Pierce, Stevens' Knoll, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 1 July 1863, 1863
The Battle of Gettysburg began on this date in 1865.
Longstreet considered Chancellorsville the kind of flashy spectacle the South could ill afford. Facing what Lincoln called 'the arithmetic', he perceived that four more such battles, in which the Confederates were outnumbered two to one and inflicted casualties at a rate of three for four, would reduce Lee's army to a handful, while Hooker would be left with the number Lee had had at the outset. The style he preferred had the Confederates taking up a strong defensive position against which the superior blue forces were shattered, like waves against a rock. Longstreet listened with disapproval as Lee announced his intention to launch an offensive in the East. He protested but Lee's mind was made up. So Longstreet contented himself with his theory that the proposed invasion be conducted in accordance with his preference for receiving rather than delivering attack when the two armies came to grips, wherever that might be. As he put it later, quite as if he and Lee had been joint commanders of the army, "I then accepted his proposition to make a campaign into Pennsylvania, provided it should be offensive in strategy but defensive in tactics, forcing the Federals to give us battle when we were in strong position and ready to receive them."
Lee heard him out with the courtesy which he was accustomed to extend to all subordinates, but which in this case was mistaken for a commitment. He intended no such thing, of course... trouble was stored up for all involved.
Shelby Foote, from Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign
The American Battlefield Trust's exceptional animated map of Gettysburg ...
Shelby Foote's thoughts on the battle ...
The Battle of Gettysburg began on this date in 1865.
Longstreet considered Chancellorsville the kind of flashy spectacle the South could ill afford. Facing what Lincoln called 'the arithmetic', he perceived that four more such battles, in which the Confederates were outnumbered two to one and inflicted casualties at a rate of three for four, would reduce Lee's army to a handful, while Hooker would be left with the number Lee had had at the outset. The style he preferred had the Confederates taking up a strong defensive position against which the superior blue forces were shattered, like waves against a rock. Longstreet listened with disapproval as Lee announced his intention to launch an offensive in the East. He protested but Lee's mind was made up. So Longstreet contented himself with his theory that the proposed invasion be conducted in accordance with his preference for receiving rather than delivering attack when the two armies came to grips, wherever that might be. As he put it later, quite as if he and Lee had been joint commanders of the army, "I then accepted his proposition to make a campaign into Pennsylvania, provided it should be offensive in strategy but defensive in tactics, forcing the Federals to give us battle when we were in strong position and ready to receive them."
Lee heard him out with the courtesy which he was accustomed to extend to all subordinates, but which in this case was mistaken for a commitment. He intended no such thing, of course... trouble was stored up for all involved.
Shelby Foote, from Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign
The American Battlefield Trust's exceptional animated map of Gettysburg ...
Shelby Foote's thoughts on the battle ...
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