Existing comment:
General Robert E. Lee
CSA
1807-1870
The future of the first Confederate military campaign into Northern territory depended entirely upon Robert E. Lee's plan to deal with the Union soldiers at Harpers Ferry. Before he could pursue his goal to invade Pennsylvania and destroy the Union army in a pitched battle, Lee had to eliminate the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry. Lee's daring plan to capture Harpers Ferry divided his army into four parts separated by mountains and rivers. He knew that his soldiers were tired and poorly fed, and that many of them had been marching barefoot for six weeks. But Lee also knew that his ragged army would have to take risks to give the South a chance to win the war. |