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General Robert E. Lee had several goals when he decided to raid Union territory and attack the capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. With that said, it's clear that Lee's main objective was to attack the North's will to continue the war by decisively defeating the Union on its own territory. In 1863 and in the years before and after Gettysburg, the Northern Army of the Potomac was a key force for the Union. Although Lee had defeated this army several times and when it was commanded by at least four Union generals, this army continued to be a strong fighting force by replacing soldiers who had become casualties. In the upcoming battle, which did occur unexpectedly at Gettysburg, Lee's plan was to not only to defeat the Army of the Potomac, but to utterly destroy it. Lee's method for doing so was what is tactically referred to as defeating an enemy army in detail. "In detail" is the military tactic of bringing a concentrated and large force against a portion of the enemy's army, destroying it, and then repeating this tactic against any and all of the remaining elements that still existed.For the most part, battles in the US Civil War were won or lost, however, the losing army was able to escape to only reorganize and live to fight another day.

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Q: What did General Robert E Lee mean when he said his plan was to defeat the Union army at Gettysburg in detail?
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Who were the union commanders in the Battle of Gettysburg?

Robert E. Lee for the South ,George Meade for the North.actually it was Ulysses s grant for the north. dumb answer ^^No, actually Robert E. Lee and George Meade are correct. You can check for yourself... just type Robert E. Lee or George Meade into Google.the actual answer is for the north general Meade, colonial Chamberlain, south general Lee, and Longstreet (trust me I'm reading the killer angels and that goes into Gettysburg with more detail than you will ever want)by the way Grant was not even at Gettysburg the first answer was correct.


What has one of General Lee's staff officers written about the planning of the Gettysburg raid of 1863?

Major General Trimble was one of General Lee's staff officers at the time of the raid into Pennsylvania. He recored notes that indicate that Lee had planned a major effort with regards to his raid into Pennsylvania. Trimble's recorded notes prior to the raid indicate that Lee was confident he would be able to concentrate his army's forces against a tired, hard marching and strung out Union army. Even more so when he learned that the Army of the Potomac had its 4th commanding general, George Meade. Lee's plans called for using a concentrated force to defeat in detail, remnants of Union army units as they tried to reach the Army of Northern Virginia. This would dive one corps back upon another, causing panic and no time to plan a counterattack. The virtual destruction of the Army of the Potomac, as Lee planned, would have made an impact on the war that would be impossible to fully imagine. As was seen, General Trimble's notes were just that, only notes. The Gettysburg campaign was a Confederate defeat.


What caused Confederate General James Longstreet to have operational problems on day two at the Battle of Gettysburg?

The US Civil War Battle of Gettysburg was a complicated three day battle that requires as much detail as possible to understand the intricacies of the affair that had a huge, but not a decisive turning point in the war.Major General Longstreet led the I Corps and on July 2, was scheduled to conduct an assault on Union General Meade's left flank. He was then to turn and roll northward along Cemetery Hill. This was in conjunction with a diversionary attack by forces under General Ewell.Commanding General Robert E. Lee's plan was to have Longstreet begin his assault at 7 A. M. on July 2nd. Operational circumstances, however, caused a delay. It's true that the head of the Southern column was ready at the appointed hour, however, the rest of his army was over three hours behind, and lagging. This would impair their battle performance, nevertheless, they did arrive but, the attack was only launched at 4 P. M. This was a full nine hours late, giving General Meade to assemble his forces to resist the flank attack by Longstreet. This was pivotal to the outcome of the battle and cannot be overlooked.


What was Robert E Lee's tactical plans for the Battle of Gettysburg?

Although General Robert E. Lee did not write his war memoirs, many of his commanders kept notes on what Lee's plans were in any given situation. Based on notes taken by Confederate General Isaac Trimble, Lee tactical plans paraphrased consisted of attacking the enemy as it advanced with an overwhelming concentration of force. This was contingent on when he found out what road Meade's army was advancing on. Lee believed this would surprise Meade and beat each unit Lee's forces came upon, destroying Union regiments in detail. He believed this would cause a panic and with Meade being the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, this tactic would be a success. But once again the crucial element was to find Meade's army.


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Without getting into a lot of detail, it was essentially a 'last ditch' effort by the Allies of the Seventh Coalition (Britain and Prussia) to finally defeat Napoleon and kill him or send him to a more permanent exile.

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General Robert E. Lee believed that by reinforcing Stonewall Jackson at Staunton, Jackson would be able to defeat Union General Fremont's army in detail. With General Fremont defeated in such a manner, Lee believed Jackson could cut General McClellan's lines of supply and communications, while Lee challenged McClellan's forward forces in battle on the Peninsula.


Who were the union commanders in the Battle of Gettysburg?

Robert E. Lee for the South ,George Meade for the North.actually it was Ulysses s grant for the north. dumb answer ^^No, actually Robert E. Lee and George Meade are correct. You can check for yourself... just type Robert E. Lee or George Meade into Google.the actual answer is for the north general Meade, colonial Chamberlain, south general Lee, and Longstreet (trust me I'm reading the killer angels and that goes into Gettysburg with more detail than you will ever want)by the way Grant was not even at Gettysburg the first answer was correct.


What has one of General Lee's staff officers written about the planning of the Gettysburg raid of 1863?

Major General Trimble was one of General Lee's staff officers at the time of the raid into Pennsylvania. He recored notes that indicate that Lee had planned a major effort with regards to his raid into Pennsylvania. Trimble's recorded notes prior to the raid indicate that Lee was confident he would be able to concentrate his army's forces against a tired, hard marching and strung out Union army. Even more so when he learned that the Army of the Potomac had its 4th commanding general, George Meade. Lee's plans called for using a concentrated force to defeat in detail, remnants of Union army units as they tried to reach the Army of Northern Virginia. This would dive one corps back upon another, causing panic and no time to plan a counterattack. The virtual destruction of the Army of the Potomac, as Lee planned, would have made an impact on the war that would be impossible to fully imagine. As was seen, General Trimble's notes were just that, only notes. The Gettysburg campaign was a Confederate defeat.


What is the consensus among historians concerning how the Battle of Gettysburg could have ended the US Civil War?

Although Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia were defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg, it came no where nearer as to the final results of the war. Lee was able to escape back to Virginia and his army would live to fight again. If, however, the Army of Northern Virginia had been defeated in detail, and not allowed it to escape, most historians believe that such a defeat would have basically ended the war in 1863.


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