GDG- What did Lee Know for sure?

[John Baniszewski]

Terrain and lack of time played an important role in the problems Longstreet's initial attack on July 2 encountered.  After discovering Sickles' prescence, McLaws and Hood needed to line up on Warfield Ridge in order to utilize the tree cover to conceal their line from Union artillery.  This resulted in a line four brigades wide, stretching over a mile, running roughly north to south.  Hood's line, two brigades wide, was about a half mile wide.  In order to attack "Up the Emmitsburg Road", that line would need to wheel left about 70 degrees.  The man on Robertson's left flank merely had to turn - the man on Law's right flank would have to travel about three-fourths of a mile in such a wheel.  Given the small amount of time that Longstreet had to change the direction of his attack, and the fact there were two separate brigades, with nine separate regiments involved, it is no wonder the attack started badly.   If both brigades had wheeled, hinged on Robertson's left on the
 Emmitsburg Road, Law's right would have struck right about where the Devil's Den is, hitting Ward's left flank.  Robertson's left two regiments wheeled, like they were supposed to.  His right two regiments followed the Alabamians, like they were supposed to.  But the Alabamians went straight, rather than wheel.  

Given the time pressure Longstreet faced, the number of separate units involved, the slow speed of communication (a messenger on a horse), the length of the battle line, the difficulty of doing a proper wheel of that many men, and the disagreement between Hood and Longstreet as to the direction of the attack, it is no wonder things got screwed up.  Under the circumstances, I am not sure any Civil War general could have made everything go the way they were intended.

John Baniszewski



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