Intersting article on a Meade Counterattack

[wilber6150]

I ran across this article and thought people might want to read it..
http://npshistory.com/series/symposia/gettysburg_seminars/12/essay9.pdf

 

[wilber6150]

A lot of intesting articles on that website, to find them just retype address without the essay9.pdf

 

[wilber6150]

So it seems like that if the Confedeterate lines were still advanced then Meade would have launched a counter attack from his left flank, but since they were retired and supported by artillery he canceled that attack.. Is that what other people get out of this?

 

[JerseyBart]

Reading it now. Thank you for posting Wilber.

 

[rpkennedy]

So it seems like that if the Confedeterate lines were still advanced then Meade would have launched a counter attack from his left flank, but since they were retired and supported by artillery he canceled that attack.. Is that what other people get out of this?

I'll have to take a look when I have more time later this week. I don't always agree with Troy's point-of-view but he is a good man to discuss things with.

R

 

[JerseyBart]

As I read this, it continues to remind me that some civil war generals were self important blowhards: Pleasanton, Sickles, Slocum, heck even Hancock.

 

[Pat Answer]

So it seems like that if the Confedeterate lines were still advanced then Meade would have launched a counter attack from his left flank, but since they were retired and supported by artillery he canceled that attack.. Is that what other people get out of this?

That, and the time it would have taken to assemble forces for a really strong attack. The point that defending against the Confederate assault had to come first is well made.
I don't know enough to say if these conclusions are all accurate, but I do appreciate anything that tries to put us back into the minds of these generals. There is a big difference between analyzing a chess game from a list of moves and sweating through one as you plan and hope for the best. And that is without any political pressure or second-guessing from your rooks and bishops!....

 

[KansasFreestater]

One of the great things about Grant being made commander of all the armies in 1864 was that the pervasive feeling that "at last, the boss had arrived" did a lot to suppress the corrosive power of many of these old, longtime jealousies in the AoP. The irony, of course, is that with Grant so prominent in the public's eye, Meade sank to near invisibility in the historical record. It's a shame, for Meade was a truly great general, in my opinion.

Much, much gratitude is owed to Ralph Peters, whose novels Cain at Gettysburg and Hell or Richmond show Meade to very well-deserved advantage -- Peters really gets George Meade -- and to Tom Huntington, whose memoir/biography Searching for George Gordon Meade: The Forgotten Hero of Gettysburg does justice to the man he calls "the Rodney Dangerfield of Civil War generals." (Meade "don't get no respect!")

 

[KansasFreestater]

The absolutely best defense of Meade immediately after Gettysburg that I have ever read, or am ever likely to, is this short piece from, of all places, Esquire, which did an excellent Civil War series:

"Lincoln Was Dead Wrong After Gettysburg"

Do not miss reading this. I promise you'll be glad you did. Even if you don't agree with the conclusions of the author (who is a serving Army officer and professional strategist), his use of the popular British TV show Top Gear to illustrate his points is brilliant and highly entertaining!

 

[KansasFreestater]

I ran across this article and thought people might want to read it..
http://npshistory.com/series/symposia/gettysburg_seminars/12/essay9.pdf

Thanks for sharing this. I had never seen some of this information before -- and I've read half a dozen books about Gettysburg!!

It all just makes you appreciate how awesome of a multi-tasker Meade -- and any commanding general -- had to be. So many things to juggle all at once.... I'm in awe of how their minds work.

 

[hanna260]

Thanks for the articles, guys! Always had a big soft spot for the Old Snapping Turtle- who did his job to the best of his abilities but pretty much never got any thanks in his lifetime or after it.

