[jim brady]

Yup, it's an OLD thread - but a COOL old thread!

Two things - one is that I think they called General Mac Aurthur "Bug Out Doug" for when he left the Phillipines for Austrailia when the Japanese were about to take control. Second was that I wasn't even born yet - but from what my elders told me his wife loaded a cargo plane with household goods for evacuation - when that plane could have evacuated soldiers.

Back to the old topic - my personal favorite Civil War figure was Colonel (Later General) Chamberlin. He was the Union hero at Gettysburg, and was later severly wounded - but this man could fight and never seemed to loose his nerve. General Thomas would have to be my second pick. The Confederacy had a great number of outstanding Generals - the top two of course would have to be Generals Lee and Jackson.

 

[jim brady]

You are correct on all points. General Lee was NOT a 'micro-manager'. I also agree that Generals Heath and Stuart's actions were the primary reasons why the Confederacy lost at Gettysburg. The third reason Lee lost that battle was that he was over confident in his own forces and was too stuborn to not fight the Union forces on their terms.

General Heath ignored Orders, while Stuart failed in his primary duty of screening and scouting for the Confederate Army because of his quest for personal glory, Lee was left ingnorant of the dispostion and description of the Union forces he was about to engage.

The war had gone on for a long time by the time of Gettysburg. I have often wondered if General Lee had simply lost any real hope of victory by then. It is only speculation on my part, but I've wondered if by the time of the battle that General Lee had decided "all-or-nothing" in this fight, and that it was time to wind down. The war lasted another year and a half, but that was only because of the stubborness and determination on the part of the Southern military.

As far as the second half of General Stuart's failure, I doubt if General Stuart was even aware of a Custer. It was pure luck on Custer's part - and his disreguard for his own Federal Cavalry - that resulted in Custer holding Stuart from attacking the Union line from the rear. Custer was no Spartan Leonidas, but in his fanatic charges against the Confederate Cavalry the results were the same - he faced a superior force in a manner that prevented the superior force from deploying in strength.