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- Mar 3, 2020
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I must say, I enjoy your posts. You always seem to mention Longstreet, so he must be your favorite CW general lol.His normal pattern was to talk Lee out of fighting there, as he always does.
I must say, I enjoy your posts. You always seem to mention Longstreet, so he must be your favorite CW general lol.His normal pattern was to talk Lee out of fighting there, as he always does.
Gordon was good. Barry Benson was in the Old Capital Prison when Early reached Washington in 1864. Benton heard the guns and said Oh how he wished it was Jackson or Gordon instead of Early.
I agree 100%Barry Benson's was a good book. The best memoir I've read from the Civil War.
If one would look at the battle lines at Spotsylvania, there is resemblance of the inverted “V” which was used at North Anna. General Lee designed it that way so as to move men around to hotspots on the battlefield.Two of my favorites, Spotsylvania and Longstreet. Knowing that Longstreet preferred the defensive to the offensive, I think that Longstreet would not have allowed the establishment of the "Mule Shoe". Knowing it's creation would exposure his line to flanking fire and that the shoe created multiple fronts, he would have recommended Ewell extend his line across the base of the shoe to Early's position.
You have to give credit where credit is due... when looking at Spotsylvania and Petersburg, you have to wonder how soon the Confederate lines would have collapsed if another commander was in charge. Lee's defensive movements during those campaigns kept Grant at bay longer than most generals would have. I often think that it's Spotsylvania and Petersburg where Lee shines as a commander... although by then his army was on borrowed time. Still impressive nonetheless.If one would look at the battle lines at Spotsylvania, there is resemblance of the inverted “V” which was used at North Anna. General Lee designed it that way so as to move men around to hotspots on the battlefield.
Yep, and I think he lost 2 good generals at Spotsylvania. Yuell and Johnson.You have to give credit where credit is due... when looking at Spotsylvania and Petersburg, you have to wonder how soon the Confederate lines would have collapsed if another commander was in charge. Lee's defensive movements during those campaigns kept Grant at bay longer than most generals would have. I often think that it's Spotsylvania and Petersburg where Lee shines as a commander... although by then his army was on borrowed time. Still impressive nonetheless.
Everyone has heard the famous question: "What if Jackson was at Gettysburg?" But would the presence of Longstreet at Spotsylvania have changed anything? He personally knew Grant very well, could that have assisted Lee in making certain command decisions? Would Longstreet's knowledge of defensive warfare had made a difference in this campaign?
Upon Longstreet being wounded at the Wilderness on May 6th 1864, command of the 1st corps was given to General Richard H. Anderson (pictured below). Anderson would command Longstreet's corps throughout the Spotsylvania campaign.
View attachment 402332
-Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.-
Well said. I think a lot of "Longstreet was a defensive general" comes from his great defensive position at Fredericksburg, and his recommendation to Lee to fight a defensive campaign on Northern soil, especially regarding Gettysburg.I don’t understand the “Longstreet was a defensive General” tripe. When I think of Longstreet, I think of the three most devastating and successful Confederate attacks of the entire war... Second Manassas, day 2 Gettysburg, and Chickamauga.