GDG- If Sickles Had Stayed Where He Was Supposed to be

[John Baniszewski]

SNIP

If Meade wanted Sickles troops moved he 
should have got off his lazy butt 
and went the first time.

SNIP

Lazy butt?  

The last thing Meade could be accused 
of at Gettysburg is laziness.  According
to letters he sent his wife after the
battle, he probably averaged three hours
sleep a night for two weeks.  

Sickles made his move about 15 hours
after Meade arrived at Gettysburg.  How 
did Meade spend that 15 hours?  He
conducted a personal survey of his
lines, met with all of his subordinated
to learn their situation, directed the
placement of arriving troops, and during
the morning made plans for an offensive
by the 12th Corp, supported by the 5th.
And this is all between midnight and 
3:00 PM.  

Lee's line the morning of July 2 faced
south, not east.  There was as much
reason for Meade to expect an attack 
from the north.  The morning of July 2,
there was no evidence that the critical
sector of the batlefield would be
to the southwest.
north

Considering how busy soemone like him
would be, he must be expected to
delegate a lot of duties. Meade did that
with Sickles, sending both his son
and Hunt.  With everything on his plate,
it was reasonable for Meade to decide
that his personal supervision was not
required to see that a corp commander
did what he had already been told to do.

How many of us could accomplish as much
as Meade in 15 hours (especially during
the night)?  How many of us would delegate
tasks in order to deal with a situation
like the one Meade faced. 

I guess you can criticize Meade for not
being Superman.  You could also criticize
him for not making time slow down, as one
of the Old Testament prophets did. But
the last thing Meade was on July 2 (or
any time between June 28 and July 14)
is lazy.

John Baniszewski 





John Baniszewski