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Lee at Pickett's Charge Ellie Shue Mr. Wimmer APUSH

General Robert E. Lee was a key contributor in the Civil War. He led the Confederate troops in one of the momentous battles of the war; Gettysburg. Before coming to Pennsylvania for this battle, Lee had a very clean track- record. Every time he led his soldiers in battle, they were victorious; so he was very confident in both their capabilities as well as his own. He had just won a major battle at Chancellorsville, which contributed to his plan to invade the North once again, however this time through Pennsylvania. He was hoping to, through winning this battle, add strength to his forces along with finally bring in foreign intervention, a high hope for the Confederate side.

At the battle of Gettysburg, Lee planned to attack the left and right flanks of the Union army. But after two days of fighting, victory for Lee was still elusive so he made another plan; this time to attack the center of the forces, first with a massed artillery barrage followed by a quick infantry assault along with a cavalry assault on the rear. If carried out properly, this tactic would have easily thrown off the enemy and caused parts of the Union army to withdraw. However, the Confederate army was not professional by any means, and therefore not skilled enough to logistically pull the plan off. What ensued in the battle known as Pickett's Charge was a chaotic and completely unorganized charge. With this dismal situation, Lee went with the option that had worked best for him in the past; a bold move. Unfortunately, this proved to be a major disaster for the Confederate army, which suffered over 23,000 casualties, about half of the present troops.

All in all, the fate of Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg was determined by General Lee. And, calamitous for the Confederates, his hubris was the key factor in that fate. Lee’s abundance of victories and lack of losses incredibly heightened his self- confidence. So much that he saw his leadership as utterly sound and his troops unbeatable. He paid no heed to others’ concerns, even when a fellow Confederate Lieutenant General, James Longstreet, forewarned him that his plan of frontal assault against entrenched troops was not likely to work; especially because they had recently beaten the Union, using the same tactic, at Fredericksburg. His arrogance outshined reason which sincerely cost the Confederate force as a whole because the Union’s victory at Gettysburg was the push they needed to fight through to the end and eventually win the Civil War.