Lee's Optimal Re-Organization before Gettysburg (The Extra Brigades)

[Stryker65]

I don't think the original morgan oob i looked at was right. Looks something like
Basil
- 2nd KYC
- 3rd KYC
- 5th KYC
- 6th KYC
Johnson
- 7th KYC
- 8th KYC
- 10th KYC
- 11th KYC

Also looks like 9th KYC should be in E. Tennessee as well under J.S. Williams??

Yes. But the 3rd Kentucky Cavalry was with Wheeler, and was not present; here is the OoB I have, taken from OR V23 raid reports:

Morgan's Cavalry Division: Brig. Gen. John H. Morgan (captured July 26)
1st Brigade: Col. Basil W. Duke (captured July 19), Maj. Thomas Webber (captured July 26)
2nd KYC: Maj. Thomas Webber
5th KYC: Col. Dabney H. Smith (captured July 19)
6th KYC: Col. John W. Grigsby (escaped across the Ohio River July 19)
9th TNC: Col. William Ward (captured July 19)
2nd Brigade: Col. Adam R. Johnson (escaped with 10th KYPR July 19), Col. Leroy S. Cluke (captured July 26)
7th KYC: Ltc John Huffman, Maj. Theophilus Steele (Captured July 26), Capt. John Dortch (escaped July 19)
8th KYC: Col. Leroy S. Cluke
10th KYPR (escaped July 19): Ltc Robert M. Martin
11th KYC: Col. David Chenault (killed July 4), Ltc (prom. Col. July 4) Joseph T. Tucker (captured July 26)
14th KYC: Col. Richard C. Morgan (captured July 26)

 

[Stryker65]

4/25/63 Dept of East Tenn, Maury cdg
1st Bgde Marshall
9th Ga Arty Bn
1st Ky Mtd Rif, Clay
2nd Ky Mtd Rif, Johnson
4th Ky Cav
5th Ky
10th Ky Mtd Rif, Caudill
27th Va Bn (P R)
64th Va
2nd Bgde Maxwell
1st Fla DC
6th Fla
7th Fla
65th Ga
3rd Bgde Gracie
43rd Ala
Hilliard's Leg
63rd Tenn
4th Bgde Jackson
62nd NC
Thomas Leg
Thomas Leg Bn
5th Bgde Palmer
55th Ga
58th NC
64th NC
Unattached
16th Ga Bn P R
54th Va
Cavalry
1st Bgde Morrison
1st Ga
1st Tenn
2nd Tenn
12th Tenn Bn
16th Tenn Bn
2nd Bgde Scott
10th Conf
6th Ga
1st La
5th NC Bn
7th NC Bn
5th Tenn

7/31/63 Cumberland Gap
5th Bgde -Frazer
55th Ga - Lt Col Persons
58th NC - Col J. B. Palmer
64th NC - Major T. P. Jones
Kolb's Btry - Capt R. F. Kolb

@Wizard of Cozz had Morgan's division in the Department at the time, that was what I was referring to.

 

[Stryker65]

