What if Lee has accepted command of the AOP

[caller]

I agree Gary... add to that the British capture of Philadelphia during the Revolution. The Brits felt that it would be a horrible hit to the colonists, while the Congress just picked up and moved and GW just moved his troops a little north and west and had one of the greatest winters in terms of building troop ability in the history of the country. That's why Richmond wasn't much of a target for the North into the South. Richmond, while the official capital of the South, didn't really have the historical base of leadership that, say, DC did by 1860. It was a new capital just like Philly was back then.
It would have been big, though, for the South to get DC because that was basically the heart of the Union, in my opinion, at the time. With the number of troops there, and the Capitol Building being built at the time, it played a larger role to the people of the Union. (Although this emotion could just be revisionist history.)

[rbenne]

allow me to clarify. After 1st bull run the move on Richmond by Lee.
Late 61, early 62 time frame.

Attrition and constant movement by Lee would have caused the end, as I said, around late 62, early 63. Not immediatly after Richmond fell.

[hoosier]

Lee's reason for leaving the Union Army, of course, was that he could not bear the thought of having to wage war against his home state of Virginia.

How ironic! By prolonging the war, and prolonging Virginia's suffering as a consequence, Lee may actually have done his native state much more of a disservice by fighting on her side than he would have done by fighting against her.

[rbenne]

Interesting George, and true, in the long run and hind sight. However, we don't have to take that into account on "what ifs"

[gary]

That's right about Lee not wanting to war against his own state. So he takes the AoP, misdeploys it, has it defeated worse than Bull Run I and then skedaddles it far past Washington, D.C. and allows Johnston to easily walk in & capture Abe.