- Joined
- Nov 8, 2018
- Location
- Palm Coast, Florida
So, over the semester, I took a course on a certain subject of history, and one of the required readings was the West Point History of the Civil War. Its a fantastic resource, a wonderful summary of the war. And it brought to my attention a certain incident I had not heard about before.
In March of 1863, Lee suffered a heart attack, which many medical experts suggest may have affected his judgement at Gettysburg.
This got me to thinking of something.
Scenario: What if Lee died of a Heart attack in March of 1863 (or simply was so severe he is incapacitated and can not command the Army of Northern Virginia).
Who takes command of the AoNV? I believe Jackson would be promoted to command, for several reasons: 1.) Proximity. He's still with the main army around Fredericksburg, whereas Longstreet is off in the Tidewater trying to retake Suffolk and Norfolk. Joe Johnston is in the West and it will take time for him to transfer. 2.) Reputation. Jackson by this point is 2nd only to Lee in the Confederate public, due to his brilliant actions at 1st Manassas, in the Valley, and at Second Manassas. Promoting him to replace the stricken Lee would be logical to the public at large. Meanwhile, while Longstreet was a good commander in his own right, he was never the darling of the press that Jackson was. As for Joe Johnston, Davis hates his guts, and would be chaffed to allow him to command the Army of Northern Virginia again.
This means that the army would probably be divided into the 3 corps structure a la post-Chancellorsville, with A. P. Hill forming a third Corps with his division and the 2 1st Corps divisions of Anderson and McLaws' at Fredericksburg, and Early or another commander given the remained of Jackson's Corps (Ewell by this time still had not recovered).
This would mean an altered Chancellorsville, a possible rivalry between Jackson and Longstreet (as I am more of an "expert" on the events of 1864, I am not as knowledgable on Longstreet's and Jackson's relationship prior to his death, if it was cordial, strictly professional or what).
I would like to hear people's thought on this, whether Jackson would command or if it should go to another commander,what other effects this change might have on the war effort, how Jackson would do fighting Hooker at Chancellorsville.
In March of 1863, Lee suffered a heart attack, which many medical experts suggest may have affected his judgement at Gettysburg.
This got me to thinking of something.
Scenario: What if Lee died of a Heart attack in March of 1863 (or simply was so severe he is incapacitated and can not command the Army of Northern Virginia).
Who takes command of the AoNV? I believe Jackson would be promoted to command, for several reasons: 1.) Proximity. He's still with the main army around Fredericksburg, whereas Longstreet is off in the Tidewater trying to retake Suffolk and Norfolk. Joe Johnston is in the West and it will take time for him to transfer. 2.) Reputation. Jackson by this point is 2nd only to Lee in the Confederate public, due to his brilliant actions at 1st Manassas, in the Valley, and at Second Manassas. Promoting him to replace the stricken Lee would be logical to the public at large. Meanwhile, while Longstreet was a good commander in his own right, he was never the darling of the press that Jackson was. As for Joe Johnston, Davis hates his guts, and would be chaffed to allow him to command the Army of Northern Virginia again.
This means that the army would probably be divided into the 3 corps structure a la post-Chancellorsville, with A. P. Hill forming a third Corps with his division and the 2 1st Corps divisions of Anderson and McLaws' at Fredericksburg, and Early or another commander given the remained of Jackson's Corps (Ewell by this time still had not recovered).
This would mean an altered Chancellorsville, a possible rivalry between Jackson and Longstreet (as I am more of an "expert" on the events of 1864, I am not as knowledgable on Longstreet's and Jackson's relationship prior to his death, if it was cordial, strictly professional or what).
I would like to hear people's thought on this, whether Jackson would command or if it should go to another commander,what other effects this change might have on the war effort, how Jackson would do fighting Hooker at Chancellorsville.