Gotcha- but in the case of a victory, Lee still must withdraw……with a bad limp after Gettysburg. The South could ill afford such victories.
An incursion (or raid) will necessarily end with the attacker returning to its safe haven after hopefully accomplishing the aims of the incursion. So a withdrawal by Lee and the ANV to Virginia after a successful engagement at Gettysburg would not be seen as an admission of defeat, but as a victorious fulfillment of the purpose of the Pennsylvania gambit. In reality, the ANV did indeed withdraw with a "bad limp" after Gettysburg because of the massive casualties it incurred and the failure to attain major goals. A speculative win by the ANV might still have resulted in large casualties, for which the south could ill afford. But that was Lee's modus operandi since the Seven Days, which left him no choice but to bear diminishing manpower at the expense of holding off northern power long enough in the hopes of achieving a political solution to attaining Confederate independence.
Might need to back that up
So long ago I can't remember the specific article or if it went with a book for sure. But I clearly remember reading it and it making since.
I hadn't heard of that before but it's perfectly believable, perhaps they started off in the charge but when they witnessed the carnage they lost hope and headed away to the sides in order to avoid the slaughter. I'm not sure if it would have even been possible to hang back, surely they would have been seen by those observing the battle!
It is funny how Cannae is in many ways seen as the victory to try for... considering that it did not in any way win the war for Hannibal.
I would appreciate if someone could remember this controversial theory from probably the early 2000.
Ifs and buts don't mean a thing.
There is some corroboration from contemporary Confederate accounts that indicate that a portion of men, particularly from Pettigrew and Trimble's Divisions, didn't advance past the Emmitsburg Road but instead went to ground in the slightly sunken road. In addition, there are accounts from Pickett's Division that they were leaking stragglers almost from the beginning. Captain Bright of Pickett's staff, wrote that when he returned to Seminary Ridge as the division was passing the Emmitsburg Road, he found scores of men loitering around in the woods along the ridge. Of course, he said that they were all North Carolinians but it's clear that they were Virginians based on where he went on the ridge.
That sounds a lot like what I read. And "why don't they come"...
Again poor decision making by Lee to include many brigades that had been mauled on the 1st like Davis , Archer , Pettigrew , Brokenbrough , Scales , Their is no excuse.
Agreed, Lt Col George Gordon had apparently warned picket that his men had been 'terribly cut up on the 1st and lacked the heart to go in again but regardless of his warnings the brigade was expected to attack. I think there's definitely some truth to the argument that Lee over estimated the ability of his troops to perform well given that they had already taken a beating.
Even though it's a dated book, it's still one of, if not the best, work on the assault.Amazing the things I did not know. Didn't know that there was an author named George Rippey Stewart, who wrote a book called Earth Abides and also...drum roll please... a book on Pickett's Charge
Bringing the