There have been plenty of efforts during the ensuing 142 years to shift blame for the day three disaster onto others, including (and most recently) JEB Stuart; but Lee did indeed take on the blame, which was his, and should at least be taken at his word. The disaster was indeed all his fault.
Meade's strategy was to dig in and counterpunch, and that worked very well. Lee had a very good matchup of forces with Meade, and (other than Sickels' foolish insubordination) was unable to make any headway with frontal assaults.
When Grant assumed supreme command, he kept Meade right where he was, despite ongoing efforts to remove him (by a senator from Michigan in particular) and also despite Meade's failure to attack (on day four) or pursue Lee (during his flight from the north).
Meade's also known for having humiliated a reporter from The Philadelphia Inquirer by making him walk around with a sandwich board regarding a story he'd written and seen published. I ask you, what is wrong with that? ;')
Well put post.
The battle of Gettysburg was, like many battles, a series of what-ifs.
What if Ewell had captured Culp's Hill on the 1st day?
What if the 20th Maine and 1st Minnesota had not been where they were on the 2nd day of the battle?
Someday I look forward to seeing Gettysburg. With the exception of a few small state battlefield parks, I have seen almost every Civil War battlefield - except for Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge...and Gettysburg. Been working on it on and off since 1990.