General Robert E. Lee's Mistakes In The Battle Of Gettysburg

The American Civil War was extremely important to the time period. The outcome of the war decided what would be America’s foundation – equality or slavery. Robert E. Lee fought for the south, while Ulysses S. Grant fought for the north. Despite his fighting platform being in the defense of slavery, Robert E. Lee’s military genius cannot be ignored. Grant as well had his strengths and weaknesses, but in very different parts of his life than that of Lee. Bill Offer, a history professor at Panola Community College, said, “History may never see two men so different than that of Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.” Although he lost the war, I believe that Robert E. Lee proved to be the better general because he was more qualified, he followed

After the battle, more than one-third of Lee’s army was gone, and so was the Confederacy's hopes of winning the war (Battle of Gettysburg, 1). After the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee’s army was bombarded by the Union until it held a siege at Petersburg, VA, where Robert E. Lee eventually surrendered on April 9, 1865 to Union General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. After the surrender, the Civil war soon ended, and the Reconstruction era followed. Robert E. Lee became president of Washington College, and tried to become a citizen again, but died on October 12, 1870, being known as one of the greatest American generals to live, even if he was fighting for the wrong side. (Cowley, 1). Due to Lee losing this battle, though, the Union was able to push in, take out the Confederacy’s strongest army, and win the war, causing all the events that happened after and creating history. If Lee were to have won The Battle of Gettysburg, America could have, and probably would have been very different than what it is now. Slavery could still exist, the States rights vs Government rights issue could be very different, and President Lincoln might not have been assassinated. Which is why Robert E. Lee was a failure in The Battle of

The Gettysburg Battle was known as the bloodiest battle during the Civil War, as millions of lives were lost on both sides of the nation. In 1863 the Confederate and Union armies, both with 75,000 men, marched to face each other. General Robert E. Lee was the General who commanded the Confederate Army, and George Meade was appointed on June 27 as the new Union army general. On June 30, the Union and the Confederate army readied themselves for the battle ahead.(Background Essay) Geography, casualties, and the morales aided to the belief that then Battle of Gettysburg was a time when the tide shifted in favor of the North.

Robert E Lee was a commander of the army of the northern Virginia army also known as the confederate army and then became one of the most famous men in the south and at the time of the battle of Gettysburg he led his army through victories. He suffered from a heart problem but back then there was no medical treatments for those types of things so there was no way to diagnose what he had or any medication so they wouldn’t give you any treatments and because of that the only choice he had was death so he

The focus of this investigation will be, “To what extent was Robert E. Lee an effective leader of the Confederate Army?” The investigation will analyze Lee’s strengths and weaknesses that contributed to his effectiveness and the overall loss of the Confederacy in the Civil War. The overall character of Lee throughout his lifetime is too broad, therefore, this investigation will focus solely on the testimony of his military background, and the personality traits that led to Lee’s decisions during the Civil War. As a result, Lee the American by Gamaliel Bradford Jr. and Robert E. Lee: The Soldier by Sir F. Maurice are important sources to this investigation, due to the background they give on Lee’s military training, personality, and victories in the battles leading up to Gettysburg.

Lee had given the Confederacy its greatest victory, and was now an idol of the southern people. Lee was one of the most supremely gifted men produced by our Nation. One of the four “greatest Americans” was none other than Robert E. Lee. His picture hung in President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s office. A New York dentist told Eisenhower that Lee helped the United States Government. Lee was a heroic role model to the nation that he has shown when he went to the war. Lee is a bit complicated, but he was extraordinary in what he does. Lee was there to serve the south and protect them. He made sure that they were safe and that the Union would not get in the way of that. His maneuvers were even better.

At this point in the Battle of Gettysburg, both North and South sustained large numbers of casualties. The Southern casualties roughly totaled 7,000 of 22,000 troops. The North suffered even more by losing 15,000 soldiers. Both sides needed to re-evaluate their battle strategies. Lee thought victory for the South was possible with better timing and artillery. Conversely, Meade and his other Union generals decided to stay in their current position and continue the battle (King 22).