• I've made some major changes to the Army of Tennessee, as you can see.
• First off, we've got PGT Beauregard in command of the Army of Tennessee. There obviously aren't alot of options to consider in leading the Army of Tennessee. You have Bragg, Johnston, Beauregard, and the senior corps commander in all armies is Longstreet. That's really it. I went with Beauregard for a few reasons. Firstly, historically he does well at Charleston, and then later up at Petersburg. He led offensives at First Bull Run and at Shiloh. I'm not here to necessarily debate whether those were great plans, but he at least shows competancy. The reality is that Bragg can't get along well enough with the corps commanders, and if you move Johnston here, I'm sure he would keep the army together, but I'm not sure he would be aggressive enough to advantage of any mistakes by Rosecrans. Tullahoma was a very good maneuver by Rosecrans, but on the flip side Bragg made major mistakes. Reinforcing the army to 50K men gives Beauregard an opportunity to meet Rosecrans at somewhat parity.
• As for the corps commanders. The easiest and healthiest move for the Army of Tennessee is shuffling out Polk. Polk is a cancer in the army, on top of not being really good at much of anything. I've appointed D.H. Hill to command Polk's Corps. Most here will know of Hill's strengths and weaknesses. I'm hoping that considering they cooperated quite well historically between their departments, that Hill work solidly for Beauregard. I've kept Hardee as the other corps commander. I don't necessarily think Hardee really ever shown out at any battle, but he is solid, and again hopefully bringing in Bearegard and providing solid leadership will do wonders for the army.
• I've moved most of the artillery batterys from their brigades and turned them into artillery battalions under divisional command. I've considered taking a battery from each and making a artillery reserve, but have not done so yet.
• In Hill's Corps, D.H. HIll has Cheatham's Tennessee Division, which has been reinforced by Bushrod Johnson's TN Brigade bringing the division up to 6600 men. This is a competant division with solid brigade commanders especially with Strahl and Maney. Cheatham was always a hard hitting divisional commander. I've moved John K. Jackson's Georgia brigade to McLaw's division, while as I mentioned earlier bringing in Bushrod Johnson's brigade.
• Next Hill has Lafayette McLaws as a division commander. I've created a four brigade division for McLaws composed of two Georgian brigades for the Georgian divisional commander. These include Claudius Wilson's brigade, as well as John K. Jackson's brigade mentioned above. On top of that you have S.R. Gist's very good brigade of South Carolinians, and finally Arthur Manigault's Alabamians. I think this division could be one of the best in the army, and is led by the competant McLaws.
• Lastly we have WHT Walker's Division. Walker still has his Texans under Ector as well as Gregg's Tennesseans. Originally the division also included Gist and Wilson, but those Georgians have been given to McLaws to compensate for their loss I've combined what's left of Walker with the rest of Hindman's division of Patton Anderson and Zach Deas. I'm not very high on Hindman, and Walker, while abrasive is a hard hitter, and dependable in divisional command. This gives Hill three hard hitting divisions with no brigade commander that I feel is lacking.
• For Hardee's Corps he has the talented and dependable combination of Stewart and Cleburne, with Breckinridge's division reinforcing the corps.
• A.P. Stewart still has his original 3 brigades of Bates, Brown, and Clayton. I've done some major reshuffling of regiments. Bates, a Georgian, now commands and all Georgian brigade. The 58th AL has been moved to S.A.M. Wood's brigade, while the 15/37th TN and 20th TN has reinforced Bushrod Johnson's Brigade. To compensate for their losses Bates has been reinforced with 1st and 32nd GA from District of Georgia, and the 55th Georgia from E. Tennessee. Brown retains his historical brigade, while Clayton retains his historical three alabama regiments plus the 41st Alabama from Helm's brigade. This keeps Helm's brigade as all Kentuckians, and Clayton as all Alabamians. Lastly with Wither's resigning I sent Walthall's brigade to join Stewart giving him four brigades. Deas and Anderson to Walker, and Manigault to McLaws.
• Cleburne's Division contains all the regiments he had historically around this time plus some reinforcements. Thomas Churchill has been sent back to the Trans Mississippi, so Deshler commands the Texas Regiments. He has been reinforced by Granbury's 7th TX. St. John Liddell commands his historical brigade + the 19/24th AR. Lucious Polk also commands his historical brigade. Lastly Cleburn has S.A.M Wood's Alabama/Mississippi brigade. This is one of the best divisions in the army, all I've done is some slight reshuffling of regiments to make the brigades more homogenous.
• Lastly, Hardee has Breckinridge's divisions. I've added the other Kentucky brigade under Preston who was in E. Tennessee to this division. That gives the two Kentucky brigades that are in the army of Tennessee to a Kentuckian in Breckinridge. On top of that he has Adam's LA brigade which he had historically but reinforced by some other LA Regiments/Battalions, basically all the LA troops in the Army of Tennessee. Lastly, he has Stovall's brigade. The Florida troops have been sent back to FLorida, while he's been reinforced by the 46th GA, 64th Georgia from the District of Georgia, and the 8th Georgia Battalion. This gives him an all Georgia unit.
  Lastly, we have the cavalry. I've made a lot of similar moves that were made historically just a little bit quicker. You have Wheeler and Forrest's Cav Corps. I did move Pegram to Virginia to take over for Smith.

