"General R. E. Lee’s Maryland Campaign." Topic

"According to Gen. R. E. Lee, his final objective in the Maryland Campaign was to afford the people of Maryland "an opportunity of liberating themselves from oppression."[1] Was this strategically wise or realistic or achievable? No, to all three…Here's why.

This goal was just as unattainable as achieving a decisive victory (Objective #1) Getting the Marylanders to revolt against the Federal Government ran on hope and Lee's paladin persona, rather than facts. He thought that if he presented himself as a "protector of the rights of Marylanders," the citizens would join the "cause" and secede from the North.[2] If I had been one of his senior generals, I would've reminded him of his discussion with Marylander Col. Bradley Johnson on September 4, 1862. The colonel didn't mince words:

…a large portion of the people were ardent Unionists that perhaps an equal number were equally ardent sympathizers with the Confederate cause still they had been since June 1861 so crushed beneath the overwhelming military force that they could not be expected to afford us material aid until we gave them assurance of an opportunity for relief by an occupation promising at least some permanence…"

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Armand