Alt Gettysburg?

[Valus36]

okay, i know there has been many alt on gettysburg, things like if stuart had arrived at the end of the first day, if lee had listened to longstreet, etc. we have all have heard it before, but i have thought of a different line, breaking away for others. Don't know if anyone is intrested in this or not, but here goes....

What if Lee had change the postions of the corps? What I'm implying is that Lee changed his line of march. So lets say that instead of Hill's corps being the one to advance down the Chambersburg Pike on July 1st, what if it was Longstreet's corps instead? Also, lets have Hill's corps coming down from the north instead of Ewell's corps. Ewell's corps is the one that is taking the place of Longstreet's corps in otl.

So how does the battle play out (please note that i did not change the Union's line of march)? Stuart will still not get to Gettysburg untill the afternoon of Day 2. Will the battle be the same as otl or not? I would like your thoughts and comments on this, good or bad. Thanks.

[Elfwine]

Longstreet is likely to behave significantly differently than A.P. Hill did OTL, and his division commanders differently than Hill's.

So the whole flow of the battle is going to be different from the start.

Will Longstreet even advance as Hill did, for instance? I doubt it - certainly not in any circumstances where Lee's orders don't require him to.

After all he was against attacking here, so he's likely to prefer to wait for the army to be concentrated, and/or Stuart to arrive.

A.P. Hill, assuming he acts as OTL, is in for a nice spot of trouble, as I and XI Corps can concentrate against him - Longstreet is probably ordered to advance in response, which could have interesting consequences.

I guess the question is, where's Buford? What does he do in response to the Confederates in this situation?

[Kevin in Indy]

Very interesting! So, Longstreet's corps encounters Buford's cavalry, then Reynolds' infantry, on July 1. His team has been together for a while, so there is probably a lot less confusion in the deployment and fighting. Assuming that somebody (Ewell, in OTL) comes through on the northeast to hit the arriving Union XI Corps, then the Union troops probably still fall back on Cemetery Hill south of town. The biggest question is, does Longstreet take the hill before the Union can reinforce it?

If they do, then Gettysburg probably becomes known as a relatively small battle. Meade forms his troops south of Gettysburg along Pipe Creek, which is a very formidable defensive position. Lee probably does not attack Meade there, but probably does ransack the Pennsylvania countryside before heading home. I doubt that Lee finds a way to bring Meade to battle, and he has some limits on how long he can stay in enemy country even if food is there for the taking.

If the Union is still on Cemetery Hill at the end of July 1, then Gettysburg is still at least a two-day battle. While I have not before given it any thought, my first guess is that Longstreet's leading the march may end up putting his corps in the "middle" of the Confederate lines, which might not help events on the second day. I don't know that Hill can pull off a successful attack on the Union left. Perhaps if Lee stretches Longstreet's corps out some, allowing Hill to concentrate more for a "haymaker" punch...

[Elfwine]

Why would Longstreet act as Hill did on July 1 to begin with? As in, why wouldn't the equivalent of Pettigrew reporting that there Federal army is there (and not just militia) be taken seriously, with plans accordingly?

[Snake Featherston]

Longstreet was Lee's best tactician so the Confederacy will win a bigger tactical victory on the first. When Lee gets there he'll still be ordering attacks on an enemy he has no knowledge of the numbers or position of so the Confederacy will still lose the overall battle. Meade can still win simply by gunning down all Confederate attacks on his army.

[Kevin in Indy]

Originally Posted by Elfwine

Why would Longstreet act as Hill did on July 1 to begin with? As in, why wouldn't the equivalent of Pettigrew reporting that there Federal army is there (and not just militia) be taken seriously, with plans accordingly?

Good point - in fact (perhaps "in fact" is not the best term to use on an AH discussion board), Longstreet may have behaved quite differently even before the (OTL) point of contact on June 30. And, he may have taken either of two courses upon learning that a Federal cavalry division was in Gettysburg. I could see him either holding between Chambersburg and Gettysburg because he has better control over his men and Lee ordered to avoid a general engagement. I could also see him pressing on to Gettysburg to facilitate a meet-up with any units out to the east and north (elements of Ewell's corps, OTL).