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Re: Winning of the war
In Response To: Re: Winning of the war ()

I totally agree.

BUT good men have to be managed well also. My GG grandfather was one of those men with Longstreet in the Texas Brigade at Devil Den at Gettysburg. Because of that I have studied this for many years and made many visits to that portion of that Battlefield.

The fact that 3/4 of Hood's Division (6 regiments) missed their target and directed their attack against Little Round Top, (Mostly because of HOOD and Law without the direction of Longstreet) becoming swallowed up in the useless fighting at Little Round Top in my opinion is what lost Longstreet the advantage the Confederate had of rolling up the Union Left on July 2nd. Longstreet should have been on the right of his Battle line that day to direct the opening phase and most important element of that Battle. He wasn't there because he did not beleive in Lee's plan of attack that day and left the direction with Hood who again was purposing moving farther to their right and taking more time and losing daylight to flank Little Round Top. I believe that Longstreet was purposely absent from that area of the field because he agreed with Hood's purposal, which Lee had countermanded.

Had Longstreet/Hood with that force ignored Little Round Top and swept up Plum Run (as Lee planned for them to do) behind the enemy defences, which held up the Confederate attack long enough for reenforcement from the Union V and VI Corp to arrive, they would have swept over the undefended portion of Cemetery Ridge that had been left undefended by the forward advance of Dan Sickles III Corp. With these Confederates behind them Sickles III corp would have fell apart. The battles of the Wheatfield and The Peach Orchard would not have lasted as long as they did and not have been as bloody. The second line of the Confederate attack most likely would have advanced straight into the Union rear areas unopposed. I do not believe that the Union Infantry and Artillery on Little Round Top would have been that effective against a fast moving unopposed battleline on the Valley floor. They most certainly would not have been had Sickles III corp collaped quickly and the entire Confederate Line advanced as a whole.

Longstreet at Gettysburg? A losing cause on many accounts, in my opinion.

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