dezrt,
I’ve been told we cannot call him “Smack” and, evidentially, I’ve been locked out of Private Messages because I called him thus.
Anyway, I think your Bruce Catton may have put his opinion on history. Lee most assuredly lost in all three engagements by any measurement I can apply to the battle.
And no, “almost winning” is not the same as winning. “almost winning” is the same as losing.
You have Catton, I have Foote:
Shelby Dade Foote, Jr. (November 17, 1916 – June 27, 2005) was an American novelist and a noted historian of the American Civil War. With geographic and cultural roots in the Mississippi Delta alluvium, Foote’s life and writing paralleled the radical shift from the agrarian planter system of the Old South to the Civil Rights era of the New South. Foote was relatively unknown to the general public for most of his career until his appearance in Ken Burns’ PBS documentary The Civil War in 1990, where he introduced a generation of Americans to a war that he believed was “central to all our lives.”
Upon approval for the new plan, Foote commenced to write the comprehensive three volume, 3000-page history, together entitled The Civil War: A Narrative. The individual volumes include Fort Sumter to Perryville (1958), Fredericksburg to Meridian (1963), and Red River to Appomattox (1974).
Foote supported himself during the twenty years he worked on the narrative with Guggenheim Fellowships (1955-1957), Ford Foundation grants, and loans from Walker Percy.
Foote labored to maintain his objectivity in the narrative despite his Southern upbringing. He deliberately avoided Lost Cause mythologizing in his work. He gained immense respect for such disparate figures as Ulysses Grant, William T. Sherman, Patrick Cleburne, and Edwin Stanton. He grew to despise such figures as Phil Sheridan and Joe Johnston. He considered United States President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest to be two authentic geniuses of the war. He stated this opinion once in conversation with one of General Forrest’s granddaughters. She replied, “You know, we never thought much of Mr. Lincoln in my family.”
Foote went on to narrate many Civil War documentaries. His penchant for speaking as if the war were currently going on was a favorite among viewers and writers a like.
Now, i can’t say he ever earned a Pulitzer, not that a Pulitzer is all that big of a deal when they give it to simple journalists anyway. But it makes you wonder, if a southerner says that Lee lost all three days, shows you numbers lost on both sides, goes into great detail on how and where Lee lost, maybe Lee actually lost?
Especially when you put it in perspective of this game, as I did above. You cannot say that when you attack with 5 times the size of the defender on day 1, get your butt handed to you and finally take what is given to you when the defender decides it is time to leave that you won.
Same with day 2. You cannot throw multiple waves of attackers at the defender, get kicked back to the curb each time, and pretend you won.
And, while I don’t think anyone is arguing this point, on Day 3 he royally lost. Sure, he made it too the stone wall. Guess what, the Union made it to the stone wall in Fredericksburg too! The men who crossed over were nominated, by Southern Soldiers, for the medal of honor. BOTH sides knew, WELL in advance that those types of attacks were insane and not very fruitful. Lee decided to destroy his army as a serious fighting force, decimating moral and reducing his numbers significantly making the attempt anyway - DESPITE ALL HIS OFFICERS TELLING HIM OTHERWISE (and yes, Pickett wanted into the fight, but he did not necessarily want to make the charge of the Light Brigade seem wise and victorious!)
Therefore, there are only two options:
1) Lee lost his bloody mind, at least temporarily. Much akin to the player who just lost Japan to America and makes a last ditch effort, against all the odds, throwing everything he has at Russia in hopes of luck playing to his advantage. (Almost never works, but there’s a chance, albeit slim though it is.)
2) Lee realized that his invasion was doomed and with it, the cause of the south. Thus, if he could incur enough casualties, maybe he could dishearten the patriots of his country into surrendering before the Federals could re-invade his homeland and return to pillaging and destroying the countryside.
As for me, I want to believe it is number 2. However, if you want to keep convincing me it was number 1, feel free.