If the South were already using slaves as combat soldiers in these numbers in places all over the South, and they were being alrady used and recognized and accepted for their effectiveness, then there was absolutely no reason whatsoever to reject Cleburne's proposal to make the practice into official policy. Those who so vehemently opposed the proposal therefore, given this evidence that they had plenty of irrefutable examples, right before their own eyes, that such practices were working.
So you see, given your evidence, those CSA leaders who opposed the Memento, who resisted the advice of Ewell for four solid years, clearly were dead wrong. But it was those politicians, the voices of opposition that controlled the CSA congress and executive branch, and it was those politicians who made the policy, who cost the south its best chance of winning independence.
I asked earlier, if this was going indeedon, and the evidence of it usefullness was right there under the noses of the CSA leadership if they would only open their eyes, then what grounds did any CSA leader have to stand on in opposing making such use of slaves a widespread policy that could have raised and used significant numbers of available slaves, the very ones Ewell and Cleburne and even Lee begged the congress to use, but the congress refused until far far far too late.
If Lee and Cleburne and Ewell could have used significant numbers of slaves without congressional approval, like you say was being done, then why didn't they just do so, what need had they to propse and beg when all they had to to is ACT?
Either way, something was wrong. Either the CSA military men didn't act, when they could have, when they were claiming they had urgent needs, or the CSA politicians prevented them from doing so.
This post proves my point better than anything yet.