Gettysburg, 1st Day - Collapse of the Union line 

Love General Longstreet saying to Lee, "not retreat Sir , redeploy! " Clever

I think this was crucial, Longstreet wanted to fight a defensive battle in order to keep the Army intact. He wanted to redeploy the Army because he knew eventually Washington would press Meade into committing to the attack. Lee's mistake I believe was he contracted what the Japanese later called, "the victory disease". He became too accustomed to risk taking and succeeding, and he expected the Federal positions to break under his attacks, and when those positions stubbornly refused to break it cost him and his Army dearly.

I notice the way Lee is portrayed in this movie, after he criticizes or disagrees with someone, he then follows it up with a compliment about something the person did right. It is a good way to rebuke someone by making that person still feel valued.

"Do you understand what I mean?' Best line in the movie. Because Lee was used to Stonewall who would know what he meant but not Ewell and most of the people debating the battle for the next 150 years.

"Take that hill, if practicable." This moment indirectly highlighted how indispensable Thomas Jackson was to the Army of Northern Virginia and Lee, and how Ewell replacing Jackson as corps commander was no patch for the loss of Jackson. Ewell didn't deem it 'practicable.' It was late in the day, and his men had marched a long way, so he did nothing. The Army of the Potomac subsequently acquired the high ground for the rest of the battle. Obviously, this was crucial to its victory. Jackson, in contrast, was notorious for his avaricious eye for good ground and his willingness to march his troops to exhaustion to obtain it. Had Jackson been commanding that corp, he'd have taken those hills, guaranteed. And then US history, and perhaps world history with it, goes in a very different direction. A pivotal action by Jackson, often of his own initiative, was behind nearly every great victory by the Confederacy in the Eastern Theater between '61-'63. After Jackson was mortally wounded, Lee's apparent good luck on the battlefield permanently soured. It begs the question of which general was truly the most crucial to the Confederate cause.

Lee always referred to Unions forces as "those people" and it is accurately part of the script here.

Longstreet's advice was more than solid - Lee had fallen into the classic trap of letting his enemy pick where the fight was going to happen. He didn't know the terrain well enough, and he certainly didn't have enough information on where his enemy was and how many of them there were. If they'd fallen back as Longstreet advocated, they could have chosen where and when they made contact with the enemy and used their forces more efficiently. It's entirely plausible that an engagement further south - perhaps even south of the Maryland border, if they could escape from Meade for that long - would have gone in their favor, or at least more so than the disastrous last day at Gettysburg.

Every year I revisit this movie on the anniversary. This year it’s 158. As a kid I grew up going to and passing through Gettysburg often as I’m from the south central region of the state. Gettysburg has always given me the eeriest feeling, the constant feeling of being watched, the feeling of knowing thousands of men fell there and I walk in those very same places, the energy I feel touching the rocks in Devil’s Den, or overlooking the field from up on top of Little Round Top. Walking past Jenny Wade’s house, hearing the stories of surgeons haunting the basement of the Seminary. Even as a grown adult, the place is quite literally “hauntingly beautiful”. I’m thankful I live so close by, and never realized until I was older that it was such a tourist attraction.

“Take the hill if practicable.” Yeah, that’ll go well for you.

I am a Black American and very interested in the battles of the Civil War. While I am glad the south lost because of the issue of slavery. I can't help but admire the tenacity of both sides. I always root for the underdog but I admire the leaders on both sides.

Lee had two problems at Gettysburg. First, he was used to Jackson handling the details of his attacks, and was unused to doing it himself. He may have been rusty. Second, he had many officers newly promoted. They require more precise orders than he was used to giving. With Jackson and longstreet, all he had to do was tell them what he wanted done, and they could take it from there. new officers can't always do that.

"I ordered firing on that hill but they are no firing kindly send out why" lol so kind general lee

This is a such a great battle film. Fun to leave playing on repeat all day long while you do small chores, or ya know, paint military minatures. :)

Gettysburg gets most of the attention due to being an eastern battle near the major cities of the east coast with many "embedded" reporters from major newspapers, but at the same time as this battle something happened several hundred miles west of Gettysburg that was even more devastating to the Confederacy. The Battle of Gettysburg was July 1 - 3, 1863, but the next day, July 4th, 1863, Vicksburg finally surrendered to Union forces under General Grant. The last link in the chain was complete, the Union controlled the entire length of the Mississippi for the first time in the war, and the confederacy was forever split in two.

