How Did General Lee Win The Battle Of Command
On May 1863, the Confederate army led by General Lee had scored a shattering success at Chancellorsville against the army of Potomac. After Lee’s first invasion that ended at Antietam during the previous fall, he chose to go on the offensive and raid the North for the second time. Lee’s intention was to bring the clash out of Virginia, divert the northern army from Vicksburg and get acknowledgment of the Confederacy by France and Britain and therefore reinforce the cause of northern Copperheads who wanted peace to prevail.
On the other side, President Lincoln named Major General George G. Meade to replace Gen. Joseph Hooker as the commander of the Army of Potomac. The president had lost confidence in Hooker, since he seemed reluctant to deal with Lee’s army after being defeated at Chancellorsville. General Meade …show more content…
Lee declined an advice from his second-in-command James Longstreet not to invade the Union position, and decided to assault the Federals at their line. He commanded Longstreet to attack from the left flank, while Ewell and his Corps were to attack from the right flank, near Culp’s Hill. The attacks were to happen in the early hours of the day, but Longstreet attacked the Union Corps led by Daniel Sickles at around 4:00 pm. Bloody fights raged along Sickle’s line over next few hours. The fight stretched from the nest of boulders called Devil’s Den, to a peach orchard, to the slopes of Little Round Top hill, and to neighboring wheat field.
The battle left Sickles seriously injured, and the Federals lost the wheat field, orchard and the Devil’s den. Ewell’s troop had proceeded on the Union army at East Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill in synchronization with Longstreet’s attack. Both sides suffered great losses in day two of the battle, with each side having more than 9,000 casualties (dead, missing or injured).
July 3: The Final
On the other side, President Lincoln named Major General George G. Meade to replace Gen. Joseph Hooker as the commander of the Army of Potomac. The president had lost confidence in Hooker, since he seemed reluctant to deal with Lee’s army after being defeated at Chancellorsville. General Meade …show more content…
Lee declined an advice from his second-in-command James Longstreet not to invade the Union position, and decided to assault the Federals at their line. He commanded Longstreet to attack from the left flank, while Ewell and his Corps were to attack from the right flank, near Culp’s Hill. The attacks were to happen in the early hours of the day, but Longstreet attacked the Union Corps led by Daniel Sickles at around 4:00 pm. Bloody fights raged along Sickle’s line over next few hours. The fight stretched from the nest of boulders called Devil’s Den, to a peach orchard, to the slopes of Little Round Top hill, and to neighboring wheat field.
The battle left Sickles seriously injured, and the Federals lost the wheat field, orchard and the Devil’s den. Ewell’s troop had proceeded on the Union army at East Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill in synchronization with Longstreet’s attack. Both sides suffered great losses in day two of the battle, with each side having more than 9,000 casualties (dead, missing or injured).
July 3: The Final