Existing comment:
"In order to reap the fruits of our victory, the pursuit should be most vigorous."
-- R.E. Lee, June 29, 1862
The Army of Northern Virginia would win many great battles under R.E. Lee's leadership, but on the morning of June 30, 1862, its victory total stood at precisely one. Three days earlier, at Gaines' Mill, the Confederates won a sweeping triumph. The soldiers in Lee's army recognized a blooming confidence, both in themselves and in their leaders. Lee hoped to harness that swelling momentum and use it against the retreating Union army. No longer worried about the immediate fate of Richmond, he turned instead to the business of trying to destroy his foe. His key deputies included Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, then the most famous general in the South, A.P. Hill, a mercurial division commander; and the steady James Longstreet.
Divide and Conquer:
An ancient military maxim argues that an army in motion is particularly vulnerable. With the Union army on the run, Lee intended to demonstrate the truth of that wisdom by pushing his own troops to intercept and disrupt the escaping Federal army. He had perhaps 60,000 men at his immediate disposal.
On June 29, Lee dispatched several separate columns in rapid pursuit. They aimed for control of the road network south of White Oak Swamp, and in particular the pivotal intersection at Glendale. If all went well, they would reach those places on June 30, perhaps positioned to split the Union army into smaller, more vulnerable segments. |