Doyle, lot of interesting thoughts. But in "Ol Pap's" defense, it was better to save his army and give up territory vs losing your army and the territory.
My favorite example of this was The AOT under Johnston during the Atlanta campaign. Gave ground and saved his army. And unfortunately for the AOT, the "Gallant Hood" proved this to be the proper way to conduct a campaign where you are seriously outnumbered against an aggressive and smart opponent.
Of course this is simply my opinion.
Chuck Lee