Confederates and say 20,000 to 30,000 horses and mules to look for water.
There never was going to be enough water in Adams County to meet the requirements of Lee's army for more than a short number of days. The wells were going to run dry.
Lee found his army in a bad place.
Wanted to get to York, and going thru Gburg was the most direct (on decent roads) route. See Mapquest for the map, I tried to copy it into this post, but it wouldn't take
__________________ -
"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
I don't think Lee planned to fight at Gettysburg. He wanted a victory on somewhere on Northern soil (as well as provisions) to help bolster the viability of the Confederacy. When he was drawn into battle there, Lee didn't decline.
I would agree that originally Hill was suppose to go to York and cross the Susquehanna River. But by June 30, Lee would have known that was impossible. In fact he recalled Jubal Early's division from the York area, prior to June 30.
By June 30, Lee never intended to go to the Susquehanna River and thereby had no reason to go to York. In fact, the main question is why he wanted Hill and Longstreet's Corps on the eastern side of South Mountain and not remain west of that mountain in the Chambersburg area?
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Gettysburg: the wrong place and time 
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