Fantastic movie, this. Thanks to Gettysburg reenactors, the producers were able to fill the field with what believably looked like a whole army.

"if practical" 2 words that prly haunted general lee til' he died

Longstreet was correct in his observation - Had the Confederate Army marched on Washington, Mead would have been forced to follow and then, the Confederate Army could have turned and met them on ground of their own choosing - ground much better than Gettysburg.

A most interesting discussion that impacted the battle, changed the strategy and ultimately turned the war.

Lee, having 75,000 troops under his command of the Army of Northern Virginia, knew that this was the one and only opportunity to destroy his foe, the Army of the Potomac with 90,000 troops. Tragically, Lee felt it was his duty to fight his battle after the initial engagement with the Federal forces. Longstreet knew the predicament. Better to fight a defensive battle forcing the Federals to lose men at a higher ratio than the Confederates. While total losses were fairly equal in numbers, for the Confederates, it was a full third of their army. For the Federals, only a quarter. Lee would never have an army this size ever again. Not two years later he would surrender a force of 28,000 troops to Grant's army of 114,000.

Longstreet is indeed generally regarded as one of the best generals of the Confederacy. The Lost Cause movement tried to shift the blame for the loss at Gettysburg from Lee to Longstreet... I'm not saying Longstreet's performance in the battle was flawless, but the "dawn assault theory" for the second day and all the rest have been found quite baseless.

I think Lee should have taken Longstreet's advice

But the point is that Grant DID know the advantages he had and used them to end the war in 11 months where other commanders had failed. Every time his army inflicted casualties it was a victory in this modern war that he understood had arrived. Like all Genls. he made mistakes. But he also showed real brilliance at Vicksburg that belies the "Grant was just hammer" concept. The fact is Grant knew how to beat Lee. And he did. And he was NEVER intimidated. I love the man for that alone.

The American Civil War is one of the most gruesome, courageous, heroic story I have even known in my life. Very well documented and the men whether they are in the Union or Confederate are very brave people.

Thank you. Excellent portrayal of Lee and Longstreet. It's a wonder how much things may have been different if Stonewall Jackson were still alive.

Lee suffered from illness that day, and was confined to his tent most of the day. That is why he was always late to learn of the situation, and late to act on momentary weakness.

"We pushed two corps, but there are five more comin." There's also a scene from earlier that day that has Longstreet telling General Hood that "they counted five corps, including the two we engaged today."

Longstreet appeared to be the only Confederate with any common sense at Gettysburg.

Often overlooked is the charge of the 1st Minnesota in the Battle of Gettysburg...5 minutes, and the history of a nation.

longstreet was right, they should have headed to Washington instead.

MY grandmother's grandfather fought July 1 1863 151st Regiment company H when he was 28. He got shot and died Jan 1864 from his wounds. . His name is on the PA Monument in Gettysburg. George Spangler lived near East Berlin and Dover PA , not far from Gettysburg and his son John (my great grandfather was only 2 when his dad died. I dont live far from Gettysburg and go there often. I watch this move often as I sent for the complete set It is a lovely area

The record shows that in fact Meade, being new to command and still getting used to the position, prefered to defend rather than attack and was drawing up a defensive plan at Pipe Creek when the battle broke out. Maybe Meade would have felt compelled to attack because of pressure from Washington but not out his own desire to close with the Rebs.

I wasn't there in the 1860s but I just think these two are spot on in their enactments of Longstreet and Lee. Excellent acting!

I always wondered.....If Stonewall Jackson had not died and was at Gettysburg. Would the CSA have won?

Lee's ego doomed his army. Should've listened to everything Longstreet said.

Longstreet will always be my favorite of the Confederate generals since he knew they didn't have the numbers to be throwing away lives needlessly in charges up hills and across open fields.

