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To: Non-Sequitur

If Jackson I had lived, the ANV would probably have been still had just 2 corps. Ewell was sent to Pennsylvania first to see if there were enough supplies to sustain the army. Once that was determined, he was sent to Harrisburg. Would Lee have still done that? If so, would the faster moving Jackson had reached the city before the Union army crossed the Potomac?


19 posted on 12/01/2010 10:05:30 AM PST by carton253 (Ask me about The Stainless Banner - a free e-zine dedicated to the armies of the Confederacy.)
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To: carton253
If Jackson I had lived, the ANV would probably have been still had just 2 corps.

I disagree. It's been well documented that Lee was unhappy with the current organization. He knew that each corps was too large for a single man to command effectively and having only two corps hampered him tactically. The reorganization was in the works, Chancellorsville or no Chancellorsville. And as the senior officer, Ewell would have gotten the new corps over Hill.

Ewell was sent to Pennsylvania first to see if there were enough supplies to sustain the army.

Ewell may have led the army into Pennsylvania, but the whole command was headed to Pennsylvania regardless of what he found. The question was never whether Pennsylvania could support the rebel army. It could; that was the whole point of going in the first place. That and to keep Davis from spliting the army up and sending part in a fruitless attempt at saving Vicksburg. The army was sent in various directions in order to facilitate the foraging for food and supplies useful to the army.

26 posted on 12/01/2010 10:20:10 AM PST by Non-Sequitur
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