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Posted By: on: 07/21/2000 22:53:27 EDT
Subject: RE: Re: Stuart's Ride

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(This is actually a continuation of the thread started by NewYawk under "Thank You Henry")

Did Stuart disobey his orders?
Simple answer: NO.
Lee discussed the possibility of Stuart riding around the AOP then making contact with Ewell after he crossed the river (the Potomac). Lee's orders were open to interpretation by Stuart. Stuart went around the AOP as permitted, but once east of the AOP he found the force to be larger/more spread out than he realized and had to travel considerably further than anticipated to get around it to cross the river. By the time he did cross the river Ewell was already headed BACK to Gettysburg and Stuart had some trouble finding him. By the time they reached Gettysburg, Stuart's men and horses were pretty well spent from their journey.

Should Lee have used other Cavalry?
Yes
During the advance into PA. the only cavalry available was Jenkins Brigade which was with Ewell. Jenkins couldn't/wasn't expected to scout for the whole Army, he was too far in front. Lee should have made provision for some Cavalry to stay WITH the main Army while Stuart was further out (actually cut-off) in the field.
After Ewell arrived in Gettysburg, Lee could have used Jenkins brigade for scouting missions (such as the LRT scouting on July 2) but instead he used staff officers who apparently were not very good scouts.
Bill N-T

I have seen where only Jenkins was at Gettysburg with Lee. This is correct, however there were also two other brigades of cavalry that Lee did not call up to Gettysburg. Instead he chose to have them guard the mountain passes that served as Lee's supply, communication, and retreat route. These other two brigades were John Imboden and William "Grumble" Jones brigades. Therefore Lee could have had three brigades of cavalry at Gettysburg with him. Needless to say this would have been plenty to scout the AoP's position. Why did Lee not use these brigades? I don't know if anybody will ever know that, but it was one of many mistakes that happened during the battle of Gettysburg.

Also Stuart did not take a joyride. He was blocked by the II corps so he had to ride around parts of the AoP in order to avoid being cut off from the ANV.

I do not believe that Stuart was out on a joyride at all, and it was Lee's fault that he did not have enough cavalry at Gettysburg.

newyawk
Carpe Diem

According to this article I just read, all confederate infantry divisions numbering 6,000-8,000 men had a cavalry contingent for scouting and couier duties...now, how many cavalrymen would this amount to?

shari

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RE: Re: Stuart's Ride - newyawk 07/25/2000 23:57:20 EDT (0)

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(This is actually a continuation of the thread started by NewYawk under "Thank You Henry")Did Stuart disobey his orders? Simple answer: NO. Lee discussed the possibility of Stuart riding around the AOP then making contact with Ewell after he crossed the river (the Potomac). Lee's orders were open to interpretation by Stuart. Stuart went around the AOP as permitted, but once east of the AOP he found the force to be larger/more spread out than he realized and had to travel considerably further than anticipated to get around it to cross the river. By the time he did cross the river Ewell was already headed BACK to Gettysburg and Stuart had some trouble finding him. By the time they reached Gettysburg, Stuart's men and horses were pretty well spent from their journey.Should Lee have used other Cavalry? Yes During the advance into PA. the only cavalry available was Jenkins Brigade which was with Ewell. Jenkins couldn't/wasn't expected to scout for the whole Army, he was too far in front. Lee should have made provision for some Cavalry to stay WITH the main Army while Stuart was further out (actually cut-off) in the field. After Ewell arrived in Gettysburg, Lee could have used Jenkins brigade for scouting missions (such as the LRT scouting on July 2) but instead he used staff officers who apparently were not very good scouts. Bill N-T <center><hr noshade width="25%"></center I have seen where only Jenkins was at Gettysburg with Lee. This is correct, however there were also two other brigades of cavalry that Lee did not call up to Gettysburg. Instead he chose to have them guard the mountain passes that served as Lee's supply, communication, and retreat route. These other two brigades were John Imboden and William "Grumble" Jones brigades. Therefore Lee could have had three brigades of cavalry at Gettysburg with him. Needless to say this would have been plenty to scout the AoP's position. Why did Lee not use these brigades? I don't know if anybody will ever know that, but it was one of many mistakes that happened during the battle of Gettysburg.Also Stuart did not take a joyride. He was blocked by the II corps so he had to ride around parts of the AoP in order to avoid being cut off from the ANV. I do not believe that Stuart was out on a joyride at all, and it was Lee's fault that he did not have enough cavalry at Gettysburg.newyawk Carpe Diem <center><hr noshade width="25%"></center> According to this article I just read, all confederate infantry divisions numbering 6,000-8,000 men had a cavalry contingent for scouting and couier duties...now, how many cavalrymen would this amount to?shari

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