"If practicable." But what the movie left out was he didn't want Ewell to get into a general engagement to take them either which he so said to Ewell.

History is lucky Lee didn't listen to Longstreet here.

Longstreet had the soundness of mind to see the strategic outcome. To see they could win the offensive by a defensive action. Its a very difficult thing, to ask of men who won the entire day and gained ground to at time give up said ground for better ground in order to achieve the desired battlefield victory. This very factor is still a learning thing in Westpoint. To force the situation at hand to provide the room to manouvre to gain the strategic innitiative by local succeses.

"Take that hill if practicable... do you understand what I mean?" if practicable... those 2 words sealed the fate of the confederacy

'If practicable' ... two words that many argue cost the Army of Northern Virginia the battle. If Lee had firmly ordered Ewell to attack they could have taken the heights on the first day.

Let's give credit where credit is due to. As pickett himself said when asked why his attack failed: "I think the Union army had something to do with it." The Yankees fought magnificently that battle (except the 11th corps). The Iron Brigade, 20th Maine, 1st Minnesota, to name a few. Hanock was superb in the field and Meade conducted the battle as well as Lee did Antietam. Meade against all expectations completely outgeneralled Lee. And that, in the end, made the difference.

Whats interesting to note is on day 1 of the battle Lee understood the importance of taking the hills beyond Gettysburg, namely Culps Hill, before the federals did. Buford did predict however that Lee would beat them there but we don't actually know if he said that or not. If Jackson were alive he would of taken the hill or at least attempted too, Ewell didn't even try.

Attacking early was the key to success, when the orders were given both Little Round Top and Round Top were unoccupied... and they stayed unoccupied as late as 2pm, when the first Union troops started to arrive. If Longstreet would have taken his objectives earlier, Pickett would have been able to reinforce him later in the day; so no need to include him in the initial assault.

Longstreet's suggestion to move around the Union right only makes sense if the AoNV had driven the Union forces off Cemetery Hill and forced them to retreat to Meade's Pipe Creek Line. Then the AoNV could have come barrelling down the Emmittsburg Rd. to Emmitsburg and turned the Union line, enabling the AoNV to get to Frederick and occupy a line on the Monocacy River. Then Lee could wait and see if Meade attacked, which he would not necessarily have to since he was between Lee and DC. Since the AoNV did not drive the AoP off of Cemetery Hill on the first day, Lee would have had to use the Fairfield Rd. and Chambersburg Pike to get to Hagerstown and then cross South Mountain to get to Frederick since the Emmitsburg Rd. was controlled by the Union position. The AoP would have the inside track since it controlled the Taneytown Rd. and Baltimore Pike, and could get into a blocking position before the AoNV could get between him and DC. There is no magical position that the AoNV could have occupied between Meade and DC, forcing Meade to attack. One only has to study a map and apply military logic to see that Lee was correct in ignoring Longstreet's suggestion, moving the army in the face of the enemy was not practical.

Interesting about Longstreet v Lee. Both agreed that the Army of Northern Virginia should take the strategic offensive. Where they differed was tactics. Lee advocated the tactical offensive, and the Army lost 30 to 40 percent in a series of battles that will live forever in the annals of military history. Longstreet advocated the tactical defensive but Lee thought that the morale of the army required that it attack. The only time Longstreet's method was adopted was at Fredricksburg.

Lee was always too kind. Soft orders like tell Ewell to take the hill of "practical". Jackson would have already been up there. Lee benefited the first few years from Jacksons natural aggressiveness. Ewell was great at taking orders but poor at following suggestions. This cost them the battle. The federals would have left the field that night. -Just my 2 cents. This is the day the confederacy lost the war, not two days later at Pickett's charge.

"Take that hill if practicable..." Maybe the battle and the war would have turned out differently if he had said to take that hill at all costs.

2 things... if Stonewall had livd to lead & fight at Gettysburg then he would've taken Culp's Hill whereas Gen Ewell mistook Lee's "if practical" and decided to rest his men instead of taking the strategic hill that would've secured a Confederate victory! #2... if Lee had listened to Longstreet here and quickly relocated/displaced to DC, he would've forced Lincoln to negotiate as DC would be virtually defenseless against the CSA attack... Deo vindice!

