Lee Pickett I have read many times that Pickett never forgave Lee for Gettysburg....

So, my question: how common was it for several generals to leave and enjoy a meal elsewhere in this sort of situation? Obviously in this case it turned out badly, but if this were a civil suit over negligence, negligence isn't determined by results, it's determined by whether or not the person at fault followed accepted practices. That two other generals were also at the fish fry suggests no one thought there was anything irresponsible about it until something had happened.
I agree, Allie.
 
There is the contributing issue of the acoustical shadow which kept them from hearing the battle. Had they heard the battle, their indiscretion might have gone unnoticed.
No one seems to reme
There is the contributing issue of the acoustical shadow which kept them from hearing the battle. Had they heard the battle, their indiscretion might have gone unnoticed.
Pardon me,but wasn't there other divisons involded in this charge? We do not here any thing about their performance.The charge was to a certain degree sucessful,it just that when they looked back there was no troops behind them to help them hold the ground.Then Meade had reserves that he could have thrown in{What would Grant have done at this time?}.If what I have read is right ,if one studies Lee's battle plans and if all divisions had moved as Lee planed then Meade would have been on his way to Washington.Did not JEB and Custer have a calvery contest or was that just in the movie?To me the biggest mistake that Lee made was that he did not do a survey by pickets ot the terrain prior to Longstreet sending Pickett and the other division out.Then Lee might have moved around Meade as Longstreet suggested.Then there would have been no apology and maybe the Confedercey capital would be in Washington.
 
The attack known as Pickett's Charge was not successful to any great degree. The attack depended too much on a successful artillery barrage that had little chance of success to the degree needed for a successful outcome. Lee wanted to assault the center of the line but lacked the needed resources to do so. Lee convinced himself that the Union Army had been damaged more that it had been and that the Union Army was ready to collapse. Lee failed to understand how damaged his own army was and failed to fully understand the limits of his own artillery to contribute to the attack. The unsuccessful attack was Lee's fault.
 
I've always chuckled about Shelby Foote's story about Lee and Pickett. Lee relieved him of command but the order never reached him. One day Pickett came riding by Lee's tent all aglitter with his perfumed ringlets flying. Lee glowered at him and murmured, "Is that man still with the army?" George Pickett was one of Lee's many cousins, by the way.

Then there was the little scene only Mosby relates. Pickett and Mosby had visited Lee and, according to Mosby, it was an uncomfortable visit. As they walked away, Pickett burst out, "That old man massacred my division at Gettysburg!" Mosby, who wasn't much for a whiner, replied, "Well, at least it made you famous!" A friend of the family, a Miss Stiles, reports a different meeting - she was present when Pickett and Mosby visited and detected no hard feelings on either side. There may have been a bit of stiffness on Lee's part but Pickett should not have taken it personally although he couldn't have known the real reason for Lee's somewhat cold demeanour - he had been told that day by a doctor that he was dying.

No, Pickett did not forgive Lee for the charge but the one who REALLY didn't forgive him was Sallie (LaSalle) Corbell Pickett! She spent the rest of her life defending her husband like a mama bear, and was a popular speaker. She died in 1931. She claimed to have Pickett's mysteriously missing report of the battle that Lee is said to have rejected, but never produced it.

The version of this Mosby/Pickett story that I remember is that it took place on the porch of Lee's home in Lexington, Va. Is that right?
 
The version of this Mosby/Pickett story that I remember is that it took place on the porch of Lee's home in Lexington, Va. Is that right?

I think it was a casual visit, sort of Mosby's idea. Hey, since we're here let's go see the general sort of thing. Seems to me they were inside but only for a short time because Lee had other company.
 
To me the biggest mistake that Lee made was that he did not do a survey by pickets ot the terrain prior to Longstreet sending Pickett and the other division out.

They knew the terrain pretty well since they fought over there the previous day


Battle+of+Gettysburg---map+7.png
 
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