DEPARTMENT OF #2 (Tennessee)
Army of Tennessee
50,295 Men
General P.G.T. Beauregard​

1. Hill's Corps - Lt. Gen D.H. Hill (19,695 men)
   1. Cheatham's Division - MG Benjamin Cheatham (6,651 men)
      1. Strahl's Brigade - BG Otto Strahl (1,271 men)
         1. 4th-5th TN (425 men)
         2. 19th TN (242 men)
         3. 24th TN (299 men)
         4. 31st TN (169 men)
         5. 33rd TN (136 men)
      2. Wright's Brigade - BG Marcus Wright (1,262 men)
         1. 8th TN (260 men)
         2. 16th TN (242 men)
         3. 28th TN (254 men)
         4. 38th TN (264 men)
         5. 51st/52n TN (232 men)
      3. Maney's Brigade - BG George Maney (1,024 men)
         1. 1st/27th TN (475 men)
         2. 4th TN (165 men)
         3. 6th/9th TN (335 men)
         4. 24th TN Battalion Sharpshooters (39 men)
      4. Smith's Brigade - BG Preston Smith (1,520 men)
         1. 11th TN (360 men)
         2. 12th TN/47th TN (425 men)
         3. 13th TN/154th Sr. TN (400 men)
         4. 29th TN (275 men)
         5. Dawson's SS Battalion (50 men)
      5. Johnson's Brigade - BG Bushrod Johnson (1,274 men)
         1. 17th TN (249 men)
         2. 23rd TN (191 men)
         3. 25th TN (145 men)
         4. 44th TN (294 men)
         5. 15th/37th TN (202 men)
         6. 20th TN (183 men)
      6. Smith's Artillery Battalion - Maj. Smith (300 men)
         1. Carnes TN Battery - Capt. Carnes
         2. Scogin's GA Battery - Capt. Scogins
         3. Scott's TN Battery - Capt. Scott
         4. Smith's MS Battery - Capt. Stanford
         5. Stanford's MS Battery
   2. McLaw's Division - MG Lafayette McLaws (6,154 men)
      1. Manigault's Brigade - BG Arthur Manigault 04/26/63 (1,236 men)
         1. 24th AL (381 men)
         2. 28th AL (325 men)
         3. 34th AL (500 men)
         4. 40th AL Battalion SS - Maj. Thomas O. Stone (50 men)
      2. Gist's Brigade - BG S.R. Gist (1,856 men)
         1. 10th SC (368 men)
         2. 16th SC, Col. James McCullough (600 men)
         3. 19th SC (368 men)
         4. 24th SC, Col. C.H. Stevens (510 men)
      3. Jackson's Brigade - BG John K. Jackson (1,897 men)
         1. 1st Conf GA Volunteers (918 men)
         2. 2nd GA Sharpshooters (152 men)
         3. 5th GA (227 men)
         4. 5th MS (225)
         5. 8th MS (375 men)
      4. Wilson's Brigade - Col. Claudius Wilson (765 men)
         1. 25th GA, Lt. Col. Andrew J. Williams (325 men)
         2. 29th GA, Col. William J. Young (200 men)
         3. 30th GA, Col. T.W. Mangham (200 men)
         4. 1st GA Sharpshooter Battalion, Maj. Arthur Shaaff (40 men)
      5. Divisional Artillery - Maj. Alfred Courtney (400 men)
         1. Dents AL Battery - Capt. Dent
         2. Garrity's AL Battery - Capt Garrity
         3. Water's AL Battery - Lt. Watkins
         4. Warren's Light MS Battery - Lt. Shannon
   3. Walker's Division - MG W.H.T. Walker (6,880 men)
      1. Ector's Brigade - BG Matthew Ector (1,667 men)
         1. 9th TX - Lt. Col. Miles A. Dillard (300 men)
         2. 10th TX CAV (dismounted) - Lt. Col. C.R. Earp (687 men)
         3. 14th TX CAV (dismounted) - Col. John L. Camp (320 men)
         4. 32d TC CAV (dismounted) - Col. Julius A. Andrews (300 men)
         5. 43d MS Battalion SS - Capt. M. Pounds (50 men)
      2. Gregg's Brigade - BG John Gregg (1,272 men)
         1. 3d TN, Col. Calvin H. Walker (275 men)
         2. 10th TN, Lt. Col. William Grace (190 men)
         3. 30th TN, Col. Randall MacGavock (182 men)
         4. 41st TN, Col. Robert Farquharson (325 men)
         5. 50th TN, Lt. Col. Thomas W. Beaumont (190 men)
         6. 1st TN Infantry Battalion, Maj. Stephen H. Colms (100 men)
      3. Anderson's Brigade - BG Patton Anderson (1,635 men)
         1. 7th MS (269 men)
         2. 9th MS (322 men)
         3. 10th MS (260 men)
         4. 41st MS (502 men)
         5. 44th MS (272 men)
         6. 9th MS Battalion Sharpshooters
      4. Deas Brigade - BG Zach Deas (1,906 men)
         1. 19th AL (500 men)
         2. 22nd AL (371 men)
         3. 25th AL (330 men)
         4. 39th AL (310 men)
         5. 50th AL (320 men)
         6. 17th AL Battalion Sharpshooters (65 men)
      5. Martin's Artillery Battalion - Maj. Robert Martin (400 men)
         1. Martin's GA Battery - Lt. Evan P. Howell
         2. Ferguson's South Carolina Battery, Capt. T.B. Ferguson
         3. McNally's AR Battery, Lt. F.A. Moore
         4. Bledsoe's MO Battery, Capt. Hiram M. Bledsoe
2. Corps - Lt Gen. William Hardee (20,207 men)
   1. Stewart's Division - MG A.P. Stewart (7,208 men)
      1. Bate's Brigade - BG William Bate (1,891 men)
         1. 1st GA (350 men)
         2. 32nd GA - Col. G.P. Harrison (500 men)
         3. 37th GA - Col. A.F. Rudler (391 men)
         4. 55th GA (550 men)
         5. 4th GA Sharpshooters Battalion (92 men)
