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“While President Jefferson Davis in Richmond and his own soldiers continued to support him with unwavering trust, Gen. Lee wrestled with his own demons, including his ill-fated invasion of Pennsylvania, which had been successful through the first day of fighting at Gettysburg. Other more tangible challenges included his ongoing concern about the well-being of his men due to a lack of adequate supplies, and by his own lingering health problems. His “violent back pains” were probably the result of the chronic heart problems that would kill him in 1870.10”

American Civil WarCivil War Eastern TheaterRobert E LeeConfederate ArmyArmy Of Northern VirginiaConfederate States Of America
Book:The Maps of the Bristoe Station and Mine Run Campaigns: An Atlas of the Battles and Movements in the Eastern Theater after Gettysburg, Including ... 1864
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“Some historians believe that the Wilderness could have been as great a victory for Lee as that of Chancellorsville a year before. The difference was the absence of both Stonewall Jackson and Lee's characteristic aggressiveness. As indicated earlier, a recent historian believed Lee put his troops in motion a day too late and when he did, he issued contradictory orders to his lieutenants, Ewell and Hill . . . Gordon Rhea went a bit further in his indictment of Lee. He took issue with the commonly held belief that Lee had "trapped Grant in the Wilderness". "He was merely the fortunate beneficiary of sloppy Federal planning and reconnaissance." He went on the write that "his failure to take affirmative steps to impede Grant's progress or to accelerate his own army's response exposed the Confederates to peril." Rhea bluntly noted that "Lee made several decisions during the battle which put his army and his cause in serious jeopardy." Perhaps Lee's most serious shortcoming during the battle was his inability to coordinate the two wings of his army, and as a result they fought as independent entities.”

American Civil WarCivil War Eastern TheaterRobert E LeeConfederate ArmyArmy Of Northern VirginiaConfederate States Of America
Book:The Maps of the Wilderness: An Atlas of the Wilderness Campaign, Including all Cavalry Operations, May 2-6, 1864
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“Ironically, Meade won the campaign but lost the trust of his commander-in-chief, while Lee lost the campaign but Davis continued to hold him in high esteem. Lingering health concerns, however, including likely bouts of angina pectoris (heart problems), convinced Lee that he was no longer able to satisfy the rigorous demands of running an army in the field. His stamina was waning. Lee tended his resignation after Gettysburg, but Davis would have none of it. Who else could possibly command the Army of Northern Virginia as well as even a weakened Lee?”

American Civil WarCivil War Eastern TheaterRobert E Lee
Book:The Maps of the Bristoe Station and Mine Run Campaigns: An Atlas of the Battles and Movements in the Eastern Theater after Gettysburg, Including ... 1864
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