I just keep thinking how hot their outfits must have been for July. Even as far north as Pennsylvania it was probably high 80's, low 90's. They're wearing gloves too, that had to be suffocating.

I agree with you completely. people forget that the Union army was grievously wounded as well having lost roughly 23,000 men in three days of heavy fighting. And Meade was still new to command and was physically/emotionally exhausted. Longstreet would have welcomed a counter-attack. Like I have said. It is easy for people to judge from the anticeptic atmosphere of time and distance. We were not there that day. Meade was a pro who knew his business. I give him the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe we should not have fought here.

Losing Jackson at Chancellorsville, in May, sealed the Rebs fate. Ewell, was the Souths version of Burnside, on a good day.

Shelby Foote said it best: "Lee took long chances because he had to. If Grant was in Lee's pocition he probably would have taken long chances too." Grant was a truly modern general. In a way the contract between the two is allegorical. Lee is old school Napoleanic fields and squares...Grant new school total war. Grant knew it was a war of economies as much as armies. Both excelled with what they were given. And the fact is Grant kept Lee on the defensive always. He "got it"

Grant: it’s over Lee I have the high ground! Lee: you under estimate the power of my forces.

@massivivid James Longstreet understood quite well the power of the rifled musket and artillery in the hands of determined troops. His ideal battle was Fredericksburg where, safe behind sturdy cover, his men could open up on massed ranks of the enemy and decimate them. At Gettysburg he said to Fremantle that in many ways he thought the Union position was even better than his had been at Marye's Heights. So clearly HE saw what war had become. Lee never did until it was too late.

That is a very interesting question. At Gettysburg the Army of Potomac had seven corps and excellent long range artillery. Without taking Cemetery Ridge when it was unoccupied Gen Ewell failed to take the high ground. Stonewall Jackson would have pushed South and set up his defense laterally from West to East across the area. Second Corps would have cut off the north south roads into the battlefield. First and Third Corps would have marched into an established perimeter to created a 360 degree defense. It would have looked similar to Bastogne in December 1944. All roads cut off. Field artillery in the center so no matter the direction of attack of the Army of the Potomac, they would have been under concentrated shell fire. However, I agree with a previous commenter that it would have been a one or two day battle and the North would have still overwhelmed the South with men weapons industry and attrition.

1:48 Lee: Do you understand what I mean? Attache: Welp, sounds like attacking is done for the day. Ewell says good luck with the battle, dude - sounds like you've got things managed.

I'll never understand Lee's prosecution of the war after the fall of Vicksburg and the route at Gettysburg, both within the same week. The war was well lost at that point, and continuing the fight cost tens of thousand more lives on both sides. The Confederate States and unarmed civilians therein faced increasingly unchallenged Federal Forces invading at will, burning their cities, and bringing privation and suffering to the entire population whilst Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia were powerless to stop it.

I've watched this movie 15 times, an after all the reading,and study, the opportunity for a flanking movement on the left was doable if euwell had pushed on over the hill.

The words, "If practical", in his orders to Early, cost Lee this battle.

Lee actually had cavalry at Gettysburg. The problem is that it was second rate militia. He had several brigades of it. He did have some regular cavalry apart from Stuart's. They were used to protect his line of supply. Typically this task would've been given to militia cavalry. Why wasn't the regular cavalry that was used for protecting the line of supply not used in the battle of Gettysburg? It is because Stuart didn't get along with their commander. In fact they hated each other. Stuart had stolen the man's fiancee and married her. Because of this, Lee was blind and couldn't properly do a reconnaisance of what was ahead of him. All because of a woman! I saw a documentary about this on the history channel. The moral of the story is for commanders to be aware of any personal animosity in the ranks below them. Lee should've questioned Stuart about the wisdom of his assignment of units and personnel. Having militia cavalry at Gettysburg and regular cavalry guarding the supply trains was a terrible waste of resources that could (and did) decide a major battle.