      2. Brown's Brigade - BG John Brown (1,385 men)
         1. 18th TN (330 men)
         2. 26th TN (229 men)
         3. 32nd TN (361 men)
         4. 45th TN (300 men)
         5. 23rd TN Battalion (155 men)
      3. Clayton's Brigade - BG Henry Clayton (1,810 men)
         1. 18th AL (527 men)
         2. 36th AL (458 men)
         3. 38th AL (490 men)
         4. 41st AL (325 men)
      4. Walthall's Brigade - BG Edward Walthall (1,805 men)
         1. 24th MS (398 men)
         2. 27th MS (406 men)
         3. 29th MS (364 men)
         4. 30th MS (320 men)
         5. 34th MS (307 men)
      5. Eldridge Artillery Battalion - Maj. John Eldridge (225 men)
         1. 1st AR Battery: Cpt John T. Humphreys
         2. T. H. Dawson's (GA) Battery: Lt R. W. Anderson
         3. Eufaula Artillery (AL Battery): Cpt McDonald Oliver
   2. Cleburne's Division - MG Patrick Cleburne (7,124 men)
      1. Deshler's Brigade - BG James Deshler (1,544 men)
         1. 6th/10th/15th TX (667 men)
         2. 7th TX, Col. Hiram B. Granbury (177 men)
         3. 17th/18th/24th/25th TX (690 men)
      2. Lidell's Brigade - BG St. John Liddell (1,736 men)
         1. 2nd/15th AR (Josey's) - Col. Daniel Govan (300 men)
         2. 5th/13th AR (450 men)
         3. 6th/7th AR (400 men)
         4. 19/24th AR (226 men)
         5. 8th AR/1st LA (350 men)
      3. Wood's Brigade - BG S.A.M. Wood (2,079 men)
         1. 16th AL (419 men)
         2. 32nd/58th AL (200 men)
         3. 33rd AL (600 men)
         4. 45th AL (400 men)
         5. 32nd MS/45th MS (600 men)
         6. Hawkins BAttalion Sharpshooters (50 men)
      4. Polk's Brigade - BG Lucius Polk (1,469 men)
         1. 1st AR (430 men)
         2. 3rd (18th AR/TN/MS Cos.) CONF/5th (2/21st TN) CONF (350 men)
         3. 2nd TN (264 men)
         4. 35th TN (215 men)
         5. 48th TN - Col. Vorhees (200 men)
      5. Hotchkiss Artillery Battalion - Maj. Thomas Hotchkiss (300 men)
         1. Calvert's AR Battery - Lt. Key
         2. Douglas TX Batter - Capt. James Douglas
         3. Semple's AL Battery - Capt. Henry Semple
         4. Baxter's TN Battery - Capt. Edmund Baxter
   3. Breckinridge Division - MG John C. Breckinridge (5,875 men)
3. Adam's Brigade - BG Daniel Adams (2,223 men)
   1. 4th LA, Lt. Col. William F. Pennington (300 men)
   2. 12th LA, Col. Thomas M. Scott (400 men)
   3. 13th/20th LA (289 men)
   4. 16th/25th LA (319 men)
   5. 19th LA (350 men)
   6. 30th LA, Lt. Col. Thomas Shields (330 men)
   7. 4th LA Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. John McEnery (175 men)
   8. 14th LA Sharpshooters Battalion (50 men)
4. Orphan Brigade - BG Benjamin Helm (1,037 men)
   1. 2nd KY (302 men)
   2. 4th KY (275 men)
   3. 6th KY (220 men)
   4. 9th KY (230 men)
5. Stovall's Brigade - BG Marcellus Stoval (1,500 men)
   1. 46th GA, Col. Peyton H. Colquitt (650 men)
   2. 47th GA (200 men)
   3. 64th GA (400 men)
   4. 8th GA Battalion, Capt. Zachariah L. Watters (250 men)
6. Preston's Brigade - BG William Preston (815 men)
   1. 5th KY (215 men)
   2. 3d KY, Col. Albert P. Thompson (200 men)
   3. 7th KY, Col. Edward Crossland (200 men)
   4. 8th KY, Col. Hylan B. Lyon, Lt. Col. A.R. Shacklett (200 men
7. Artillery Battalion - Maj. Rice E. Graves (300 men)
   1. Cobb's (KY) Battery: Cpt Robert Cobb
   2. Graves' (KY) Battery: Lt S. M. Spencer
   3. Mebane's (TN) Battery: Cpt John W. Mebane
   4. Slocomb's (LA) Battery: Cpt C. H. Slocomb
8. Forrest's Cavalry Corps - BG Nathan Forrest (5,150 men)
   1. Armstrong's Division - BG Frank Armstrong (2,650 men)
      1. Armstrong's Brigade - Col. Thomas Harrison (1,100 men)
         1. 3rd AR CAV (300 men)
         2. 8th TX (Terry's TX Rangers) (300 men)
         3. 11th TX (300 men)
         4. McDonald's TN Battalion (200 men)
      2. Second Brigade - Col. Nicholas Cox (1,500 men)
         1. 4th TN (300 men)
         2. 8th (13th) TN (300 men)
         3. 9th (19th) TN (300 men)
         4. 10th TN (300 men)
         5. 11th TN (300 men)
      3. Artillery Battalion (150 men)
         1. Huggin's TN Battery
         2. Morton's TN Battery
   2. Allen's Division - BG William Allen
      1. Scott's Cavalry Brigade - Col. John Scott (1,200 men)
         1. 1st TN CAV (300 men)
         2. 2nd TN CAV (300 men)
         3. 5th TN CAV (300 men)
         4. Rucker's TN Legion (300 men0
            1. 12th TN Battalion CAV
            2. 16th TN Battalion CAV
         5. 22nd TN CAV - Col. C.R. Barteau (317 men)
      2. Davidson's Cavalry Brigade - BG Henry Davison (1,100 men)
         1. 1st GA CAV (300 men)
         2. 5th GA CAV (300 men)
         3. 6th GA CAV (300 men)
         4. 16th GA Battalion (200 men)
      3. Artillery Battalion (150 men)
         1. Huwald's TN Battery
         2. Robinson's LA Battery

