The greatest hallmark of the American Civil War was the Battle of Gettysburg. It was fought between the first and third of July, 1863, in the tiny market town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. On the first of July the Potomac Army led by Major General George Meade and the Northern Virginia Army led by General Robert Lee met at Gettysburg. The battle involved forces of the Union and Confederate States. Motivated by the losses they had suffered in the West, the Confederate Army sought to salvage their control over the East at the very least. Their western front spread through Mississippi and Tennessee led by General Johnstone and General Bragg respectively. The leadership of the two Generals was compromised as a result of their antagonism with other key players in the Confederacy. General Johnstone and President Davies could not stand each other while General Bragg constantly bickered with his subordinates. The lack of teamwork saw the confederate army lose control of Mississippi as the Union Army crossed the Mississippi River gaining a strategic attack advantage over the Confederate forces.
It appeared imprudent to send additional Confederate forces to these ravaged areas due to logistical problems; notably transport. The only way General Lee could recover some of the control they had lost was through a successful invasion of the eastern states of Maryland or Pennsylvania. These areas also formed a strategic location due to the proximity of Washington and Richmond at which bold invasive attacks could be initiated. The East also had low union forces that were in a victorious state of mind due to their success against the confederate forces in other areas. This lax mental increased the chances of a successful confederate invasion of the north and chances of international recognition of the Confederate States as a union distinct from the Union states.
General Lee’s men also suffered from a shortage of food supplies which could be obtained from the farms in Pennsylvania. The Southern states sought to prove that they could win their independence. To achieve this, focus had to be shifted from the ills of the war such as the ravaged state of Virginia to the control of territory that the South retained and consequently the territories that demanded liberalization from the Union States. It is essential to note that Lee’s failed Maryland Campaign which had resulted in the Battle of Antietam motivated his second invasion of the North. These factors led General Lee to believe that an offensive attack against the Union Army in Pennsylvania was likely to be more fruitful than defensive strategies at Mississippi or Tennessee. This marked a move from the Confederate Army’s trademark defensive strategies to being the first to launch an offensive.
General Lee’s troops were organized into three corps with Lieutenant General Longstreet in charge of the First Corps, Lieutenant General Ewell in charge of the second, and Lieutenant General Hill in charge of the third. There was also a Calvary Corps led by Major General Stuart. General Hooker who led the Union Army before he was replaced by General Meade had divided his army into seven infantry corps, an Artillery Reserve and a Calvary Division. The first day of battle formed an early win for the Confederate General Lee as he managed to destroy the Union defensive lines formed on the ridges to the north west of Gettysburg. The Union lines had been spread out on McPherson Ridge, Herr ridge and Seminary Ridge, all found in the North West of Gettysburg. This move was a delay tactic by the Union Calvary aimed at buying time until the arrival of Union infantry forces which would defend Cemetery Hill and Culp Hill from Confederate invasion.
The fighting began early in the morning along Chambersburg Pike, which was about five kilometers to the west of Gettysburg. The commander of the Union Forces, General Reynolds was killed in battle and Major General Hancock was sent to assume his position in the field. The Union forces to the north and north-west were defeated by two divisions of the Confederate Army’s Second Corps. This saw their retreat to Cemetery Hill, south of the town. This high ground provided a strong defensive position to the Union Army thus General Lee sent orders to General Ewell that Cemetery Hill was to be taken if it were possible but General Ewell did not find this move practical and thus did not attempt it. During the evening of the first day and the morning of the second, the remaining troops of both armies arrived at Gettysburg. Despite the belief that the Union troops in Pennsylvania were outnumbered by the Confederate forces, the disparity in numbers was actually very little thus giving General Lee hardly any numerical advantage.
The Union forces formed a line from the south east of the town to the north-west which essentially meant that the line ran from Culp Hill to Cemetery Hill. This formation formed a fishhook shape. The Confederate line ran through the east side of the town eventually curving around the Culp Hill in the south east. Major General Lee’s key strategy involved attacking the Union Army on its left flank. The attack was to be carried out sequentially using two divisions of Lieutenant General Longstreet’s First Corps. A division of the Third Corps led by Major General Anderson was to aid the attack. Other troops from the Third Corps were sent to the center of the Union line to ensure that General Meade could not send reinforcements to the Union’s left flank. While this went on, two divisions of Lieutenant General’s Second Corps were to carry out an attack on Cemetery Hill and Culp Hill which were occupied by Union troops. The simultaneous attacks were intended to afford General Meade no time to shift his troops to either side in order to provide support to the Union soldiers under attack. The war could thus be won in a single day, or thus Lee thought. Lee’s plan was however ill informed of the location of the Union Army and instead of his troops attacking the Union forces from their left flank; they walked head on into the path of the third corps of the federal forces who had decided to shift their position to higher ground along the Emmitsburg Road.
