Page 6 - Gettysburg weekend book

The Road to Gettysburg

In early May 1863 the Confederate army had soundly defeated a much
larger Union force at the battle of Chancellorsville. The remainder of
May and early June saw the two armies dug in and facing each other
across the Rappahannock river. The casualties at Chancellorsville
had been tremendous on both sides but most significantly, Lee’s
best fighting general, Stonewall Jackson, had been killed. As a
result, General Lee reorganized his army into three divisions to
be led by James Longstreet, Richard Ewell and A.P. Hill.

Even with all of the Confederate victories, the chance of ultimate
Confederate success was slipping away. Union ships were block-
ading Southern ports effectively eliminating any supply from
Europe. Many farmlands of the South had been ruined in the
war. The South’s last stronghold on the Mississippi river at
Vicksburg was under siege and certain to fall which would give
the Union control of the river and split the Confederacy in two.
Lee believed that a successful invasion of the North could lead to
England & France recognizing the Confederate government and
would put pressure on Lincoln to seek peace.
In late May General Robert E Lee and President Jefferson Davis devised
a desperate plan to take the war north into Maryland and Pennsylvania
with the intention of capturing much needed supplies. Their belief was
that a strong invasion of the north would turn its citizens against the war
(there were already anti-war riots in New York) and force Lincoln to sue
for peace. Success, however depended on the ability of Lee’s army to
outrun the Union army and only fight a major battle at a location that
greatly favored Confederate success.
In early June 1863 Lee began moving the 75,000-man army north
through the Shenandoah Valley staying on the west side of the moun-
tains to shield them from the Union army and tasking his cavalry under
J.E.B. Stuart to provide diversions by raiding Union outposts. Stuart
was to stay in contact with them main army as Lee depended on
the cavalry to keep him informed of Union troop movements and