1. Cavalry Corps - MG Joseph Wheeler (5,150 men)
   1. Martin's Division - BG William Martin (2,775 men)
      1. First Brigade - Col. John T Morgan (1,500 men)
         1. 1st AL (300 men)
         2. 3rd AL (300 men)
         3. 4th AL (300 men)
         4. 7th AL (300 men)
         5. 51st AL (300 men)
      2. Second Brigade - Col. William B. Wade (1,200 men)
         1. 1st CONF (300 men)
         2. 3rd CONF (300 men)
         3. 8th CONF (300 men)
         4. 10th CONF (300 men)
      3. Artillery Battery (75 men)
         1. Wiggin's AR Battery - Lt. Bryant
   2. Wharton's Division - BG John Wharton (2,175 men)
      1. First Brigade -Col. Crews (900 men)
         1. 2nd GA (300 men)
         2. 3rd GA (300 men)
         3. 4th GA (300 men)
      2. Second Brigade - Col. James T. Wheeler (1,200 men)
         1. 1st (3rd) KY (300 men
         2. 2nd KY (300 men)
         3. 1st (6th) TN (300 men)
         4. 4th (8th) TN (300 men)
      3. Artillery Battery (75 men)
         1. White's TN Battery - Capt. B.F. White Jr.
2. Army Artillery Reserve (375 men)
   1. Artillery Battalion - Maj. Felix H. Robertson
      1. Lumsden's (AL) Battery: Cpt Charles L. Lumsden
      2. Havis' (GA) Battery: Cpt Minor W. Havis
      3. Massenburg's (GA) Battery: Cpt T. L. Massenburg
      4. Le Gardeur's (LA) Battery: Cpt G. Le Gardeur, Jr.
      5. Barret's (MO) Battery: Cpt Overton W. Barret