During their match, the Confederate troops assigned to the left flank of the Union line ran into a Union station which forced them to counter-match to avoid detection. This wasted time and resulted in a deviation from Lee’s original plan. The confederate troops’ position was further to the East than planned. However, the Confederate division headed by McLaws managed to overwhelm the third Union corps reaching the famous “Valley of Death” before being assuaged by reserve troops from Pennsylvania’s fifth Corps. The third division was virtually crushed in the assault. General Sickles was injured in the onslaught forcing General Meade to send Hancock to take over command of the troops.
In the meantime the fifth Union Corps tried to maintain control over Little Round Top, a small plus strategic hill on the left of the Union flank. Despite his limited troops, Colonel Strong Vincent managed to resist repeat attacks from Brigadier Evander Law’s brigade. Lee’s decision to have a division of General Hill’s corps aid General Longstreet in his attack of the left Union flank may have disrupted Anderson’s chain of command leading to confusion over which general to follow. The reorganization should have been carried out earlier to avoid the confusion. Friction between Longstreet and Hill reduced any chance of their co-operation during the attacks which were meant to be simultaneous hence required great co-ordination. Part of the brigade led by Anderson marched without shoes and wore tattered garments, broiling under the scorching sun and severe humidity.
The Union’s right flank also received considerable assaults from the Confederate forces. The Second Confederate Corps led by Johnson faced single brigade of Union troops as most of them had been sent to aid the left flank. The brigade led by Brigadier Greene with reinforcement from the First and Eleventh Union Corps managed to hold off the Confederate attack although the Southerners managed to capture the lower part of Culp Hill. Two brigades belong to the Second Confederate Corps attacked the eastern side of Cemetery Hill resulting in the loss of almost half of the Union brigade defending the hill. The confederate troops did not however receive reinforcements in their attack nor did Major General Rode’s division attack from the western side of the hill. Thus unable to sustain their assault on the Union brigade who were aided by troops from their interior lines.
On the third day of battle, Major General Lee sought to implement the same strategy he had tried to utilize the day before; having the First Corps attack the Union’s left flank while the Second Corps attacked Culp Hill. However, the Union corps launched an artillery attack against Confederate forces on Culp Hill before the First Confederate Corps were ready to attack the Union’s left flank. This prevented the simultaneous execution of attacks. The Northerners sought to regain the territory at the bottom of Culp Hill that had been captured by the Southerners. The fight on the hill ended close to midday with the Union troops winning the fight for the hill. This turn of events forced a change in the attacking strategy employed by the Confederate side. The First Corps would attack the center of the Union line after the Federal troops had been bombarded by Confederate artillery.
The artillery bombardment began at 1pm but the Union Army did not return fire in order to save their ammunition for later attacks. The Southern Army thus ended up being low on ammunition and their artillery attack did not affect the Union troops too much. Two hours later the Confederate side stopped their cannon attack and advanced against the Union troops. The artillery fire that the Federal troops had saved for this infantry attack was used to attack the advancing soldiers. The Confederate leaders believed that the Northern side had used up their ammunition as well during the initial bombardment thus the attack came as a surprise and resulted in devastating consequences for the Southern army. The furthest advance made by the Confederate soldiers is referred to as the highest mark of the confederacy representing the closest point to which the Confederate states got to attaining their goal; independence from the Union States.
The Calvary troops led by General Stuart met the Federal troops to the east of Gettysburg. The battle that ensued prevented General Stuart from achieving his objective of cutting off the Federal lines of communication from the rear. The 4th of July saw the retreat of Lee’s troops to Chambersburg. Despite pleas from various leaders for General Meade to aggressively pursue and destroy Lee’s men in order to win the Civil War, the Union General did not. The Confederate Army crossed the River Potomac safely back to the South. The Union forces had won this particular battle but the South took it as a setback not a loss. In their opinion, they had retreated only after realizing that the Union General was not going to launch any offensive attack against them. It was perhaps a mutual win for both parties.
