Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Iuka, Corinth, Shiloh, New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, all early Union victories.
And his decision didn’t save both the north and the south??
No. The scattered soldiers would have been in Virginia and North Carolina. They would have been forced to live off the local populace, who would have borne the brunt of their depredations.
Or like Sherman’s troopers.
Those were Lee's words, not mine. He knew his men better than you or I did.
Well, give me some source books on the actions of Southerners in the north. Aside from the burning of Chambersburg, I can’t think of anything else.
There are a couple of them, but one of the best is a recent one, "General Lee's Army: From Victory to Collapse" by Joseph Glatthaar. That's a fairly recent look at the Army of Northern Virginia, especially intersting in that he spends comparatively little time discussing battles but instead concentrates on organization, leaders, weapons, training, discipline, support, and what have you. Among other things, Glatthaar deals with the actions of Lee's soldiers towards civilians, both North and South.
“General Lee’s Army: From Victory to Collapse” by Joseph Glatthaar. “
Thanks. I WILL check it out.
The victories you mentioned, I believe were all in the west under Grant. Union performance in the East was miserable until Grant took over. But they WERE early victories.