Gettysburg - July 3, 1863

robycop3:
I'm not a close relation of General H.D.G. Crerar,
but am probably a distant cousin, from back in Scotland. My ancestors came to Canada, near Stratford Ontario, in the 1830's. My father H.A. Crerar was in the Canadian army in the 2nd ww, but was a sergeant. My father was great warrior in the Lords army. John Crerar

 

Thanx, Mr. Crerar!

Jarhed...I believe Jackson woulda talked Lee outta attacking Meade while Meade held the high ground & jeb Stuart's cavalry was unavailable. I believe Jackson woulda favored trying to maneuver Meade outta his position(which woulda been hard to have been done), or, most likely, simply bypassing Meade & pushing on into PA since Meade's force was the only significant fed army available in PA. Lee's army coulda found enough forage to feed itself, let alone lotsa aid from Southern sympathizers. It coulda well drawn Grant from the Mississippi line, allowing the rebs to retake it. However, the possibility woulda still loomed that Grant and Meade coulda trapped Lee in PA in a vice that ten Jacksons couldn'ta gotten him out of.

And had Lee and Jackson been able to defeat Meade, their army woulda suffered considerably more losses than they did in reality, as the feds were tough, seasoned, well-armed & equipped soldiers, fairly well-led in their middle and lower echelons. While the feds could easily replace their losses, the rebs could not, and the inevitable end mighta come more quickly.

 

It was a close thing for sure, had the South taken the high ground on the first day, when they could have taken it, or if Lee had moved his army toward Washington instead of attacking, the South's strategy of fighting a defensive battle on their own chosen ground would have probably given them a tremendous advantage. although it would have given Meade even more time to assemble troops.

Also, had Meade done what Lincoln urged him to do, and persued Lee to the Potomac, the war could have been pretty much over since it took so long for Lee to get his forces across the fords and back into Virginia. Probably the beginning of the end for Meade's short lived reign. without modern communications, the commander had to be one whose political will matched that of his commander-in-chief.