The Battle of Gettysburg recorded the highest number of casualties during the American Civil War. Both sides suffered massive casualties with General Mead losing approximately a quarter of his army while General Lee lost a third of his. The total number of casualties was well over 57,000 soldiers. Remarkably hardly any civilian deaths were recorded. However, the importance of this particular battle was not in the number of casualties but in the effect that it had on the ongoing Civil War. Despite its description as a ‘decisive battle’, the civil war still lasted for two more years before it came to an end.
General Robert Lee was an astute commander known to incur large numbers of casualties in attaining his goals. As one of the most respected commanders during the American Civil War, the former member of the United States Army led two unsuccessful invasions of the North. His failures may be attributed to lack of reliable intelligence on the movements of the Union military. The commander was also rumored to be unwell during the Gettysburg campaign, suffering from a chest condition which made it difficult for him to play and active role in the field. Perhaps one of his greatest shortcomings was the giving of orders that gave his subordinates wide discretion in carrying them out. Lee did not believe in staying on the defensive as this was no way to win a war. He was fooled by his success on the first day into launching a similar attack on the second day. Also, he held a strong belief in the invincibility of his men following their success at the Chancellorsville. Given that most of his soldiers felt the same way, he did not want to appear weak by playing defensive roles in the war. This error in judgment and emotional bias proved costly in the long-run.
Lee’s failed military performance during the Battle of Gettysburg was also heavily as a result of the failure of his subordinates. Ewell and Hill were only recently promoted following the death of Stonewall Jackson and were unfamiliar with Lee’s open ended commands. Notably, Stuart, in charge of the Calvary Division, was missing at periods of time when Lee required Calvary intelligence. Also, Lee’s open ended directions to Lieutenant General Ewell on the 1st of July directing him to seize Cemetery Hill if it was practical. This missed opportunity at seizing the high ground cost them dearly in the succeeding days. Perhaps if a clearer directive was issued things would have been different. One noteworthy aspect of General Lee’s tactical and operational strategies was not to destroy the Union troops but rather to demonstrate to the North that the South could claim their independence. He wanted the defeat of the Union forces at the Battle of Gettysburg to serve as a symbol of their defeat in the war. His target was not the Union’s military strength but rather their morale. His aims have been criticized for their unrealistic nature; a defeat in a single battle would not be enough to persuade the Northern legislators to let the South go free.
Major General Meade on the other hand is credited for their show of military strength during the battle. His performance was as a result of several advantages. First, the Union troops fought on their home territory thus enjoying the home advantage. Despite the fact that he had only recently replaced General Hooker, General George Meade managed to exercise effective control over his men making use of defense tactics to safeguard their stronghold. His subordinates were effective and efficient as well. He has however been criticized for his reluctance to pursue the Confederate forces upon their retreat, as encouraged by President Lincoln, which could have put an end to the war. Instead the Civil War lasted for two more years. General Meade did, however, attain his operational goal of subduing the invasion by the Southern forces. Long-term strategies of defeating the Confederacy through the Battle of Gettysburg as hoped by President Lincoln were futile as a defeat at Gettysburg would not serve to end the war. It would only defeat the morale of the policy makers in the Southern states.
The role of military intelligence in any war cannot be overemphasized. Broadly put, military intelligence refers to the collection and analysis of information pertaining to the movement of enemy troops in order to plan the movements of one’s own troops. This information provides guidance to leaders of troops in making their decisions. Military intelligence may be gathered using scouts, signal stations, interrogation of prisoners of war, captured documents and Calvary reconnaissance among others. These methods are as old as the art of war itself. Lee largely depended on information from the Calvary division of his army. Major General Stuart’s absence from General Lee’s side deprived him of information about the Union troops which would have been crucial in making the decisions he made. Perhaps, if Major General Lee had received sufficient information on the movement and strategies of General Meade’s troops the Battle may have been won. The Southern side did record a win on the first day of the war after all.
References
Cook, J. (2011). Military Intelligence During America's Civil War. American Civil War Round Table of Australia, 1-19.
Flynn, M. T., Pottinger, M., & Batchelor, P. D. (2010). Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan. Center for a New American Security, 1-28.
Haskell, F. A. (2010). The Battle of Gettysburg. Wisconsin: Democratic Printing Company.
