marinegrunt
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2014
- Location
- New York City
This is something that has been lost in my posts; I don't exclusively blame Stuart, and I've said so. If Lee wanted wagons he should have said to go get him wagons without qualification instead of ordering communication be maintained with Ewell. Militarily speaking, that was more important; wagons could be found elsewhere. Handing the man five brigades of cavalry and expecting raids and foraging along Hooker's rear AND cover for Ewell was too much, in my opinion. That's a corps sized assignment, in Civil War troop numbers. However, I think Stuart made that ride around Hooker just to say he did it. He was a vain man, he was out for glory (as most generals were, Union and Confederate), and he made a bad strategic and tactical call, ***edited*** by jgoodguy for inappropriate content.Just a sec.
Modern military experience is relevant in that it gives someone a perspective on things about the military that haven't changed. True, they didn't have radios or mechanized vehicles in the Civil War, which are used today; however, they had a chain of command, orders, and a doctrine. They had a military organization with commanding officers, subordinate leaders, and followers. While I disagree with @marinegrunt 's viewpoint on this particular issue, his experience is in no way irrelevant. While a number of things have changed, a number of things have not changed, and the perspective of having dealt with those things brings a valuable insight that shouldn't be dismissed because we disagree with his conclusions. Having said that, I think Eric laid out his case quite well in his book, Plenty of Blame to Go Around. I found it more than just persuasive. I don't think he needs to reproduce that here, but I also think it's incumbent on those who disagree with him to deal with that book and to try to rebut what he says in the book. He doesn't let JEB Stuart off the hook entirely as some might think, but he does show that Stuart does not shoulder all the blame.
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