Posted on 07/03/2010 5:16:46 AM PDT by mainepatsfan
July 3rd, 1863
Pickett leads his infamous charge at Gettysburg
Troops under Confederate General George Pickett begin a massive attack against the center of the Union lines at Gettysburg on the climactic third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the largest engagement of the war. General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia encountered George Meade's Army of the Potomac in Pennsylvania and battered the Yankees for two days. The day before Pickett's charge, the Confederates had hammered each flank of the Union line but could not break through.
Now, on July 3, Lee decided to attack the Union center, stationed on Cemetery Ridge, after making another unsuccessful attempt on the Union right flank at Culp's Hill in the morning. The majority of the force consisted of Pickett's division, but there were other units represented among the 15,000 attackers.
(Excerpt) Read more at history.com ...
I don’t recall if he had Spencer’s then, but I’ll bet he wished the 7th Cav had them at LBH 13 years later...
regards,
Union Troll
"I've always thought the Yankees had something to do with it."
--Major General George E. Pickett, quoted after the war.
The 18th NC Infantry was as responsible for the defeat as either Lee or Stuart, IMO.
Good movie. I just watched it again last night.
The Civil War in 4 Minutes
I think the plan was to head southeast and march on Wash DC - any idea of some other plan?
Sucession and we wouldn’t be living under Obamas iron fist now.
My father’s name is Wade Hampton, after the famous Lt Gen from SC, who, it is rumored, didn’t like Stuart too much...
Hampton’s is a great story and I highly recommend “war of northern aggression” students read about him - he’s a god in SC...and Sherman DID burn down Columbia, SC and Hampton’s home because of Hampton...though he said it was not the case...never trusted Sherman...
Way to go! I agree!
Lee could expend his resources at Gettysburg or he could expend his resources in DC, but he couldn’t do both.
Gettysburg was a diversion - it wasn’t supposed to happen and not part of any plan. What compelled Lee to suspend his plan and gamble his resources on such a whim?
The Civil War, or The Northern Invasion, or The War Between the States, or the War of Secession, or The Rebellion, is now and forevermore, all about Slavery.
This is a horrible twist of history, because it now and forever conflates States' Rights, with Negro Slavery. In other words, to be for States' Rights is to be a racist, not a "Constitutionalist."
We are now paying the price. It's all Federal now, with the states struggling for their constitutional rights.
Then why did the north fight to hold on to the south? Why didn’t they just let them succeed? Don’t tell me it was to free the slaves. It was about sucession.
20th Maine Chrging down Little Round Top
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYDhAmjmxYk
BAYONETS!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’d be careful with anything I watched on the History Channel...notorious for PCing up history...a real shame...
Many variables involved including how thorough the defeat was. His initial plan, as I understand it, was to obtain war supplies from northern garrisons. The army could have easily lived off the land in the summer. The smart move would be to obtain the supplies or destroy DC. A destruction of DC likely would have ended the war as it probably would have ended the north’s will to fight.
The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution without being able to see into the future but they just knew. I guess the southern people just knew what was coming in the future from the federal government, too.
The South could have easily won the war. The only thing necessary was to end the north’s will to fight, just like Vietnam.
And I think the big plan the south had, knowing they didn’t have a manufacturing base from which to draw, was to get the Brits to support them in that...there was a good “working relationship” from the cotton exports to the mills in Britain before the war so they thought if it looked good on the reb side (battle wins), the brits would get in financially, etc despite the blockade...but the south stumbled some, the brits found Egyptain cotton and Prince Albert (while dying of typhus) convinced the PM not to get involved ...I think I got that right...anyone else have an idea?
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