@TOCR815 Shelby Foote himself stated clearly that George Meade outgeneraled Lee during Gettysburg. Meade doesn't get much press but if you read the behind the scenes logistical work that Meade did at Gettysburg, the shuffling of reinforcements etc., he did a remarkable job. Most importantly, Meade trusted his subordinates and relied on them to make crucial battlefield decisions. If Hancock had told Meade a Union version of Picketts Charge was a bad idea, Meade would have listened.

@noleybo56 being several miles from the battlefield. If it is fault finding or scapegoating then is not Ewell, Stuart or Longstreet. The defeat a Gettysburg was Lee's and Lee's alone. A written order to Ewell to take Culp's Hill was all that was needed. And I'm quite sure Dick Ewell would have pitch in with all his vigor. That was the type of soldier and the man Dick Ewell was. A gallant and noble soldier.

There was a second part to Lee's order to Ewell that is not mentioned in this scene. The order was to take the hill if practicable, but only if he could do so without bringing on a general engagement. Ewell thought an attack was possible, if supported on his right by Hill's Corps, who told Lee that Pender's and Heth's troops were too fought out. Lee determined to keep Anderson's division as the army reserve so no support was available to Ewell. Rodes division was blown from combat and disordered by its movement through the town. It would have to deploy from column to line under Union artillery fire and so could not form for an attack. Hays was in the town guarding prisoners, Gordon and Smith were guarding the left flank. That left Ewell only Avery's undersized brigade to make an attack as Johnson's division had not yet reached the field. Had Lee wanted Ewell to attack, he should have issued a less ambiguous command. To seize Cemetery Hill at that point required a general engagement involving all forces then available on the field.

Pickett was quite a march away when the battle started, since his division was guarding the rear of the column. You may be misrepresenting Lee, didn't he just say that the attack could be carried out successfully with two divisions instead of three (when Longstreet told him Pickett would probably not have time to join him)?

I haven’t carefully studied the battle of Gettysburg. But in this convo Longstreet sounds like a Edward III just before Crecy, and Lee sounds like he is tired of fighting, and wants to just get on with it.

I think Martin Sheen did a awesome job at portraying Robert E Lee in this movie, I also have to commend Robert Duvall on his portrayal as well in Gods and Generals.

Everyone talks about what would have happened had Jackson been there. But I think that's a fairy tail and moot point as Jackson was dead. Obviously that was never a possibility. BUT, what if Lee and D.H. Hill had gotten along and instead of being passed over for corps command and detached to defend Richmond after Chancellorsville, Harvey Hill had been given command of III Corps rather than Powell Hill? D.H. Hill was one of the most capable generals on either side, he'd fought hard, stubbornly, and with calm and cool demeanor in every engagement, and was so aggressive at Antietam that he had three horses shot out from under him and personally led an attack on foot with rifle in hand. Had he been in command of Lee's III Corps that July 1, I believe he first would have had more control over his division commanders and brigadiers and not allowed Heth to be sucked into a battle against Lee's orders. Or had that happened, he'd have seen the opportunity presented by an empty Culp's Hill and seized it. Instead Lee had an overly timid Ewell and an sick, wan, and weak AP Hill to work with that most crucial day of the battle.

Re Pickett's charge: I have never uncovered the precise time that Lee had penciled in for the attack. This also has lead to confusion in regards to Longstreet's foot-dragging.

Lee was a the greatest battlefield commander in American history, but on the 3rd day of Gettysburg he blundered fatally.

"Maybe we should not have fought here?"

"They are reforming on the ridges outside of town" One of the moments that decided the battle, and the war

I've have always wondered how Lee felt on the 1st day at Gettysburg. The first battle he didn't have his "right hand man" at his side during a battle.

