GDG- ISusquehanna River

[CWMHTours at aol.com]

George-
 
Ha ha....
 
My friend...
 
Sometimes I think we both dig holes and we wind up throwing  each other's 
shovels full of dirt into each other's hole.
 
I don't dispute that Lee wanted to get into Harrisburg-   I think it was 
bait to get the AoP under that maniac Hooker to come out and  fight.   But 
Harrisburg as a military goal?
 
Can you see Lee sitting around west of Fredericksburg with his  mouth 
watering at the thought of capturing Harrisburg?  I  can't.
 
Lee's job was to destroy the AoP if possible- not risk sucking  his army up 
into occupying a weeny little state capital.
 
Hey!  You just threw that shovelfull into my hair,  dammit! 
 
A  Loyal Neo-Anti Unionist,
Peter  

 
In a message dated 1/25/2012 6:03:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
georgeconnell at mac.com writes:

Esteemed  GDG Member Contributes:
Peter,

"I can't see him putting the bulk of  his army on the wrong  side of the 
river.

I think all the talk  about Harrisburg was just that, talk put  out t 
distract  people."

This is ridiculous. He told two of his corps commanders he  wanted them on 
the east side of the river. That, without question, is the bulk  of his 
army. And he told them with some degree of secrecy attached, not in the  
"Philadelphia Enquirer" for heaven sakes!

You're digging  again!

George
26ª11'56"N   81ª48'19W"

On Jan 25,  2012, at 5:47 PM, CWMHTours at aol.com wrote:

> Esteemed GDG Member  Contributes:
> Jim-
> 
> You make good points.
>  
> I have problems tho with the idea of Lee moving his whole army   into 
> Harrisburg and sitting there.
> 
> Granted there was  some military value to the state capital but  Lee's 
ace 
> was  manueverabilty which he would lose if he occupies a town and then  
has to  
> defend it.  I can see him sending in a detachment to destroy  any  
military 
> goods but Harrisburg was pretty much a pipsqueak  town back  then.
> 
> Plus I can't see him putting the bulk  of his army on the wrong  side of 
the 
> river.
> 
> I  think all the talk about Harrisburg was just that, talk put  out t  
> distract people.
> 
> I can't see him taking Baltimore  either.  What are you  going to do with 
it 
> once you got  it?
> 
> A  Loyal Neo-Anti Unionist,
> Peter   
> 
> 
> In a message dated 1/25/2012 9:37:30 A.M. Eastern  Standard Time,  
> cameron2 at optimum.net writes:
> 
>  Esteemed  GDG Member Contributes:
> <<   If Lee  intended to move  Ewell's Corps and Hill's Corps across the 
>  river (as he stated) it's a pretty  safe bet he wasn't going to leave  
> Longstreet's on the other side of a water  barrier. I think it's  not 
unreasonable to 
> speculate that Lee, the most  audacious  commander of the war, might have 
> been willing to fight the AoP  east  of the Susquehanna. There are some 
caveats, 
> however. He  would need all his  cavalry with him; detailed information 
on 
>  the locations of the various Union  corps; and the confidence that the  
AoP 
> corps were exhausted, strung out by a  rushed pursuit, and  not in 
position to 
> provide meaningful support to one   another.  >>
> 
> Which is quite a few caveats, and a  lot of  stuff he didn't have, and 
> wasn't likely to get.   And if he does cross the  Susquehanna, getting 
back over 
> now  involves the far shore still being hostile  territory, not VA.   
> Still, I do think he intended to cross a major  force, if  possible.  I 
> wonder, though, if his preference wouldn't  have  been to continue to 
maneuver, 
> and maybe fight against any  isolated Union force  he might encounter, 
rather 
> than risk a  general engagement under such  circumstances.  Although I 
can't  
> say I've ever devoted much thought to  the matter, since it  never did 
> happen.  
> Just as a thought, while it   wouldn't have been something he could have 
> anticipated at the time,  the  post-battle rains which made crossing back 
into 
> VA so  difficult could have  created an extremely critical situation for 
Lee  
> if he need to recross the  Susquehanna in a hurry after a  reverse on the 
> eastern side of the river and  had no bridges  available.  
> 
> Jim  Cameron
>  
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