Two small things in Bate's Brigade:
- The 1st GA listed is the same 1st GA Volunteers (Olmstead's) back in the District of Georgia -- that should probably stay there;
- The 55th GA had essentially the worst organization and morale out of any infantry regiment in the Confederate army. Any change from garrison to field duty would most likely cause about 50+% losses in desertion. It would be best to leave them at Cumberland Gap, as well. Perhaps the 6th and 7th FL could be substituted.

 

[Wizard of Cozz]

@Wizard of Cozz had Morgan's division in the Department at the time, that was what I was referring to.

The mounted rifle KY Units as well got disbanded in Aug. I just did it a little sooner to give some of the more depleted KY units more men.

 

[Wizard of Cozz]

Two small things in Bate's Brigade:
- The 1st GA listed is the same 1st GA Volunteers (Olmstead's) back in the District of Georgia -- that should probably stay there;
- The 55th GA had essentially the worst organization and morale out of any infantry regiment in the Confederate army. Any change from garrison to field duty would most likely cause about 50+% losses in desertion. It would be best to leave them at Cumberland Gap, as well. Perhaps the 6th and 7th FL could be substituted.

So my understanding is that there are TWO 1st GA troops The "Olmstead" one and this one:

Battle Unit Details - The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

That one is the one I've assigned to Bates.

 

[Wizard of Cozz]

Two small things in Bate's Brigade:
- The 1st GA listed is the same 1st GA Volunteers (Olmstead's) back in the District of Georgia -- that should probably stay there;
- The 55th GA had essentially the worst organization and morale out of any infantry regiment in the Confederate army. Any change from garrison to field duty would most likely cause about 50+% losses in desertion. It would be best to leave them at Cumberland Gap, as well. Perhaps the 6th and 7th FL could be substituted.

What about moving the 55th back to Georgia and putting it in Mercer's brigade and taking one of the 54th or 63rd and putting it in the AoT. Both units fought in the Atlanta campaing??

 

[Stryker65]

The mounted rifle KY Units as well got disbanded in Aug. I just did it a little sooner to give some of the more depleted KY units more men.

Ah, they didn't, actually. Clay's 1st got rebranded as the 3rd, and both 2nd and 3rd remained as independent units until the end of the war, mostly in George Cosby's brigade.

So my understanding is that there are TWO 1st GA troops The "Olmstead" one and this one:

Battle Unit Details - The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

That one is the one I've assigned to Bates.

Forgot about that one. Sorry.

What about moving the 55th back to Georgia and putting it in Mercer's brigade and taking one of the 54th or 63rd and putting it in the AoT. Both units fought in the Atlanta campaing??

I think having the 55th moved to Savannah is OK, it just reminds me of what happened to the 33rd Georgia when that regiment moved to Savannah. If you do end up doing that, I would recommend taking the battalion of the 29th Georgia left at Savannah and 8 companies of the 63rd Georgia. I say this because the 54th and a battalion of the 63rd were both sent to Charleston in late June/early July 1863 (I believe before the Siege began).

