Civil War History - "What if..." DiscussionsWhat if they had attacked instead of digging in...? What if he was in charge of the army instead...? Did you ever have a "What if..." question, and you weren't sure where to post it? Here's the place to ask these speculative questions!
Not to hijack the thread, but I think Hood demonstrated his over aggressive nature while being a Corps Commander under Johnston. Colb's (Kolb) Farm was a pure waste of Confederate lives.
Since Lee attempted to resign in August of 1863, Davis should have let him or better yet, promote him out of army command and made him C in C of all CSA forces. Create a second force around him. There were enough troops scattered around the confederacy to pull together a minimum of one corp. Two of Pickett's brigades in Richmond, Ransom's troops in NC etc. Let Jackson take command of them, bringing along 2nd corp of the ANV. Do not use Jackson to reinforce the ANV, but let him cooperate in a hammer/Anvil type strategy with Longstreet commanding remnants of ANV to bleed the AOP to extinction. With Meade out of the way, there would be little need for such a heavy force along the atlantic coast. Recombine it and invade TN from the East, retake nashville and hold it. Assuming meade was crushed by the end of 1863, that gives Longstreet/Jackson enough time to coordinate with |J.E. Johnston who although recalcitrant and reluctant to share plans, Lee would order him to. In effect, you could take the part of the Jackson/Longstreet combo and use them as a swinging door moving south and east from tennesee, leaving either Jackson's Grand Corp or Longstreet's two corp ANV to protect Nashville. By doing this you would backdoor sherman trapping him between Johnston's AOT and half the Jackson/Longstreet combination.
Matt
Last edited by milhistbuff1; 11-19-2005 at 06:13 PM.
Reason: missed spelling error
There are many things in history that are implausible, some might say our country's founding was one of them. Assuming Jackson lived and Lee got promoted in August 1863, I believe it would have been fairly likely, since it takes each person's strengths into account. Lee knew Joe Johnston from the old army and respect his abilities. Davis should have jumped at it when lee offered to resign after Gettysburg, not only would someone be coordinating the various CSA forces in the field, but davis would be shielded from fallout if it all went wrong.
I accept that we respectfully disaggree on this. What you believe would happen if Lee got promoted to overall command instead of Davis letting him resign circa August 1863?
With all due respect,
Matt
Last edited by milhistbuff1; 11-19-2005 at 09:56 PM.
What you believe would happen if Lee got promoted to overall command instead of Davis letting him resign circa August 1863?
Lee as general-in-chief in 63? I doubt it would have made a difference. By August of 63 the Confederacy was well on its downward slide. As great a general as I think Lee was, the Western Theater had long been lost.
Davis was absolutely correct in not letting Lee resign though.
Respectfully
__________________ Up men, and to your post! And let no man forget today that you are from old Virginia!
Wouldn't Lee as General in Chief force coordination between the various armies of the CSA and thus prolong the war giving a greater chance to allow Davis's strategy of defense until the North gets tired to work.
respectfully
Matt
Wouldn't Lee as General in Chief force coordination between the various armies of the CSA and thus prolong the war giving a greater chance to allow Davis's strategy of defense until the North gets tired to work.
respectfully
Matt
The problem is that Davis' strategy didn't work. His Western policy ensured defeat. Certainly Lee could not have retrieved the situation in Aug of 63. Even had he been made general in chief as soon as the war started, and I believe Lee was the best either side had, it still seems to be a longshot that the South would win. The odds were just stacked against them
Respectfully
__________________ Up men, and to your post! And let no man forget today that you are from old Virginia!
With all due respect, the odds were even worse, when Adams, Henry, Jefferson et al took on the British Empire. With Longstreet in command of the ANV, and JE Johnston in command of the AOT, you would have a shot. No bloody mess at Chickamauga, unless it was a cassville type maneuver. Happy new year.
Respectfully
Matt
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