Why are Confederate General Robert E Lee's incursions into the North called raids?

Answer 1

The motivations were:

Resupply his army by living on the country.

By means of the strategic intimidation against Washington, attract the Army of the Potomac to give battle from an unfavourable position inflicting them a decisive defeat, thus "convincing " Great Britain to acknowledge the Confederacy as an independent State and intervene in the conflict.

Answer 2

General Lee was emboldened by his victory at Chancellorsville to set forth again for a large raid on the North. He was confident that of the Union generals available, none were competent to stop another Southern incursion over the Potomac River into Maryland and Pennsylvania. Although the war was well over two years long and running. the Union, despite its clear possibility to have a "second Army of the Potomac " ready, had no forces to both defend the North against a Lee raid, and another 100,000 troop army to wreak havoc in Virginia if Lee took the chance of outflanking Hooker's Army of the Potomac. Lee did outflank Hooker's army and crossed the Potomac River unchallenged like a Summer's visitor to Maryland and then Pennsylvania.

Answer 3

Military historians have a military way of viewing all the events of the US Civil War. Robert E. Lee's incursions into Maryland and Pennsylvania are termed raids by military people. They were not invasions in that generally speaking an invasion is an event that is meant to remain in enemy territory and continue to invade as many parts of an enemy's territory as possible. The invasion of Normandy for example was not a "raid" it was a genuine invasion as history has shown us.Lee's intention was to remain in enemy territory and to return to Virginia. As a further example we have General Sherman's invasion of Georgia. It was clearly not a raid but an invasion in every sense of the word.