 

[Wizard of Cozz]

So I've been trying to keep the corps and divisions slightly larger. One of Braggs biggest mistakes was the organizational confusion going into chickamauga. My thoughts are that if Buckenr brings troops to AoT that he assumes command of his division. That division just attaches to Longstreets corps. You then have 3 corps of 3 divisions each.

 

[danny]

Correct BUT IF, Davis gives different orders, or gave Pembertron more latitude, COULD he have got out of Vicksburg between May 13-15?

I suppose most anything is possible, but abandoning Vicksburg against the President's orders just wasn't in Pemberton's DNA---IMO

 

[Wizard of Cozz]

I suppose most anything is possible, but abandoning Vicksburg against the President's orders just wasn't in Pemberton's DNA---IMO

So I feel like I'm not being very clear. I'm more just asking on the feasibility from a possibility standpoint. Like IF Pemberton had moved out of Vicksburg say on the 15th, would he have been able to do so without Grant destroying his army?

 

[Stryker65]

So I feel like I'm not being very clear. I'm more just asking on the feasibility from a possibility standpoint. Like IF Pemberton had moved out of Vicksburg say on the 15th, would he have been able to do so without Grant destroying his army?

I think so. He'd most likely have to break out of the southern defenses, and cut his way out down toward southern Mississippi. But essentially with Grant after him it would turn into a "what-if-Lee-fled-Petersburg-earlier" situation.

Actually, want to start a what if thread on this? It'd be interesting to think about...

 

[rbasin]

@Wizard of Cozz ...

Please refer to my original question. In any case, here are some things I noticed:
- 54th NC is missing; it should be in Hoke's (Avery's) Brigade
- If we're moving all troops that Lee wanted, then Pettigrew's brigade should also include the 44th North Carolina, which was left in the Richmond defenses, as well.
- Jones's Cavalry Brigade should also include the 12th Virginia Cavalry
- W. H. F. Lee's Cavalry Brigade should also include the 15th Virginia Cavalry

In response to your first question: If we go off the Wilderness reorganizations, I think the 2nd Corps would probably go to Anderson, unless he gets an independent command, because Early only got the 2nd Corps because Anderson was commanding the 1st Corps in Longstreet's Corps.

2nd question: Smith could probably be convinced at Davis's (Lee's) urging, in which case I would think perhaps George Steuart could get his brigade, and Steuart's own brigade distributed among the others, to preserve the state organization Lee tried to create before

3rd question: Pender, IMO, would get the division, since Lee really favored him. Lee would probably ask for Robert Ransom to stay in NC, and just get Matt up to the ANV. Heth would then get the remainder, although I think I remember hearing that someone really wanted Pender in charge of an all-NC division.

4th question: Jenkins definitely works. But did you mean to replace McLaws with Kershaw? The court-martial stuff wouldn't happen until after Fort Sanders, so McLaws would still be division commander. My solution for O'Neal would be to trade it with Birkett Fry's 13th Alabama (although that would cause Fry to become brigade commander, due to seniority), or with one of Wilcox's or Perry's Alabama regiments. If, say, Lee transferred O'Neal, then of the remaining four regiments he could promote Battle to brigadier, and then move the Thirteenth in.

Yeah. I was wondering about McLaws. If Ewell had to be replaced, McLaws to me is a logical choice.

 

[Stryker65]

Yeah. I was wondering about McLaws. If Ewell had to be replaced, McLaws to me is a logical choice.

Just checked -- indeed, McLaws was the most senior infantry division commander in the ANV at this time; he and Richard H. Anderson were the only two major generals whose commissions dated from 1862.

 

[Wizard of Cozz]

Just checked -- indeed, McLaws was the most senior infantry division commander in the ANV at this time; he and Richard H. Anderson were the only two major generals whose commissions dated from 1862.

I don't see a situation where Lee gives McLaws permanent Corps command. Though I could be wrong, and while maybe not fair to Lafayette, it reflects Lee's feelings after Chancellorsville. Which is why he being a solid dependable division commander would be great out west and he would have really opportunity to probably prove himself in corps command.