I agree that history has not been kind to Robert E. Lee's decision-making at Gettysburg. The battle is often reported as the "high water mark" of the confederacy, but in truth the Civil War was lost at Shiloh, not Gettysburg. I think Lee understood this, and gambled that a victory on the northern front would force the Union to refocus its energies away from the Mississippi, and possibly bring much needed help from potential European allies. It was, in his mind, the South's only hope to win the war. I think he knew the odds of winning were remote, but given the situation in the west, the war was going to be lost one way or the other. He rolled the dice and lost.
That's the long term view. The short-term view is much murkier. Lee had almost no strategic advantage that particular morning. In light of the artillery on Little Round Top and the Union soldiers barricaded behind stone walls on higher ground, Pickett's charge was no less than a suicide mission. Lee should have maneuvered to another battlefield before confronting the Union. He had a clear path to Washington. Had he proceeded in that direction he may well have found a field in which his army could occupy the high ground and force the attack to come at him.
I would disagree only to the extent that I believe the war was lost for the South at Vicksburg, which surrendered one day after Pickett's defeat.
Interesting post - thanks all. We'll be visiting Gettysburg in just a few weeks.
I agree that history has not been kind to Robert E. Lee's decision-making at Gettysburg. The battle is often reported as the "high water mark" of the confederacy, but in truth the Civil War was lost at Shiloh, not Gettysburg. I think Lee understood this, and gambled that a victory on the northern front would force the Union to refocus its energies away from the Mississippi, and possibly bring much needed help from potential European allies. It was, in his mind, the South's only hope to win the war. I think he knew the odds of winning were remote, but given the situation in the west, the war was going to be lost one way or the other. He rolled the dice and lost.
That's the long term view. The short-term view is much murkier. Lee had almost no strategic advantage that particular morning. In light of the artillery on Little Round Top and the Union soldiers barricaded behind stone walls on higher ground, Pickett's charge was no less than a suicide mission. Lee should have maneuvered to another battlefield before confronting the Union. He had a clear path to Washington. Had he proceeded in that direction he may well have found a field in which his army could occupy the high ground and force the attack to come at him.
I believe that the Battle of Pea Ridge was the game changer.
I walked that ground one day for my son's Boy Scout hiking requirement. It was saddening to think of the lives lost there...
I have been there as well. And to Shiloh, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Tupelo, and Wilson's Creek as well. They all bring me to tears over what was lost during that time.
I have been to Antietam, Gettysburg and Appomattox. Fredericksburg is next on my list. I think the sunken road at Antietam is the most startling place I've seen. What a slaughter.
If it's worse than what happened at Shiloh I don't think I could take it.
I haven't been to Shiloh, but here is what happened at the sunken road. The place is still there and looking down it, imagining all that carnage and how they were just sitting ducks in that spot... well, it really brings it home.
http://history1800s.about.com/od/civilwar/ss/The-Battle-Of-Antietam_3.htm (http://history1800s.about.com/od/civilwar/ss/The-Battle-Of-Antietam_3.htm)
I haven't been to Shiloh, but here is what happened at the sunken road. The place is still there and looking down it, imagining all that carnage and how they were just sitting ducks in that spot... well, it really brings it home.
http://history1800s.about.com/od/civilwar/ss/The-Battle-Of-Antietam_3.htm (http://history1800s.about.com/od/civilwar/ss/The-Battle-Of-Antietam_3.htm)
I have been to Antietam, Gettysburg and Appomattox. Fredericksburg is next on my list. I think the sunken road at Antietam is the most startling place I've seen. What a slaughter.
I was at Fredericksburg a couple months ago, and the only thing left of the battle site is the stone wall and the sunken road. The city has over run the rest. Don't forget you're only about 9 miles from Chancellorsville which has little to see besides the foundation for the Chancellor house and a ranger station. But the Wilderness basically surrounds it and gives a pretty good image of what happened there.
Thanks. I have heard from some of my reenactor friends that Fredericksburg has less to see than either Antietam or Gettysburg. But I'd like to go anyway. One of the nice things about living in South Central Pennsylvania is the access to so many historical places. Not just Civil War. We are not very far from Valley Forge and Philadelphia.
Valley Forge was an interesting place. Much different than I had pictured it. My son lives in Philly so every time we visit him we visit something historical. Constitution Hall gave me the chills to think I was in the same room where the Constitution was written. And right in front of it, the spot where Lincoln gave a speech on his way to D.C. The Liberty Bell was disappointing, I didn't think the modern building where it is hung added to the mystique at all.