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New map may explain Lee's decisions at Gettysburg
Yahoo News ^ | June 29,2013 | Michael Rubinkam

Posted on 06/29/2013 6:49:03 AM PDT by Michael.SF.

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They spent all this time and money to confirm what most students of 'Gettysburg' have known for generations:

J.E.B. Stuart dropped the ball.

1 posted on 06/29/2013 6:49:03 AM PDT by Michael.SF.
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To: Michael.SF.

Interactive map:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/A-Cutting-Edge-Second-Look-at-the-Battle-of-Gettysburg.html


2 posted on 06/29/2013 6:53:15 AM PDT by iowamark
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To: iowamark

Bump


3 posted on 06/29/2013 6:53:54 AM PDT by knarf (I say things that are true ... I have no proof, but they're true.)
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To: Michael.SF.

Longstreet was apprised of the importance of little round top by his division commanders on the right and was informed that the Union forces there were out of position and could be overrun. He declined to even look at the ground.


4 posted on 06/29/2013 6:56:48 AM PDT by saganite (What happens to taglines? Is there a termination date?)
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To: Michael.SF.
As I recall Lee himself complained of his lack of information. The study has mild interest in that it attempted to recreate what Lee actually saw. However, I agree with you a waste of time and money.

As an aside I think Longstreet gets a "bum rap" he seems to have been right: Lee should have early on gone around the left flank of the Union army.(Lee's right flank.)

5 posted on 06/29/2013 6:58:56 AM PDT by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
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To: saganite
"Longstreet was apprised of the importance of little round top by his division commanders on the right and was informed that the Union forces there were out of position and could be overrun. He declined to even look at the ground."

My understanding is that Longstreet had advised Lee to take up a defensive position and let the Union beat its own brains out assaulting their position, similar to Fredericksburg, but Lee wanted to assume the offensive.

6 posted on 06/29/2013 7:07:07 AM PDT by Flag_This (Real presidents don't bow.)
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS
To try and pinpoint the reasons for the loss at Gettysburg on a singular issue, is a fools errand, as even without the needed intelligence that Stuart failed to supply, other factors, such as you have pointed out, played into adding up to a resounding defeat.

Even the oft maligned ‘Pickett's Charge’ was a viable plan, one that went awry due to the poor aim of the artillery bombardment which failed to accomplish it's task.

Studies such as this one are usually informative to those whom are relatively uninformed. On the other hand, it does provide updated teaching opportunities to the students, which is probably what the whole point of the study was about (as opposed to adding any real new insight).

7 posted on 06/29/2013 7:10:26 AM PDT by Michael.SF. (Obama lied, Stevens died, now Obama covers up the lies.)
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To: Michael.SF.

Agreed.

The defeat can be laid at the feet of Stuart.

Lee needed his cavalry. Without them he was fighting blind, could not disengage.


8 posted on 06/29/2013 7:11:56 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both)
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To: Flag_This
but Lee wanted to assume the offensive

Which is exactly why he invaded the North.

9 posted on 06/29/2013 7:12:00 AM PDT by Michael.SF. (Obama lied, Stevens died, now Obama covers up the lies.)
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To: Flag_This

Apparently the existence of new fangled computer tools makes analysts incapable of understanding that large bodies of troops in 19th Century military operations created huge clouds of dust while on the march.


10 posted on 06/29/2013 7:13:44 AM PDT by FirstFlaBn
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To: Michael.SF.

I was going to point that out, too...


11 posted on 06/29/2013 7:14:17 AM PDT by matginzac
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To: Michael.SF.
"Which is exactly why he invaded the North. "

Strategy vs. tactics.

12 posted on 06/29/2013 7:16:36 AM PDT by Flag_This (Real presidents don't bow.)
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To: Michael.SF.
other factors, such as you have pointed out, played into adding up to a resounding defeat.

You mean, like not having Stonewall Jackson? I agree, but I still enjoyed going over the map.

13 posted on 06/29/2013 7:35:59 AM PDT by Former Fetus (Saved by grace through faith)
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To: BenLurkin; Michael.SF.
The defeat can be laid at the feet of Stuart.

Stuart still has his fans, some of whom are down on Lee. See, for example, the essay Stuart at Gettysburg.

14 posted on 06/29/2013 7:36:58 AM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: Flag_This

Good point.


15 posted on 06/29/2013 7:40:11 AM PDT by Michael.SF. (Obama lied, Stevens died, now Obama covers up the lies.)
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To: Michael.SF.

An amazing revelation. Before air reconnaissance, commanders were at the mercy of what they could see in line of sight, and what they could gather from intelligence (cavalry and spies). High ground was important, but did not necessarily solve all of the visibility problems. This has been the case since the beginning of warfare. It’s amazing that these scholars spent all of their time reconfirming what any student of military history knows.


16 posted on 06/29/2013 7:41:35 AM PDT by Rocky (Obama is pure evil.)
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To: FirstFlaBn
LOL.

Especially since the temperatures at the time were said to be in the 90's.

17 posted on 06/29/2013 7:41:42 AM PDT by Michael.SF. (Obama lied, Stevens died, now Obama covers up the lies.)
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To: Michael.SF.
Why did the shrewd and canny Lee choose to attack

Because at the time, the Round Tops were virtually undefended, and by capturing them, Lee could have deployed his artillery very effectively against the Union left and pushed them off Cemetery Ridge.

The more puzzling question to me has always been why Meade or Hancock didn't see the strategic importance of the high ground to begin with.

18 posted on 06/29/2013 7:47:33 AM PDT by IronJack (=)
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To: AEMILIUS PAULUS
Longstreet gets a "bum rap" he seems to have been right: Lee should have early on gone around the left flank of the Union army.(Lee's right flank.

Longstreet was right one hell of a lot more than he was wrong. Unfortunately, he always seemed less than enthusiastic in carrying out orders he did not agree with.

IMNVHO, Best general in the Civil War on either side: General George B. Thomas, victim of a PR cabal by Grant, Sherman, Schofield, and their pals in DC, all of whom admitted it long after the war.

He was an all-around guy, a master of logistics, engineering, training, cavalry, artillery, and maneuver on defense and attack. Careful and methodical, he took very good care of his troops and tried to minimize casualties.

Genius, especially when compared to Grant.

19 posted on 06/29/2013 7:56:24 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk ("Obama" The Movie. Introducing Reggie Love as "Monica." .)
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To: Michael.SF.

In the face of uncertainty over the exact position and numbers of Union troops converging on Gettysburg, I have often wondered why General Lee didn’t simply refuse the battle there and establish himself on terrain nearby more suitable to defense. Since he would still remain, in the Liddell Hart formulation, strategically offensive, the Union commander would be compelled to attack him to dislodge the Confederate Army from Union territory. But now Lee would be tactically defensive and the 3 to 1 offense to defense ratio would favor him and not Meade.


20 posted on 06/29/2013 7:58:52 AM PDT by Captain Rhino (Determined effort Today forges Tomorrow)
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