Losing and the Confederacy
Confederates could not lose battles; someone had to take the fall. Except Lee. Lee could never lose a battle, nor lose a war. So much for historical fact!
The Army of Northern Virginia lost at Gettysburg because Lee asked too much of his army. He said so in a letter.
The Army of the Potomac had the advantages of intelligence, supply and the help of the hometown folks. Lee's overall plan failed. He left Stuart behind in Virginia, and expected him to arrive in time somewhere, that was not in the original plan.
Lee miscalculated the needs of his artillery and cavalry horses, and how much forage was necessary. Lee miscalculated that Stuart would not get delayed by the Union army. Lee miscalculated his cavalry needs, when he really needed cavalry, in moving from Chambersburg to Gettysburg. Lee miscalculated his artillery and their lack of ability to win on July 3rd.
No the Confederates blamed their other generals. Stuart, Ewell, Hill and Longstreet were all blamed for the Gettysburg loss to some degree.
Strange, that General Jubal Early was never seriously blamed for the Confederate loss at Gettysburg. Early had his division in Gettysburg and Adams County, days before the battle. One can easily surmise that Early never warned Lee of the pitfalls of moving to Gettysburg.
Ah, yes. Gettysburg was a wonderful place for the Army of Northern Virginia, so historians seem to tell us. I wonder if the civilian spies from Gettysburg told that to General Meade. That Gettysburg and Adams County was this wonderful place for the Confederate army to gather up forage for the thousands of horses with its three corps.
Why was Buford attempting to block Hill on the Chambersburg Pike? Maybe that was the simple key. Block and hold up the Confederate army in a bad place.
But in victory that was forgotten and Gettysburg was transformed into a great place for battle. But truth is often, as they say, the first casualty of war. And who would deign that Lee would find less forage and water than his army needed.
But Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia never made mistakes, some say, so how could that then be true?
Someone failed, but no one seems to ask why Lee really came to Gettysburg? And how much did Lee, really did not know about Adams County and Gettysburg?