2:141, #445: Gettysburg Goats

I've read a lot of information bad mouthing both General James Longstreet and General JEB Stuart on their roles in the Battle of Gettysburg. Well, as I point out in my Facebook status this morning, JEB Stuart actually did one of the two things cavalry traditionally did during the Civil War. Even though he did not serve as the 'eyes' of the Confederate army as Lee expected, he did gather up 120 wagons in his foraging raids that were then used as ambulances for Lee's Miserables wounded at Culp's Hill, Devil's Den, Pickett's Charge, and elsewhere on the 'fields of glory.' AND...JEB and his horsemen did not make it to the battle until late on the second day because he was forced further east by the Union Army's marching position...a situation brought about by faulty reconnaisance by Colonel John Singleton Mosby's report of the Federals' position when Lee sent Stuart off on his ride.

Likewise, General James Longstreet gets lambasted because he not only tried to dissuade Lee from attacking the stone wall in front of the clump of trees on the third day of the battle...a MONUMENTAL MISTAKE by the General Commanding...but also for delaying Pickett's Charge for as long as he did, hoping that Lee would change his mind; which he never did when "his blood was up." Frankly, Lee should have listened to Longstreet because the Yankees were entrenched behind the stone wall on high ground as the Rebels had been at their victory at Fredericksburg.

It also turned out that Lee's cannonade obscured his view of the Union lines because the wind was still for the 2 hours Lee's cannons were firing...a situation that did not allow Lee to realize his cannons were NOT driving "those people" off the position. And providentially in the coincidence of God, just as the Rebs stepped out of the woods at 3pm for Pickett's Charge, a wind drafted up the Emmitsburg Road, clearing smoke from the battlefield, and giving the Yanks a perfect field of fire to slaughter the Rebs...just like at Fredericksburg!!

Well, the monumental mistake has led to the most monumented-battlefield in American history. Got tour guide?