General Longstreet and Gettysburg

 

Let's clear one thing up completely before I start. If it isn't completely clear already. I am no expert on the Civil War. No expert on war. Frankly, I don't know if I am expert at anything except running off my piehole. Yep. I like to expound upon things I know very little about. Having said that, here I go again...

Going by the movie by the name "Gettysburg", which is a Ted Turner production, General Longstreet comes out smelling like a rose. Not everybody at the time thought so. Come to think of it, I am not so sure he deserves at least SOME criticism. But the critical inference is there in the movie. You have to look for it, though.

Longstreet ( in the movie) sought to persuade Lee not to make the attack, and to choose better ground for a battle. In the end, he agreed to everything that Lee told him to do, but later seemed to be complaining about it. In the movie, he can be seen saying "we can take that hill"--meaning the hill on which Pickett's unit was destroyed. What else could he have done?

Again, according to the movie, Longstreet attempted to cede his authority to another general to lead the attack. Seeing that General Lee did not agree, he changed his mind, and went along with the plan. This is where Longstreet should have shut up about it. Or he could have resigned, and refused to lead an attack in which he knew could not succeed.

So why didn't he? That one is above my paygrade. I don't know why. But maybe he was the type of guy who would surrender his own judgement to somebody who he could not refuse. He joined the Republicans after the war. I think, and it is just my opinion; that Longstreet should have kept his mouth shut after that battle. That's if all this is factually correct, which it might not be.

Anyway, I talked out my ass again, so there's it all is. For what it is worth.