Tango01 | 24 Jun 2022 9:33 p.m. PST |
"All Civil War battles have their share of myths, but Gettysburg seems to be in a league of its own. One of the more enduring ones—one I heard frequently when I worked at Gettysburg National Military Park—was that during Pickett's Charge on July 3, J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry was supposed to charge in and strike from the rear at the same time George Pickett and his fellow generals broke the Union center along Cemetery Ridge. As with many myths, there is a granule of truth here. But tracing the origin of these myths is difficult because they often result not from a single source but from an accumulation of accounts that morph over time into a single narrative, one repeated so often the myth that evolves generally becomes accepted as fact.
Stuart's attack upon the Union rear on the battle's third day is a prime example. This narrative appears to have evolved from a Union account of 1878: William Brooke-Rawle's The Right Flank at Gettysburg, a pamphlet covering the July 3 Union cavalry operations beyond the Army of the Potomac's right flank and the engagement with Stuart's cavalry on what is known today as East Cavalry Battlefield. Brooke-Rawle, a 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry lieutenant who fought there, maintained that had Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's cavalry not checked Stuart, July 3 "would have resulted differently, and instead of a glorious victory, the name of ‘Gettysburg' would suggest a state of affairs which it is not agreeable to contemplate." In other words, the Army of the Potomac would have lost the battle if Stuart had been allowed to run amok in the Union rear…"
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doc mcb | 25 Jun 2022 1:54 a.m. PST |
The book I read suggested it MIGHT have been Lee's plan. Not knowing is not the same as "everything we know is wrong." |
GamesPoet | 25 Jun 2022 2:59 a.m. PST |
"Might" is not the same thing as was. Lee and Stuart's reports don't support the idea, Stuart's report seems consistent with how ACW cavalry were used. |
Cardinal Ximenez | 25 Jun 2022 5:46 a.m. PST |
Agree with GP. The author seems to contradict his own premise by answering the question he poses. An infantry / cavalry combined arms attack and a cavalry pursuit of a broken enemy are two different actions the former being more Napoleonic than ACW. That being said, Stuart might have played a significant role if and only if the Confederate infantry assault had succeeded which was a desperate long shot. Far from everything we know is incorrect, I'll attribute the title to attention grabbing. |
Escapee | 25 Jun 2022 6:33 a.m. PST |
A misleading title at best. Everything about Pickett's charge is barely addressed. Here is another assessment about the charge itself. link |
Legionarius | 25 Jun 2022 7:11 a.m. PST |
They charged uphill against entrenched positions with rifles… Bad idea! |
donlowry | 25 Jun 2022 8:47 a.m. PST |
No, I think the general consensus is, and has been all along, that Stuart was supposed to get into a good position from which to harass and pursue a Union retreat down the Baltimore Pike, should the infantry break Meade's center and cause such a retreat. |
KimRYoung | 25 Jun 2022 9:09 a.m. PST |
They charged uphill against entrenched positions with rifles… Bad idea! Except when it works like the Union did at Missionary Ridge. At Gettysburg the Union was not really "entrenched" at the center of the attack, though the low lying stone wall at the Angle provided some protection. The Union artillery broke up most of the impetus of the attack and those that actually crossed the Emmittsburg where out numbered and shot to pieces before many surrendered. Kim |
35thOVI | 25 Jun 2022 11:55 a.m. PST |
Kim, you know it was that McDonalds in front of the Union lines that stopped it. Pettigrew‘s men got backed up in the drive through and never got into the attack. I think they were short staffed that day and the ice cream machines weren't working again. Brockenbrough chucked it all after a 1 hour wait and went home. 😉 |
Escapee | 25 Jun 2022 1:12 p.m. PST |
35th, I think there actually was a Hardee's somewhere on that road a long time ago, maybe around 1970. Very distracting! |
35thOVI | 25 Jun 2022 2:41 p.m. PST |
Still one on Steinwher. I am waiting for the Plaque to be erected, "Civil War Site". When will they get their recognition for stemming the charge? 😉 Subject: McDonald's – Google Maps link |
Tango01 | 25 Jun 2022 3:47 p.m. PST |
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