GDG- RE: Ewell and the Hight Ground

[Margaret D. Blough]

One of the critical differences between Jackson's flanking maneuver at Chancellorsville and Longstreet's attempted flanking maneuver at Gettysburg was that Jackson had the cavalry with him and Longstreet didn't. In fact, it was Fitz Lee who persuaded Jackson, at the last minute, to make his attack down the turnpike rather than the Plank Road, enabling Jackson to attack the Union position from the rear, after Fitz Lee showed him that the Union flank extended farther than Jackson expected.  Jackson then sent Fitz Lee and a cavalry detachment along with the Stonewall Brigade to protect his one flank and Munford the other.

Regards,

Margaret

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: "Tom Ryan" <pennmardel at mchsi.com> 

> Esteemed GDG Member Contributes: 
> 
> 
> <> informative to consider Jackson's behavior at Chancellorsville. After tha 
> initial rout of the XI Corps, from what I know, Jackson did not wait for 
> Stuart to scout out the position. Instead, he scouted the position himself 
> and attempted to press the attack with his infantry. It seems to me that 
> cavalry was used primarily for scouting before a day's fighting started, not 
> at the hight of battle.>> 
> 
> Todd, 
> 
> Scouting was just as important before, during and after a battle. The 
> situation with Jackson you cite is a case in point, because Stuart's cavalry 
> scouted the Union right flank during the battle and found it was "in the 
> air" which gave Lee and Jackson the opportunity for a crushing flank attack. 
> 
> In addition to scouting during battles, cavalry at times also provided 
> artillery fire control information by placing vedettes on high eminences and 
> reporting on enemy positions. Cavalry also provided communication between 
> commanders and their units on the battlefield in order to insure these units 
> were in the correct position given the unfolding circumstances. 
> 
> Another important duty of cavalry during battles was to cover the army's 
> flanks, and keep the commander informed about enemy movements. 
> 
> Tom Ryan 
> 
> 
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