Monday, March 22, 2010

Would Jackson have won at Gettysburg?

No. Absolutely not.

These are reasons why Jackson would not have won:

1. The Confederates were worn out. To have continued the attack would have taxed thier strength to the point that it would have snapped. Even Jackson would have given his men a few minutes rest, and by then, the Union defense on the hills would have been solidified.

2. Terrain was not in his favor. The Yanks were on a hill, and had good fields of fire that would have killed many troops before even getting within rifle range.

3. The Confederates had taken massive casualties. July 1 was the bloodiest of the 3 days, because entire units were destroyed and the casualties were high.

4. Yanks were pouring in every minute. The build up of forces would have slowed Jackson down sugnificantly, allowing the Union time to press thier advantage of troops.

5. True, the 2nd Corps would not have been broken into two corps, allowing Jackson more men on the field under his personal command. At most, he would have only had 30,000 men at the start of the battle, and he would have been facing several Union Corps (at least 2, if not more) numbering about 15,000 if there was only 2 Union Corps. Even a succesful attack would have cost the Confederates so dearly, that they would have needed a day to rest, more then enough time for Meade to form good defenses at Philidelphia and Baltimore.

Most people consider Jackson would have succedded where Ewell failed. Would he have? He would have done a better performance. But, if he had failed to carry the heights, then, think of how less men there would have been to attack the following days.