This is a brief thought of the events that came to unfold. Some say that Gettysburg was the battle that stopped the confederate advance to the north. In addition, that Lee only wanted to take the battle out the state of Virginia that had been hit rather hard by the unions Army . In this review of the Battle of Gettysburg, we will discuss the key events that people believed that allowed the Union Armies to cause the retrograde actions of the confederate forces. In addition, what each side wished to accomplish. And how the wished to accomplish these tasked the imagined

Robert E. Lee was a very brilliant and strong military leader. He fought in many wars which he defeated them and he got defeated also. He was smart on how he fought in the wars. He had to earn his way up from the bottom all the way up to general. He had fought in the Civil War and in the Mexican War. He wanted to quit so bad but he never gave up and kept on going.

The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the American Civil war. General Robert E. Lee was the commanding officer of the Confederate army. During the battle of Gettysburg Lee’s military strategy was to fight offensive. Lee’s goal during the battle was to seize the high ground and out last the union army. The Union army had outnumbered the Confederate soldiers. General Lee’s first hand man was General James Longstreet. Longstreet believes the new technology in warfare would make attacking the Union army bloody for the Confederate soldiers. Longstreet suggests to Lee that defensive warfare tactics such as using trenches and rocks for cover and concealment would be the Confederacy’s best fighting chance. Lee denies Longstreet’s ideas and continued with the plan to fight out in the open and attack the enemies head on. After three days of fighting the Confederate army lost the battle at Gettysburg. Lee’s tactical approaches that led to this lost included the lack of communication and the absence of and with General J.E.B Stuart, Lee’s continuation to pursue offensive attacks and Pickett’s charge.

In life we all want to see things as black and white, cut and dry, and easy to understand. This is not the case with Robert E. Lee. He was smart, loyal and above all, complicated. We like to make him out as some old general guy who fought for the South in the Civil War. Eventually lost at Gettysburg and because it was the turning point of the Civil War; he became famous for losing. He is a lot more than just that. He was an actual person who, from his birth up to his death, dealt with real life situations.

Michael Shaara depicted General Lee as a widely respected, admired and wise commander who was decisive, regardless of whether the odds were in his favor or not. The decision to attack at Gettysburg had tremendous disapproval however Lee felt as if he had two choices-- fight in the enemy's face or retreat. Longstreet advised the General against the assault on Gettysburg given that the position of an uphill battle on open ground would be disastrous; however Lee was insistent that it be done. While the Confederate Army lost the Civil

It was a dark and wet June evening in 1863 when Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart (J.E.B. Stuart) received the order. Maintain contact with the enemy, harass and impeded the northerners if they attempt to cross the Potomac River, and guard the Blue Ridge’s mountain passes. If the enemy attempts to cross the river, cross first and stay on the Confederate’s right flank. The orders were clear enough for execution. General Robert E. Lee often issued orders that gave his trusted subordinates the leeway to conduct operations as they saw fit. Only this time, not even the strategically talented General Lee could predict the necessity of having Stuart’s Cavalry support the Army of Northern Virginia’s advance from the front and flank while maneuvering into Gettysburg.

I would rather not have done it upon this ground, but every moment we delay the enemy uses to reinforce himself. We must hit him now. We pushed him yesterday; he will remember it. The men are ready. I see no alternatives.” (pg. 184) This proves that General Lee was more concerned about taking quick action against the Union army rather than taking the time to figure out a more defensive attack in order to ensure a higher chance of survival for his

General Robert E. Lee’s impact on his leadership style have provide his men hope and loyalty, even on the day he surrendered at the Battle of Appomattox Court House in 1865, which is one also one of the last battles of the American Civil War. His men would be willing to fight, under his command, even to the very end. One of his men stated that they will go in and fight some more, if he order them to do so. General Lee’s leadership impacted even the most exhausted, dirty and hungry men, who were willing to fight and to give their ultimate sacrifice, simply because they believe in him. (Gipson, 2003)