 

[marinegrunt]

I have to read this again, but I don't see any mention of Meade having sent Hancock to Gettysburg on Day One to take command. Reynolds came up at Buford's request, but Meade sent Hancock to find out if Gettysburg was good ground to fight on. I think we have to remember that Meade only had the army for a grand total of two days leading up to Gettysburg and that the AOP took a hell of a beating itself. A counterattack could well have led to another Fredericksburg. Lee was on a ridge himself, and the ground in between them would have been as unforgiving for Union troops as it was for the Confederates. He should, however, have given serious thought to hitting Lee when his supply trains and infantry columns were stretched out on the way back to Virginia. As far as Sickles, he was an unapologetic opportunistic Tammany Hall huckster who couldn't be trusted as far as he could be thrown. That anyone bought into his nonsense is a head scratcher.

 

[KansasFreestater]

I have to read this again, but I don't see any mention of Meade having sent Hancock to Gettysburg on Day One to take command. Reynolds came up at Buford's request, but Meade sent Hancock to find out if Gettysburg was good ground to fight on. I think we have to remember that Meade only had the army for a grand total of two days leading up to Gettysburg and that the AOP took a hell of a beating itself. A counterattack could well have led to another Fredericksburg. Lee was on a ridge himself, and the ground in between them would have been as unforgiving for Union troops as it was for the Confederates. He should, however, have given serious thought to hitting Lee when his supply trains and infantry columns were stretched out on the way back to Virginia. As far as Sickles, he was an unapologetic opportunistic Tammany Hall huckster who couldn't be trusted as far as he could be thrown. That anyone bought into his nonsense is a head scratcher.

It's one of those irritating historical ironies that it was none other than that scoundrel Sickles who was most responsible for preserving the Gettysburg battlefield, and for giving that battle its oversized role in Civil War history-telling. We rightly curse the man for all the damage he did -- but then, we have to turn around and thank him for pretty much founding the whole institution of Civil War battlefield preservation.

 

[marinegrunt]

It's one of those irritating historical ironies that it was none other than that scoundrel Sickles who was most responsible for preserving the Gettysburg battlefield, and for giving that battle its oversized role in Civil War history-telling. We rightly curse the man for all the damage he did -- but then, we have to turn around and thank him for pretty much founding the whole institution of Civil War battlefield preservation.

True, but did he do it because it was the right thing or because he wanted to be able to say he did?

 

[ErnieMac]

A very interesting article which puts a different light on a number of actions on the Federal left.

 

[KansasFreestater]

True, but did he do it because it was the right thing or because he wanted to be able to say he did?

Sickles saw himself as the hero of Gettysburg. Which is one reason he almost immediately began a campaign to defame, diminish and denigrate Meade's leadership.

 

[Pat Answer]

As far as Sickles, he was an unapologetic opportunistic Tammany Hall huckster who couldn't be trusted as far as he could be thrown. That anyone bought into his nonsense is a head scratcher.

LOL. This is the guy who had already proven his con artistry skills in court, IIRC...

 

[BillO]

It's one of those irritating historical ironies that it was none other than that scoundrel Sickles who was most responsible for preserving the Gettysburg battlefield, and for giving that battle its oversized role in Civil War history-telling. We rightly curse the man for all the damage he did -- but then, we have to turn around and thank him for pretty much founding the whole institution of Civil War battlefield preservation.

Scoundrels are usually good for something. As weird as "Tricky Dick" Nixon was he probably did more to keep the economy from a total collapse in 2008 than any of our living politicians.

 

[4065921]

I do not wish to be viewed as a fan of Sickles, however... I am not on the Mead band wagon either. Mead did not expect an attack on his left flank. Mead had a dislike for Sickles type of generalship, he had the same distane for Sheridan and it was Grant that gave Sheridan the freedom to act which he did very successfully. I am not comparing Sickles to Sheridan, however Mead did placed his best generals and his most effective corps on the right and center of his fish-hook. Every piece of real time correspondence that morning, signal corps dispatches, locals, scouting parties from Sickles corps etc... indicated an attack was eminent on the left flank! Mead ignored the intelligence and even pulled Bufords cavelry screen from his left flank. Lee outsmarted Mead and the Federals nearly paid a steep price for it.

 

[Union_Buff]

A very interesting article Wilber - thank you for posting it