The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-03-10
CRITICISM OF
Gen. R0BT. E. Lee !
Gen. Thomas [. Rosser's Letter Con.
corning the Strategy ofthe Great.
( est Confederate eader.
Especial Dispatch to The Timcs.)

est Confederate Leader.
Special Dispatch to The Timcs.)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, March ~
General Thomas L. Rosser, of RUGBY
who has been engaged for several weeks
in writing and publishing a. series Of pa
pers on the Civil War. concluded his let
tiers this week in the Daily Progress.
General Rosser says:
1.-THE wisdom of General Lees invasion
+ of Pennsylvania in 1863 has often been
questioned by military men as well as
statesmen, but when you remember that
at that time Grant held General Pember-
ton by the throat at Vicksburg. and the
hope of the ultimate success OF the
Southern Confederacy was faint ana
Pickering, you will agree that the sltua-
ton called for desperate action.
General Lee had gained an easy vic.
tory over General Hooker at Chance1-
louisville in early May, and having low
estimate Of his military ability he felt.
that. a victory over him north Of the Po-
tomac was not beyond the bound of rea-
sonable hope. or even probability. and
/ the prospect was too tempting to be dis
regarded.
Lee had lost his lieutenant, StoneWall
Jackson, and While Lonsstreet was with
him, neither Ewell nor Hill, who had
recently been promoted from major to
lleutendNL-SCl dl. eSS1 SO1i1iiA6A11oSu
a corps in a battle, and While Lee must
have felt some anxiety, If not misgivings
concerning them, he had confidence in
his superb army and resolved to hake
the move, not as Napoleon marched on
Moscow in 1872, but as Scipo (Africanus)
went to Carthage in POI B. c., in order to
! loose the hold on Virginia, of the invading
army, and at the same time strike a blow
which would awaken an echo to be heard
in Europe and. through diplomacy, END
the war in favor Of the Southern Con-
! federacy.
! General Lee planned to give battle as
rear the range Of South Mountain as ne
could. so that in the event of disaster,
as was the case he could drop back
through the narrow mountain passes IN
| which he could resist the enemy ana
avert pursuit.
Had General Lee declined battle on the
| "a of July at Gettysburg, as General
| Longstreet claims he advised him. ana
| Meade had been forced by flank move
of Lee, back on Washington, ana pat
! tie fought and Lee defeated near WASH
ington, his army would doubtless nave
been destroyed before he could nave
reached a safe refuge in the mountains
or recrossed the Potomac at the nearest
| ford. which was west of the mountain.
therefore. Lee acted wisely in fighting
where he did, and the only mistakes ne
| made were tactical, not strategic as
| shown in my previous letter.
Had General Lee died at Gettysburg,
| he would not have ranked in history as
! a great general. His victories over NC
| Clellan, Pope, Burnside and Hooker "ouio
have been ascribed to the genius or
| Stonewall Jackson, who participated SO
| gloriously in. all Of them, for we all re-
| member that in the winter OF leol-z Gen
e-al Lee did not acquit himself with
| credit in his campaign against RosecrahS
| in West Virginia and the failure at Get
| tysburg with the dangerous halt at Fall
| ing Water and Williamsport, waiting TOT
! A freshet to run out of the Potomac SO
! that he might pass his army over IT,
| accustomed very unfayorable comment
! from many of our highest officers.
! General Lee was doubtless a great gen
eral, but his great military talent dld
! not shine out fully in all It's raalant
! sylendor until he met General U. ..
| Grant in the Wilderness in the spring OIL
| 1864. 9
| General Lee had merely played with
| Mcclellan, Pope, Burnside and Hooker
| taking great liberty with them and Vlo-
| lating every maxim of war IN MS CALI
| paiEns against them-suci, for instance
! as going off after Pope and leaving NC
| Clellan and his fine army on the James
| within a days march of Richmond, ana
| in leaving Hooker in June, 1868, with an
| army double his own in number at Fred
ericksburg, and marching around him to
| Culpeper-liberties which poor Hood mis-
| took for strategy, and in trying to 1ml-
| tate them left the road open to SHERMAN
| which he accepted, and march upon AZ
! lanta and the sea. While he, poor 1elloW,
| was defeated at Franklin. Tenn. ana
| had to be relieved Of his command ny
| General Joe. Johnston.
| Lee does not appear to have gotten
| strictly down to business until he was
I confronted by Grant in the Wilderness
in the spring OF 1864
| General Grant was greatly surprised
| when General Lee permitted him, unmo-
Tested. to cross the Rapidan on the 4th
! of May, 1864, with an army OF 1o4,OVo men
| and a train Of 1000 wagons.
Seeing nothing of Lee or his army,
| Grant believed that he had fled, and all
he had to do was to pursue. overhaul and
| destroy him. He little understood his
| great adversary. Lee was thoroughly IN
formed as to every move Grant made. ana
| when Grant begun, on the morning OF the
! 5th of May, to uncoil his great army,
! which lay in many folds around Germanla
Ford, and serpent-like extend its fiery
! and bristling head through the dark
jingles of the Wilderness. Lee, who was
| holding his little army Of $4,000 men mass
! ed and well ins hand on his flank. fell
upon him with the fury of a cyclone.
beating him at every point and COMPEL
| ing him to recall his advanced corps and
| to prepare for and fight the twodays'
battles of the Wilderness In which Cen
craI Lee and his little army most signally
| triumphed-
l General Grant now saw that in the
| game Of skillful manoeuverinS. he was
| not a match for General Lee. and feeling
| that he could not drive him out OF his
! path, he begun a series of the most re-
markable tactical evolutions ever en-
!, ployed on battlefield.
! Grants army was SO much larger than
| Lees that he could easily cover Lees
| entire front, which he did. but fearing
| Lees superiority in generalship, he en-
| Irenched himself with as much care and
| caution as il he We're the defensive. in
| stead of the offensive leader Holding
| a continuous entrenched line all along
| Lees front. and pressing with a con-
I slant strain at every point, he hoped to
! be able to slip his reserves from the
! rear and extend them to Lees right so
| as to get in between him and Richmond
( and cut him off from his supplies. But