[Plymouth Sentinel]

My understanding is that Pickett was sought by commanders/ subordinates on that day and was nowhere to be found. It's been suggested that he hid or cowered behind that house that still sits smack in the middle of the open fields his men traversed.

I have heard he fumbled or disappeared later too. Five Forks? If I recall, I read the story in a bio of AP Hill or Winfield Hancock.

The best of the stories is Armistead/Hancock. Although Francis Barlow and John Gordon's exchanges and later friendship are a great tale.

[Valin]

The best of the stories is Armistead/Hancock

It's been years since I first heard this story, a couple of weeks ago I weas telling a guy I work with the tale...I still get a lump in my throat.

[Colt .45]

Quite incorrect. Pickett was exactly where he needed to be for a Corps Commander. He was in a position where he could get the best view of the whole field where the action was taking place. No cowardice in that, as that was a proper tactical spot for the Corps Commander, all his battle orders would've had to have been run by a messenger.

Interestingly enough, the reason for the failure of the "charge" is a farmers fence that the Confederate troops had to climb over. They were under strict orders not to destroy any private property, hence they could not tear the fence down. That being said, the troops had to climb over it which left them stationary and exposed to double canister rounds from Yankee cannon. None can fault the courage of the South that day, and they did manage to make it all the way to the center of the Yankee lines, but by the time they got there, the mortal damage had already been done. Too many troops were lost climbing the fence to successfully carry the center of the Union line. The fence would be called the Murphy's Law of that battle. For had Lee succeeded in breaking the Union center, he would've carried the battle and won the South's bid for independence.