[Non-Sequitur]

Psst. Using the extremes of your own numbers, 90K to 35K....gee, sure looks close to 3 -1 to me....(chuckle)

Using the other extreme 80,000 to 50,000 isn't even two to one...(snicker)

[Badeye]

Psst. Using the extremes of your own numbers, 90K to 35K....gee, sure looks close to 3 -1 to me....(chuckle)
Using the other extreme 80,000 to 50,000 isn’t even two to one...(snicker)

Great. Ping me when YOU make up your mind.

I already know the data involved, intimately.

[StoneWall Brigade]

http://www.stonewallbrigade.com/afterthebattle07.htm

Here NS I thought you might want to check this out seems like a great event to be held at Fredericksburg this fall

[joebuck]

There's a very interesting book which just came out called "Enough Blame to go Around" which examines in detail Jeb Stuarts actions during Gettysburg and who was to blame for Jeb's disappearance during the one of the most important battles of the war. Lee does not come out well which I expected given the vague open ended orders he gave Jeb at the begining of the campaign. This points to a major defect in Lee's generalship - a poor staff and an inablility to communicate clear orders to subordinates. Combine this with Lee's tendency to delegate enormous responsibility to his Corps commanders in a battle and it was often a reciepe for disaster. Conversely, it was said of Grant by his generals after the war that it was impossible to read on of his orders and not know exactly what he wanted you to do.

We see this failure of Lee again during the first day of Gettysburg. His order to Ewell to take cemetary hill "if practicable" was inexcusable. Lee had plenty of intelligence at that point to make the call instead of passing the buck. One cannot concieve of Grant ever telling one of his commanders in the heat of battle to accomplish an objective "if practicable".