Richard Ewell is the blame
Ewell falling yet again on his poorly done amputated leg below the knee stump that afternoon prob’ly didn’t help any, but what is not usually mentioned is this.
At that moment in time the Union Twelfth Corps, 3,700 men and twelve Napoleon cannons surprised the Confederates from high ground on Ewell’s immediate left flank and commenced a cannonade. Ewell got a report in the fading light that this was “a large force of the enemy”, infantry, artillery and cavalry.
Ewell was compelled to order Gordon and his brigade in that direction to screen his flank, a job that should have been the job of the absent cavalry. That Union Twelfth Corps was shortly thereafter ordered to retire so no attack materialized, Ewell had no way of knowing that.
Available to Ewell at that point we’re just two under strength brigades weary from the day’s activities. He requested support from Anderson’s whole Division sitting idle within sight but Lee declined. Anderson’s Division could see the situation and were anxious to attack, no order from Lee came, they went into bivouac on Herr’s Ridge.
Apparently Lee himself, going into battle blind, chose to keep Anderson in reserve.
This from the source I linked. The author’s point out that Jackson himself had declined to press an attack at Fredericksburg because of a similar flanking force of Union artillery.
So would Jackson have taken that Hill? Who knows.
