'We Had Only to Close Our Fingers' Though the quote is not, on its face, inaccurate, it must be noted that Lee's Army of Northern Virginia (ANV), the always prickly object of that potential fingers-closing 'easy grasp,' was like a broken, but not completely shattered beer bottle to which numerous multi-edged shards still adhered. The grasping of Lee's ANV in its prepared position on the Potomac would have been a deadly dangerous effort for the Army of the Potomac (AOP), an effort that would certainly have seen the AOP badly, perhaps even fatally, injured. Halleck's advice to Meade, that he should order an AOP attack on Lee's position without consulting his Corps Commander, must be considered in the light of the fact that Halleck had been studiously avoiding any responsibility for any command, though Lincoln had persistently encouraged Halleck to act in the position which he had sought, General in Chief.
Guelzo loves to bash Meade, but his assessment of that old snapping turtle is off base. The Army of the Potomac won the Battle of Gettysburg but suffered 28,000 casualties.The AOP was in no shape to carry on offensive operations. The men and horses were spent and they were short of food and ammunition.Guelzo is nothing more than a Monday morning quarterback. There is far more evidence to support Meade's cautious moves after Gettysburg. Lincoln was the author of both Bull Run battles that ended in defeat. He blamed McDowell and Pope. Lincoln prodded his generals to fight before they were ready. Grant lost 60,000 men in 4 weeks during the Overland campaign, but he was Lincoln's pet. Grant kept moving by the left flank until he settled in for the 8 month siege of Petersburg. He never prodded Grant. Guelzo is full of horse droppings!
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How much of American opinion of General Meade is based on uninformed emotion?
'We Had Only to Close Our Fingers'
Though the quote is not, on its face, inaccurate, it must be noted that Lee's Army of Northern Virginia (ANV), the always prickly object of that potential fingers-closing 'easy grasp,' was like a broken, but not completely shattered beer bottle to which numerous multi-edged shards still adhered. The grasping of Lee's ANV in its prepared position on the Potomac would have been a deadly dangerous effort for the Army of the Potomac (AOP), an effort that would certainly have seen the AOP badly, perhaps even fatally, injured.
Halleck's advice to Meade, that he should order an AOP attack on Lee's position without consulting his Corps Commander, must be considered in the light of the fact that Halleck had been studiously avoiding any responsibility for any command, though Lincoln had persistently encouraged Halleck to act in the position which he had sought, General in Chief.
Guelzo loves to bash Meade, but his assessment of that old snapping turtle is off base. The Army of the Potomac won the Battle of Gettysburg but suffered 28,000 casualties.The AOP was in no shape to carry on offensive operations. The men and horses were spent and they were short of food and ammunition.Guelzo is nothing more than a Monday morning quarterback. There is far more evidence to support Meade's cautious moves after Gettysburg. Lincoln was the author of both Bull Run battles that ended in defeat. He blamed McDowell and Pope. Lincoln prodded his generals to fight before they were ready. Grant lost 60,000 men in 4 weeks during the Overland campaign, but he was Lincoln's pet. Grant kept moving by the left flank until he settled in for the 8 month siege of Petersburg. He never prodded Grant. Guelzo is full of horse droppings!