Pickett Pickett, Late arrival at Gettysburg, a good tactical decision?

Waterloo50

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We’ve had plenty of discussion about Pickett’s charge and the impact that Picketts late arrival may have had on the outcome but I was wondering what people actually think about the reasons behind Picketts division arriving ‘late’, could it be that Pickett on his approach to Gettysburg was being over cautious which slowed his division down or was he simply showing signs of good leadership and tactical knowledge.

July 2 In the morning McLaws’s Division moved on the road towards Gettysburg but turning to the right half mile this side of Willoughby Run and crossing that stream lower down formed line as marked on the Battlefield. Pickett’s Division marched by this place in the afternoon but followed the other road with some deflections to avoid being seen by the Union Signal Corps and crossing Willoughby Run lay that night in the west side of Spangler’s Woods.
 
Pickett's Division was split up prior to the Gettysburg campaign when the brigades of Micah Jenkins and Montgomery Corse were detached to operations around Richmond and it was consequently the smallest division in the Army of Northern Virginia with about 5,475 men. Pickett was ordered to guard the communication lines of the ANV which 5,475 men which precipitated its late arrival. In fact it appears that Pickett was just itching to get into the fray and win imperishable glory.
Regards
David
 
We’ve had plenty of discussion about Pickett’s charge and the impact that Picketts late arrival may have had on the outcome but I was wondering what people actually think about the reasons behind Picketts division arriving ‘late’, could it be that Pickett on his approach to Gettysburg was being over cautious which slowed his division down or was he simply showing signs of good leadership and tactical knowledge.

July 2 In the morning McLaws’s Division moved on the road towards Gettysburg but turning to the right half mile this side of Willoughby Run and crossing that stream lower down formed line as marked on the Battlefield. Pickett’s Division marched by this place in the afternoon but followed the other road with some deflections to avoid being seen by the Union Signal Corps and crossing Willoughby Run lay that night in the west side of Spangler’s Woods.
My understanding is Pickett was held up by the roads he had to travel, the same roads other units were using. As often happened in the conflict, getting from A to B was not as easy as it appears on today's maps.
I've never had the impression that he was tardy.
 
I am unaware of any historical documents that insinuate or mention Pickett being tardy or hesitant to arrive in Gettysburg
In fact, George Pickett reminds me of Gaily Bedight from Poe’s “Eldorado”, a failed knight in love with a 20 year old belle who obviously had bewitched him to the point of thinking of her often yet he was eager for action.
Regards
David
 
I am unaware of any historical documents that insinuate or mention Pickett being tardy or hesitant to arrive in Gettysburg
In fact, George Pickett reminds me of Gaily Bedight from Poe’s “Eldorado”, a failed knight in love with a 20 year old belle who obviously had bewitched him to the point of thinking of her often yet he was eager for action.
Regards
David

That's an apt description of Pickett, in all honesty.

Ryan
 
My understanding is Pickett was held up by the roads he had to travel, the same roads other units were using. As often happened in the conflict, getting from A to B was not as easy as it appears on today's maps.
I've never had the impression that he was tardy.
Thanks, I’m trying to understand the cause(s) of why Pickett was delayed/late. Pickett apparently used roads that would shield him from being spotted which makes perfect sense, I’d imagine a necessarily cautious approach would slow him down somewhat.
 
I may be wrong, but my understanding is that it had nothing to do with tactics, but had to do more with logistics. I don't believe that Pickett was purposely slow regarding the movement of his division.
That is what I have read too.
 
The problem with fairly assessing Pickett is that he was among those selected to take the blame for Lee's mistakes at Gettysburg. Even the advantage of being a Virginian didn't shield him from charges by the guardians of the Lee legacy.
 
We’ve had plenty of discussion about Pickett’s charge and the impact that Picketts late arrival may have had on the outcome but I was wondering what people actually think about the reasons behind Picketts division arriving ‘late’, could it be that Pickett on his approach to Gettysburg was being over cautious which slowed his division down or was he simply showing signs of good leadership and tactical knowledge.

July 2 In the morning McLaws’s Division moved on the road towards Gettysburg but turning to the right half mile this side of Willoughby Run and crossing that stream lower down formed line as marked on the Battlefield. Pickett’s Division marched by this place in the afternoon but followed the other road with some deflections to avoid being seen by the Union Signal Corps and crossing Willoughby Run lay that night in the west side of Spangler’s Woods.
Or, none of the above, he was following orders.
 
It was the duty of his superiors Lee and Longstreet to tell him when they wanted him. Supposedly he arrived personally much earlier on July 2 to find out what was happening, but without his division since he hadn't yet been ordered to bring it up.
 
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