This is Malvern Hill all over again. Lee isn't wrong that being outnumbered isn't necessarily decisive; but this is only true if you have some other major tactical advantage that neutralizes the enemy numbers. Like having the high ground (Fredricksburg), or artillery in a superior position (Chancellorsville), or John Pope commanding the other side (Second Manassas), and a plan that can capitalize on that. One almost has to wonder if Lee understands how he won those battles to begin with. What isn't either an advantage or a winning plan is "well we'll just fight really hard and win that way". That only works when you already have the advantage and unfortunately for Lee, it's the other way around this time. He did a very similar thing at Malvern Hill against McClellan, at the end of the Sevend Days. Lee had mauled two Federal Corps at Gaines Mill (but at incredible cost), then chased the entire Army of the Potomac down part of the Peninsula. But here McClellan, arguably the King of "Redeploy not Retreat" is doing exactly that: he refuses a general engagement on Lee's terms and instead manages to keep his whole army intact and entrench it in a superior position on the Hill, close to his supply base. Lee thinks he's been beating McClellan this whole time and moves in to "finish the job". But here, too, he's facing a superior enemy force in a near-perfect defensive position. Lee thinks "we'll shoot them off the Hill with artillery, but of course the Federals have more artillery, on that same hill, and none of this was ever a winning proposition. The Rebel "grand" batteries get shot to pieces by the combined Federal batteries, and then their Infantry of course also gets shot to pieces attacking the Hill. in that case, D.H. Hill was the one who recommended against attacking if the enemy was present in strength, but here too, Lee thought he knew better.

Thanks for the info! I'll have to look for that book--I also have the Avalon Hill game "Devil's Den" which my friends and I used to play a lot when we were in college--it's a company-level simulation which covers the whole fight for Devil's Den and Little Round Top. I didn't realize Oates and 2 other reg. commanders got sunstroke. I can understand Col. Jackson of the 47th AL being criticized, but not Law! Longstreet (and partly Lee) I think are to blame. Plus the Feds put up a good fight.

You're right--4pm was a lot later than Lee had expected. If I remember correctly, this was the start of an en echelon attack from the CS right to the left, with the result that Culp's Hill wasn't attacked until after dark, and many units in the center never did join the fight.

It's A shame that Lieutenant Colonel Rufus R. Dawes & His 6th Wisconsin weren't added to this film . The 6th had 2 Outstanding Victories at both The Railroad Cut & Culp's Hill . Yes In both of those occasions it was The Confederates that were on the run . "Iron Brigade Forward !"

I like how Longstreet knew when to shut up after stating his point.

Longstreet's strategy was sound and I never understood why Lee insisted on maintaining the fight at Gettysburg. Was it hubris or just overconfidence? Had they disengaged a very powerful army would have threatened DC. Instead a beaten and decimated army stumbled back into Virginia. Lee blew his best chance to end the war.

@noleybo56 Lee was referring to Cemetery Hill (and yes he was asking Ewell to start a fight but not a battle which was contradictory). Lee curiously did not offer support of Hill's Corps for any assault so Ewell wisely decided attacking uphill through town against 43 field pieces and an unscathed Union reserve division was not practicable. But Culp's Hill was undefended. Ewell had left orders to Allegheny Johnson to take it but then absent-mindedly left to see Lee and never followed up(cont)

Depends entirely on how you view the United States. If you view it as a confederation of states (which it was originally intended to be but since the presidency of Washington all the way to the present day it has rejected this form of union) then no, states shouldn't be forced to stay. But if you view the US as a country governed ultimately by the federal government that nullifies state rights then yes, states should be forced to remain in the union. This debate is older than the civil war.

In defense ofLee's decision not to redeploy, without Stuarts cavalry, they had no guarantee the could find good favorable terrain beforw Meade beought the whole weight of the army of the Potomac to bear. They mighr have found good defensible terrainor they could have been trapped in a bad position that would destroy their army. This wasn't their native Virginia where everyone knew the terrian like the back of their hand. Additionally, the South's biggest advantage at this stage in the battle is that their army was mostly here and could potentially defeat the northern army in detail.

I would've won that battle for you General Lee sir, I was your very best.

He was at Taneytown because he wanted to be centrally located within his three wings. He sent first Reynolds then Hancock up to Gettysburg to decide if there was a fight to be had there. He headed out late in the evening of July 1 and arrived early July 2. "Well," he said. "We may as well fight it out here."

