Lee looked at Taylor coldly. "That was not the order of march I detailed last night"
"There must have been some confusion, sir."
"Obviously," Lee replied sharply.
He turned away with head lowered, field glasses dangling from his neck, hands clasped behind his back, a gesture that indicated to those around him that he was on edge.
The tie-up on the road was unacceptable. It could be expected with green troops, but this was an army that needed to move fast especially if a battle was developing just ahead. Someone had "misunderstood" orders yet again. It had happened two months ago at Salem Church, and a certain victory had been thrown away. He would not let it happen again. Not today, especially not today, with so much at stake.
"Colonel Taylor, would you please get out the maps."
There was a scurry of activity. The church was found to be unlocked; a table and chairs were carried out Lee, like Jackson, refused to use a place of worship for military activities and hesitated even to intrude on a private residence. The furniture was set up under a wide-spread elm behind the church. The headquarters map was unrolled on the table and Lee came over, Longstreet and the staff gathering around.
The courier from Heth was still with them, and Lee looked up. "Lieutenant, is General Heth in the town?" He hesitated, looking again at the map, "Gettysburg?"
The courier, somewhat nervous, came up to the table and shook his head. "Ahh, no sir. There's a big school building up on the crest of the hill just to the west of the town. The Yankees are dug in there. We got right up to it yesterday before retiring back when the Yankee cavalry rode in. I heard the boys say it was a Lutheran seminary."
‘That's west of the town?" Longstreet interrupted.
"Yes, sir."
"Any infantry?"
"We didn't see any, sir."
"They're there," Lee said quietly, looking up from the map and back to the east. "Harry would have driven them by now if it was just cavalry. It's obvious he hasn't; the battle is spreading."
"Heth's orders were to probe, not seek a fight," Longstreet interjected. Lee nodded.
"We don't know what's up there," Longstreet continued, and he traced the network rjf roads coming into Gettysburg. "They could be moving up right now, and we're spread out"
"I know that" Lee replied. This time his tone indicated that he wanted silence.
More couriers were coming in as the minutes dragged out while Lee stood silent, gaze locked on the map. Reports now of two Union infantry corps, definitely the Union's First Corps, possibly the Eleventh as well.
"Sir?"
It was Pete.
"Yes, General?"
"Their entire army might be deploying behind that town."
"You're advising me to break off."
"Sir, Harry Heth stuck his neck into it up there," and Pete pointed off to where the plumes of smoke were boiling up. "There's confusion on the road; we'll be feeding in piecemeal the rest of the day. Pull Heth back. This land right here,
sir, it's good ground. They'll come up, just like at Fredericksburg last December. The politicians back in Washington will be screaming at Meade to attack. He's new to his job as commander. He'll feed them in. Atop these heights, we can mow them down."
Lee stepped back from the map, looking to where Pete was pointing. The ground was good, right on the eastern flank of the mountain. Orchards dotted the upper slope, and even as he looked Pete continued to press his case.
"Guns up in the orchards-just drop a few trees for clear fields of fire-infantry farther downslope. Flanks anchored, and a secured line of communications behind us back to Chambersburg. Just like Fredericksburg, even better, sir, with a narrower front Let them come on, sir."
Lee nodded, then motioned for Longstreet to mount Lee got into the saddle and rode down the slope, Longstreet coming up by his side. Cutting across an open pasture, reining in at the edge of a cornfield where the stalks were already waist high, they stopped. Lee turned and looked back up the slope. Longstreet was right; the ground was good, very good.
The Dutchman, feeling that he was winning his point continued to press the argument "They'll come up these slopes, and it will be a slaughter."
"Malvern Hill in reverse," Lee said quietly. "One year ago today."
Longstreet nodded. Everyone in the army knew Malvern Hill was a sore spot with Lee, a battle he wished he had never fought a disaster of disorganized brigades charging up an open slope into the muzzles of over a hundred Union guns.
"It will never happen," Lee said quietly, eyes locked on the slope they had just ridden down. "
‘Sir’
"Always consider the position from the view of your opponent Look at this place," Lee announced, pointing. "Would you attack if they were up there?".
"I don't quite follow you, sir."
"Just that, General," Lee replied sharply. "Neither you nor I would attack if those people were dug in here. We learned that at Malvern Hill. They learned it at Fredericksburg. You have a good eye for ground, General. This position is perfect, and that is why they will never attack us if we dig in here. It's too perfect"
"He'll be under pressure from Washington though."
"And we're under a different pressure, General. We can't dig in and wait. Supplies will have to move up through that single road we just traversed. Three, four days and this countryside will be stripped clean of food, and then we'll have to either attack him or pull back.
"No, sir," Lee continued. "Meade will see us dug in here, and he'll wait us out. Then we will have to withdraw, and we will have gamed nothing, sir, nothing." He slapped his thigh as he spoke.
"General Longstreet, we cannot continue to fight indecisive battles. Down that road lies defeat. Vicksburg is in trouble; that was part of our reason for coming up north, to try and divert forces away from the fighting in the West Our own Army of Northern Virginia will never be stronger than it is this week.
"I want this war to end. What will another Fredericksburg give us? Twenty thousand of their men casualties, five to ten thousand of ours, and the slaughter will have given us nothing. Another battle like that just wears us down a little bit more, and they will continue to get stronger in spite of their losses. They can replace their losses in a month; we no longer can.
"We will not end the war fighting defensively in this place, not here. The enemy is up that road, General. General Heth has met them. You saw the map. We know that two of our divisions, Early and Rodes, are coming down on Gettysburg from the north and northeast. We are coming in from the west I think, sir, we just might have them. Push in hard, and if God wills it we can catch part of their army and annihilate it before the rest comes up.
"Our job is to find the right place and shatter the Union army. We have to win a victory so decisive that the North's will to fight will be shaken, and they will agree to a truce. Any victory less than that will ultimately be a strategic defeat. We have had two years of bloody, indecisive fighting. Now is the time for that decision, and down that road toward Gettysburg is where we are going to force it"
"What about Stuart?"
"He'll be found today."
"I hope so."
A rolling thunder, clearly audible now, washed over them, and both looked back to the east
"General Longstreet you are now my right arm. I ask you to understand that I could always count on you in the defense; you demonstrated that at Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg. I need more from you now, General, much more. I need your voice of caution, but I need you to see the opportunity for attack, for audacity."