The Lost Cause

[JohnW in E.TN]

[quote=Admiral_Porter]

I never hear anyone start complaining about Lee being outnumbered until a discussion of the Overland arises. This is when Lee started losing.

- I believe that this was where the war of attrition finally began to take its toll. Grant could replace the men he lost. Lee couldn't.

If numbers were an absolute assurance of victory then how come it took until 1864 to finally start breaking Lee's army? It's because prior commanders in the east didn't display the kind of generalship that Grant did.

- This is true, but in all fairness, doesn't it also show Lee's skill and occasional brilliance in fighting these prior commanders?

I personally admire Grant, not so much for his generalship, but for rising up from poverty and adversity, to achieve what some would consider greatness. From his point of view, he saw what needed to be done, and he did it. Simple as that.

Regards,

John W.

[Admiral_Porter]

doesn't it also show Lee's skill and occasional brilliance in fighting these prior commanders?

I have never said otherwise. I believe Second Manassas, not Chancellorsville, is his true masterpiece.

[MobileBoy]

Terry,
Just about all Southeners I know who take a real interest in the war share my sentiments.There are some neo-Confederates I know who simply basically spew the South is good and the North is bad on every issue.Thank God that they're in the minority.A common theme by those is Southern farm boys versus Northern city boys.That is widely the perception throughout the South.They don't realize a huge portion of the Union army was made up of farm boys.Also the innaccurate stereotype that the Confederacy had all of the smart commanders is a common misconception made by the uninformed.Other than a couple of stars the South had no better leadership.There may have even been more quote good Union officers than Confederate ones.At any rate the Confederacy had plenty of poor military commanders which many poeple in my opinion overlook.I also think some neo-Confederates tend to view the Confederate soldiers as more courageous than their Union counterparts which is sad.Lee is probably overrated as well.I think he was the best but he certainly wasn't without his flaws.Fredericksburgh for example could have been won by Bragg or basically any of us.I also think Jackson's input led to many of LEE's quote masterpieces.Second Manassas was Jackson's plan.If Lee had ordered an attack earlier by Longstreet the Army of the Potomac may have been annihlated.I'm also not sure if Chancelorseville was Lees idea or Jacksons.I think it was Jacksons.Sorry to get off of the subject.Lincoln is not well liked by most Southeners in general.Oddly enough many blacks hate Lincoln.He was a racist but for his time he wasn't nearly as racist as most of the population.
Regards,
Ashley