2:07 "General Lee, its like 2nd Manassas all over again" damm epic quote

People really seem to misunderstand the reasoning for Lee's defeat at Gettysburg. He was uundoubtedly a better overall commander than Meade, but a lot went wrong for Lee. He had no cavalry which was essential on the battlefield. He had no idea who or what was to his front, hell for all he knew it was the entire Union army. He also gave a loose ended order to someone who was used to being given specific orders. Richard S. Ewell had previously served under Stonewall Jackson who was very strict and detailed in his orders. He went on the mentality that you do exactly what he tells you to do, no more and no less. When Ewell was given the order to take the high ground if practicable, he didn't quite understand what Lee meant, and believed the order was only asking him to take it if he was absolutely positive he could.

Glad the Union won. My people may have still been in bondage.

You see I hold the opposite view, I see myself as a federalist. There's a reason why the USA became a federal union rather than the confederacy is aimed to be and that's because confederacies simply do not work. The US almost ceased to exist in its early years because of the confederate form of government, the lack of centralized power meant that hardly any meaningful reforms or decisions were made as each stated kept vetoing each other, it almost destroyed the nation.

Please, do not forget the 10.000 italians who volunteered, fought and died for the Confederacy. The militia of Louisiana had an italian guards battalion, later renamed 6th Regiment European Brigade, and other companies within regiments from Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee and Louisiana. General William Booth Taliaferro served in the Confederate Army as well as the commanders of the 6th Regiment European Brigade, Lt.Della Valle, Captain Marzoni, Captain Santini, First Lieutenant Marinoni and Second Lieutenant Baselli. Thank you from Italy for remembering them.

Studies have shown that Lee had the highest proportion of casualties of any Civil War general, even Grant. Grant only became 'bloody' when he went up against Lee. Clearly Lee's penchant for the aggressive attack was a key reason for this - Pickett's charge only being the most obvious ex. Some rude young man questioned me on this with inappropriate language. As a gentleman and a scholar (my PhD is in philosophy, but I studied history at an Ivy League school), I can only suggest he do his own research (Wikipedia and RU-vid will not be enough), and then if he can keep up with the conversation he can join in

They should have headed to Washington and attempted to arrest Lincoln. There was no need to take that town, we shouldn't even know the name of the town called Gettysburg.

I dont know why people think the Civil war was a boring one...

So, Lee had planned a campaign, employing a strategy that was, up to moment of Gettysburg, successful. But, blinded by the small victory, Lee lost himself in the exuberance of the moment and, abandoning his own designs, engaged in a disastrous blunder.

Good analysis, rebel 2276, I have to agree on that one. It's clear that Longstreet never committed fully to the role Lee gave him, that is, the replacement of Jackson as his aggressive corps commander (who would deliver the decisive blow in a battle). Longstreet indeed sulked as if he could't accept that he wasn't the overall commander... I think it's also possible that Longstreet delayed on the 2nd day as long as he could hoping Pickett would arrive on the field in time for the attack.

He arrived in the late afternoon. He was at Cashtown when the fighting broke out and for a while left matters to AP Hill until he bagan to realize that things were amiss...the volume of fire he heard in the distance implied more than just a skirmish. He got there in time to witness the second phase of day one when Heth attacked with his remaining two brigades followed by Pender in the west and the brief 2nd CSA Corps. vs. UN 11th Corps. battle north of the town.

(I was referring to your comments on page 2, no idea why this reply got posted here)

The message was sent to Pickett in late afternoon. But one must remember that Longstreet offensive began at 4pm so there was still time for Pickett's division to enter the fray later theat day if Lee so wished.

The South didn’t need to win, they just needed not to loose the war.

For at least this moment, Lee forgot that the enemy wasn't the army under George Meade, but rather Abraham Lincoln himself. Had they recorded this as a victory after day one and Marched towards DC things could have ended better. George Washington understood that to have the British surrender in the fashion he wanted them to he had to surround a powerful general and force him to decide between dying and surrendering. He chose General Cornwallis, as he knew that Cornwallis would never choose to die on foreign soil. So, a century later you had Abraham Lincoln, who was willing to sacrifice any and all the union troops but not himself. Had they trapped Lincoln the war would have been a much greater success.

Hey y'all, who wants to start a flame war? I'll go first: "The south was bad"