Would you like to become Robert E. Lee, if only for a moment?
Have you ever thought that you might have made better strategic decisions than Robert E Lee did in the Battle of Gettysburg?
Courtesy of Military.com you now have the opportunity to test your skills:
One of the most important battles of the U.S. Civil War –and indeed of all U.S. history — was the battle of Gettysburg. During the three days July 1-3, 1863, the country held its collective breath. This titanic struggle between the Confederate Army of North Virginia commanded by Robert E. Lee and the Union Army of the Potomac under General George Meade may have ultimately decided the war.
If the South had won a major victory, some historians believe that it would have caused the Confederacy to gain international recognition and support from England and France, humiliated Abraham Lincoln, and resulted in a negotiated end to the war on the Confederacy’s terms.
This simulation of the battle is a test to pit your decisions as Robert E. Lee against what actually happened. Many historians write that this battle was not Lee’s best battle and that certain choices could have dramatically improved the fate of his army on these three critical days.
Check out the simulation and see if your decisions could be the ones which would have changed the course of history.
Written by Sue
Big Mo Says:
November 27th, 2007 at 10:39 amVisit Big Mo
Sue - I saw that at Evangelical Outpost. It was fun and I played with it until I got a Confederate victory. Didn’t care for it too much because there were other options Lee could have made. Besides, it also assumes that the Union command would have done nothing in return.
Ultimately, a Confederate victory at Gettysburg would not have won the war for the South. I wrote at EP that: Vicksburg still would have fallen, as would have middle Tennessee (to Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland). The Army of the Potomac would have fallen back to prepared positions and Lee’s exhausted army could not have defeated it again–to say nothing of taking Washington. Re-inforced and resupplied, the Army of the Potomac would have come out to fight again and Lee would eventually have had to retreat.
Meanwhile, by the summer of 1863, foreign recognition was no longer an option. That hope had been dashed the previous fall following the twin repulses in Maryland and Kentucky. England had decided to stay its hand, and so did France (following England’s lead).
Gettysburg may have been a psychological turning point, but militarily, it wasn’t THE turning point. (See Archer and Hattaway’s How the North Won for a great explaination.)
(Yes, I AM a history nerd
Sue Says:
November 27th, 2007 at 11:03 amVisit Sue
I actually thought of you Big Mo when I saw this.
There is nothing “nerdy” about being a history buff…I live with one too!
I showed this to the better half last night and he agrees with you that no matter the winner at Gettysburg, the eventual victory would not have been altered.
I will check out that book you have posted. Wonder if it would make a good Christmas gift for a huge Civil War fan?? We have so many already but another would never hurt.