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To: Old Teufel Hunden
This was exactly what I was thinking about when I talked about winning by guile and deception.

The frontal assault at Chancellorsville was accompanied by a flanking movement from Jackson.

The frontal assault at Gettysburg was intended to be accompanied by a flanking attack by Hampton and Stuart.

There was "guile and deception" at Gettysburg too. It was unsuccessful.

You called me out for being vague then you come back with a vague answer. That's funny.

It's not vague at all. Grant's strategy was quite specific: destroy the ANV.

However, his bloody strategy in the end was combined with the fact that the south ran out of supplies to fight with. Lee could not get re-supplied and was outmanuevered and surrounded.

Lee began Grant's Overland campaign with 65,00 men.

28,000 men surrendered at Appomattox Court House.

If Lee had been supplied in time and lived to fight another day, Grant would have pounded him again and made the ANV smaller again.

Lee running out of supplies was a good break for Grant, but if it hadn't worked out, Grant would have continued to pursue his strategy: destroy the ANV.

Which goal would have achieved that more, you tell me? Defeating Meade's army or sacking Washington or Pittsburgh.

Defeating Meade's army, which may have forced an evacuation of Washington.

Even then, I see no scenario under which the South would have won the war.

16 posted on 07/08/2013 7:18:35 AM PDT by wideawake
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To: wideawake
"Even then, I see no scenario under which the South would have won the war."

Again, thanks for making my point. Defeating Meade at Gettysburg would not have furthered the South's goals of winning the war. However, depriving the North's ability to fight (i.e. sacking their means of making artillery pieces by destroying 90% of their artillery making ability in Pittsburgh) would have been fruitful towards that goal.
19 posted on 07/08/2013 7:33:20 AM PDT by Old Teufel Hunden
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