GDG- Lee - Harrisburg

[John Lawrence]

You were correct last week and that has not changed.
Others still disagree.
Regards,
Jack

Tom <bunco973 at optonline.net> wrote:

>Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>>>>>
>Sometimes I
>wonder whether Lee headed
>North, besides the tried and true reasons, to stave off the chance of losing
>some of his command to the West (Vicksburg especially). Commanders don't
>like to lose troops to another command, maybe an ego thing ;-D. Not saying
>Lee's best interests for the Confederacy were not in his heart, but the
>acceleration of his movements after meeting with Davis was  (to me) a bit
>suspect. <<<<<<
>
>I had posted the above last week - thought I was one of the few that felt 
>this way. Just a theory - but it's almost like "See ya Mr. Davis - we're 
>leaving now - I'll be in touch". A few weeks later, Lee advises that he has 
>to cut off communications back to Richmond due partially to manpower 
>shortages. As an aside - back to Harrisburg - there has to be some strong 
>reasons that initially Lee is looking at Harrisburg - Ewell at Carlisle - 
>Early/Gordon at Wrightsville - another words, a full Corps north & south of 
>Harrisburg (whether to entice the AOP, raid the city, or invest it for a 
>short time). I join with the "Lee was decoying the AOP  to hasten north" on 
>the premise that supposedly Lee felt the AOP wasn't moving fast enough north 
>for him (Stuart not communicating same to Lee). Lee was in the land of 
>plenty, but subsisting 75-80,000  men would only go so far in PA. 
>Logistically, that's a long stretch from PA, back through the Shenandoah to 
>VA. I realize that's oversimplifying the matter, but that's how I see it, I 
>truly think he would have been better taking another foray into Maryland - 
>but I don't wish to go into what if territory.
>
>Regards,
>Tom B.
>
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message----- 
>From: Andy Mills
>Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 1:23 PM
>To: GDG
>Subject: Re: GDG- Lee - Harrisburg
>
>Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>It makes perfect sense though if the real motivation was simply to keep his 
>precious ANV together and not have part of it shipped off to Vicksburg.  Lee 
>couldn't be straight with Davis about this and came up with the crop story 
>as a sidebar to his real motivations.  When asked why troops shouldn't be 
>sent to Vicksburg, Lee couldn't simply state "because I don't want to send 
>them."  He had to present a valid case for keeping them assigned to his 
>army.
>
>Just don't ask me to prove this, but this is my belief of the true reason he 
>invaded the North - to keep the ANV intact, the army he had "nurtured and 
>created" (yes, I am aware technically the army existed prior to his command, 
>but no one in the Confederacy remembers an army pre June 1862).
>
>Thanks,
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com [mailto:gettysburg-bounces at arthes.com] 
>On Behalf Of dherko at kc.rr.com
>Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 1:00 PM
>To: GDG
>Subject: Re: GDG- Lee - Harrisburg
>
>Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>John,
>
>that is exactly the shortsidedness of Lee's strategy he convinced Davis to 
>support.
>
>Crops are planted in the Spring and harvested in the fall.  Lee could not 
>possibly stay up North for that length of time.  He could not have possibly 
>protected Virginia's corps for an enitre planitng season.
>
>As for Vicksburg.  By late June, Vicksburg was gone.  Once Lee convince 
>Davis of a course of action, the garrison's fate was sealed.  Had Lee won on 
>July 3rd (before he really planned to fight Meade) Pemberton had 
>surrendered, he was just trying to negotiate a better deal.
>
>Until Grant came East, there was not a Northern General that could lace 
>Lee's boots on the tactical battlefield.  Lee however, fought for Virginia 
>and Vriginia alone.  He completely failed to understand the implications of 
>losing Vicksburg.  He was resistant to send troops to the Carolina coast, 
>did not want Longstreet to go to Chickamauga.  He was myopic on Strategy, he 
>protected Virginia and Virginia was in the fight until the end.
>
>VR
>Don
>
>
>----------------http://www.arthes.com/mailman/listinfo/gettysburg_arthes.com 
> -to unsubscribe
>http://arthes.com/pipermail/gettysburg_arthes.com/ for Archives 
>
>
>----------------http://www.arthes.com/mailman/listinfo/gettysburg_arthes.com -to unsubscribe
>http://arthes.com/pipermail/gettysburg_arthes.com/ for Archives