[ericthecurdog]

Lee was a student (self taught...) and admirer of Napoleonic strategy and tactics. These lessons, reinforced by success in Mexico, had not been sufficiently beaten out of him by the time of Gettysburg.

Just my theory... I bounced it off of a colleague (the Dean for Research at SIU-C and a man with a Ph.D. in history) and was met with a resounding "EXACTLY RIGHT!!"

[Modernman]

Lee was a student (self taught...) and admirer of Napoleonic strategy and tactics. These lessons, reinforced by success in Mexico, had not been sufficiently beaten out of him by the time of Gettysburg.

Lee was one of the greatest Napoleanic generals. Unfortunately for him and the South, the Civil War was the first modern war. Napoleanic tactics had become obsolete.