Did Lee want to end the Civil War at Gettysburg, at all costs?

Question

Knowing that there would be no effective north flanking effort on on a superior Union field position, against superior numbers, by using a here-to-for avoidance of a "Napolionic" assault, and wirhout any cavalry or intelligence ( Stewart was ??? )and against the advice of seasoned and motivated officers.......Did he want to lose this war ?

Answer 1

During the intial engagement at Gettysburg, if you will recall, General Ewell did not seize the initiative by taking the high ground along the Union right. Even at the pleading of his subordinates, he refused to advance. This gave the Union troops high ground advantage, and it was said that the Confederates could hear the Union soldiers digging in all night, even from Confederate lines. That was a tragic mistake. Had Stonewall Jackson been alive, he would have taken the initiative and seized that high ground first, so that his troops would not have to be sacrificed to take it later.

Once the lines were established, Lee faced dug in Union troops all across his front. He said after the war that he felt that his troops were "invicible" and that they would go, without question, where he sent them. Given the bad position he was in, he decided to do a mass artillery bombardment against the Union lines. When this took place, it was the largest concentration of artillery on one spot in the whole entire war.

His thoughts were to drive the Federal artillery batteries off the hill, and cause disruption in the infantry lines. If he could break one small part of their lines and cause a breach, he could attack the Union center, dividing it, then peel towards the left and right and destroy what remained of the Union left and right flanks. In theory, it was a gamble, but could work. Lee was notorious for making audacious plans! I could see little alternative for Lee, considering his cavalry commander was off on a trot somewhere trying to bring himself glory, and he left his commander advancing blindly. That was a tragedy for the Confederates.

In Lee's thinking, if he could throw his army into the Union army and crush it, and do it now, it would cause Meade to have to retreat well past Philadelphia, allowing the Confederates freedom to advance pretty much anywhere in the North, unhindered.

The problem occurred when Lees artillery shot above the heads of the intrenched Union infantry, and was of little effect against the Union artillery batteries. The shots missed, unbeknownst to Lee. After the artillery preparation, he called on Longstreets Corps to lead the attack, which was known as "Pickets Charge". It failed. The Confederates lost over 6000 men in that attack.

I think Lee had a little too much overconfidence in his troops that day. It was also noted in history that he had a heart attack prior to Gettysburg, and perhaps he was not at his best physically. We just don't know. All we do know is the outcome of the battle.

Good post, I enjoyed that one!

Answer 2

The North created a Union and wanted to bring the South into it. The "union" refers to the federal government that was in place at the start of the civil war. Abraham Lincoln was president at the time and one of the things the Union wanted to do was end slavery which was still present in the eleven southern states that opposed the Union. As a result of the South disagreeing with the Union, they formed their own government and called it the "Confederacy". When serious talk of war on both sides came about, the south were poorly informed. The North had better ammo, better weapons, more men, and so on. What really hit the south hard was that the North were able to cut off shipping in the south of cotton between the south and England who were buying the cotton. A good chunk of the money made in the south was from cotton and now they were making none which sent many people in the south to financial ruin. They had it in their minds that they were "going to lick the yankees in a matter of days" but the war lasted four years and the south were ultimately defeated. Abraham Lincoln lived to see the end of the war which was officially declared on April 9, 1865. However, Lincoln was shot and killed a few days later.

Answer 3

Lee wanted to win at Gettysburg as some mention above, mostly to get foreign support and to stir up the anti-war feelings in the North. He thought his boys could take Little Round Top and he thought the center was weakened enough to withstand a frontal assualt. Even though both were blunders, he came within a hair's breath of winning.

If TJ was alive, he most likely would've taken Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill on the first day. The failure was Ewell's, not Lee's. If Governour Warren hadn't seen an undefended Little Round Top in the nick of time, Hood's division would've flanked the Union left and rolled up the front. If Longstreet's frontal assault was more coordinated, Pickett, Trimble and Pettigrew's attacks may have taken the center. If if if, woulda coulda shoulda.......

Answer 4

Hi Dougie,

J.S. gives you the correct quote; but I totally disagree with his interpretation. Yes, R.L Lee did want to end the war by invading Pennsylvania. He wanted to pivot and strike south at Washington. To understand his reasoning you have to look at the politics of the war.

From the beginning, Lee had no illusions about the south's ability to win the war. He knew that the north would crush the south in a protracted war of attrition simply because of the north's overwhelming advantages in men, money and materiel. Thus, from the beginning, Lee advocated a war aimed at aggressively attacking the north.

He was overruled by Jefferson Davis. Davis was afraid that if the south took an aggressive posture it would harm his efforts to seek political recognition (and military assistance) from Great Britain, and possibly, France. Therefore, he insisted that the Confederacy assume a defensive posture. This was a huge mistake.

By 1863 it became increasingly unlikely that the British were going to intervene to save the Confederacy, and Davis reluctantly agreed to Lee's strategy of engagement. And so he approved of the full scale assault. But by then it was too late. The south was bleeding badly, and the north was growing stronger. But even then, Lee could have pulled it off, and almost did.

So the answer is, "No." Lee was not trying to lose the war; he was trying to win the war by executing a strategy that would have worked if executed in 1861; and almost worked in 1863.

Cheers, mate.

Answer 5

No he wanted to win, but he had no choice in the matter, he had to get to Washington and this was his last and only chance. If he had withdrawn then the Union would have figured out his movement and would have prevented him from making another push against Washington, Lee's army was shrinking, the south was begging to fall apart and the Union was becoming more and more aggressive and successful.

if he could punch through the union his path to Washington would have been clear and he would have presented the terms of peace on Lincoln's desk personally.

Lee would have preferred to have fought the battle under better conditions but once it was presented to him he had no other options but to fight and pray.

He knew it was a failure when Pickett's charge failed, and that it was one of the first nails in the coffin for his army.

Lee wanted to win (although I am sure he was OK with the North winning as well), but when the time came fate handed him a bad hand.

Answer 6

No, Lee did not want to end the Civil War at Gettysburg.
"I considered the problem in every possible phase," he later recalled, "and to my mind, it resolved itself into a choice of one of two things - either to retire to Richmond and stand seige, which must ultimately have ended in surrender, or to invade Pennsylvania."
General Robert E. Lee
"He wanted to take his army north of the Potomac where he could find provisions for both men and horses. He wanted to get clear of the Wilderness, to where he could maneuver more effectively against the enemy. He hoped that an invasion of the north would encourage Copperheads and the peace movement in that section and that, if successful, it would hasten foreign recognition."
I think his plan was closer to trying to achieve a political solution more advantageous to the Confederacy, than to seek military defeat from those who up to then had not defeated him conclusively. Good question!

Answer 7

He was put in a bad position as his commanders weren't aggressive enough on the first day of the battle.