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Joined: Aug 2002
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Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,905 Likes: 2 |
Hard to know what a Confederate victory at Gettysburg would or would not have done, certainly the psychological effects in the North could have been considerable. For me the significance of the links I posted were that I had not been aware of the extent to which Lee himself was inhibited from acting boldly on Day 1 by his lack of knowledge about the disposition of the Union Army, the biggest "what if" maybe being what if Stuart had been available and Lee had known where the Army of the Potomac wad all along. Most of us have probably read the book "Lost Triumph, Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why it Failed" https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Triumph-Lees-Gettysburg-Failed/dp/0425207919This is the book that describes in detail the end run that JEB Stuart was to have made around the Union right wing so as to come up against the rear of the Union lines with 2,000 cavalrymen in conjunction with Pickett's Charge, Stuart's attempt being shattered by Custer in his greatest single moment at the head of just 500 mounted Michigan Wolverines. A greater point raised by the book however is that popular belief has it that on Day 3, Lee proposed to break the 80,000+ man Union Army by attacking with only 12,000 men under Pickett on a day when he still had more than 50,000 Confederate soldiers on hand. Perhaps Hill's and Longstreet's failure to apply sufficient pressure to the right and left wings of the Union line that day was the lack of cooperation between the two Generals that Lee himself identified as a major cause of his defeat.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 31,619 Likes: 4
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 31,619 Likes: 4 |
IMHO the question that needs to be asked is just what the Hell Lee was going to do if he either laid siege to Washington, or captured it??? I mean other than pizz off a whole bunch of Yankees a second time??? Really?? How the hell was he going to maintain any of this with a bag of cornmeal and 5 pounds of powder?
Was Davis so stupid to think just Lee’s being there was going to strike fear into an army with an over abundance of both men and material??? Yeah, they’ll finally set down and talk terms with us!!! Really??? Lincoln barely won the election of 1864 as it was. If in 1863 a southern army had been able to traverse Union territory at will, laying siege to Washington, disrupting commerce, and then going home or staying as it saw fit, Lincoln might not have even made it to the election. Possibly so. Who knows? I still continue to see it as a confederate boondoggle. But stuff do happen!!! 😊. I just never was impressed with anything Davis ever did as a Sec of War or as. Prez. (Maynard tap primer included).
Founder
Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison?
And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools,
Being native burghers of this desert city,
Should in their own confines with forked heads
Have their round haunches gored."
WS
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,905 Likes: 2
Campfire 'Bwana
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OP
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 37,905 Likes: 2 |
I just never was impressed with anything Davis ever did as a Sec of War or as. Prez. (Maynard tap primer included). Hey, the camels thing had merit, maybe they were just too ugly to catch on is all.
"...if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we would take great care in their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them." Canasatego 1744
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 31,619 Likes: 4
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 31,619 Likes: 4 |
HAUMPS! LOL! It’s kinda embarrassing that didn’t work out! I concur it had merit.
Founder
Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison?
And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools,
Being native burghers of this desert city,
Should in their own confines with forked heads
Have their round haunches gored."
WS
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,811
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 20,811 |
Question for those who know the answer:
After Gettysburg, did Lee ever again resort to a massed frontal assault on a fortified Union position?
laissez les bons temps rouler
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,620
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,620 |
Hard to know what a Confederate victory at Gettysburg would or would not have done, certainly the psychological effects in the North could have been considerable. For me the significance of the links I posted were that I had not been aware of the extent to which Lee himself was inhibited from acting boldly on Day 1 by his lack of knowledge about the disposition of the Union Army, the biggest "what if" maybe being what if Stuart had been available and Lee had known where the Army of the Potomac wad all along. Most of us have probably read the book "Lost Triumph, Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why it Failed" https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Triumph-Lees-Gettysburg-Failed/dp/0425207919This is the book that describes in detail the end run that JEB Stuart was to have made around the Union right wing so as to come up against the rear of the Union lines with 2,000 cavalrymen in conjunction with Pickett's Charge, Stuart's attempt being shattered by Custer in his greatest single moment at the head of just 500 mounted Michigan Wolverines. A greater point raised by the book however is that popular belief has it that on Day 3, Lee proposed to break the 80,000+ man Union Army by attacking with only 12,000 men under Pickett on a day when he still had more than 50,000 Confederate soldiers on hand. Perhaps Hill's and Longstreet's failure to apply sufficient pressure to the right and left wings of the Union line that day was the lack of cooperation between the two Generals that Lee himself identified as a major cause of his defeat. Even if Stuart had succeeded in attacking the Union rear, he would have run into an entire reserve corps...
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 8,752 Likes: 1
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 8,752 Likes: 1 |
Two of the best books ever written (IMO) as far as Gettysburg were both written by Glenn Tucker around the centennial of the war. High Tide At Gettysburg, and the Follow up, Lee And Longstreet At Gettysburg. I got mine back in the 90s from Morningside Books, but Amazon has them in the link posted above. 7mm
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 11,286 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 11,286 Likes: 2 |
Question for those who know the answer:
After Gettysburg, did Lee ever again resort to a massed frontal assault on a fortified Union position? Send a pm to hillbillybear. He can tell you.
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