Thank you for the kind responses.
I got my inspiration from the PC-game "Scourge of War - Gettysburg". There is a scenario which depicts Jackson in command of the 2nd Corps. I believe Anderson was attached to Hills Corps after the formation of the 3rd Corps so if there was no 3rd Corps, Anderson is under command of Longstreet.
That's mostly a myth. They went there to secure Gettysburg's seven different road crossings there, though there was such a rumor that spurred the men on.
I do not actually care for the reason. Fact is, that the movement was not actually carried out as an order from General Hill (OTL), but it was done.
The timing here means that most of Meade's command other than the two ruined I & XI corps and the further north XII corps will be doing little falling back and mostly holding in place at Pipe Creek.
Large parts of them were actually on the way to Gettysburg (2nd Corps etc) due to Buford's report. Correct me if I am wrong, but they were following Lee north as I assume.
b] And HERE is the crux of Lee's entire dilemma: Lee CAN'T find out anything without Stuart's cavalry. During the whole of the Gettysburg Campaign he is blind without his best cavalry. YES, he still has cavalry left in his army other than Stuart's, but they are poorly experienced and more importantly poorly led when it comes to reconnaisance expertise. While Stuart's genius for recon was superb, that of many of his subordinates (Excepting for example Wade Hampton) was far less so. Cavalry commanders telling Lee little of value, beyond "enemy over there", and "forest up ahead", as opposed to Stuart's precise reportage on enemy strengths, identity, locations, and above all, the exact nature of the ground ahead.
c] Another Problem: NOTHING stops Lee once his blood was up. Countless times in the American Civil War he chose reckless audacity over caution, one reason why he not only had Jackson complementing his own command style so well but why he won so many victories: He attacked when any other sane military commander would have held back. The enemy (the AotP) was caught by surprise again and again and defeated because of this.
I think it is realistic, that Lee stops and gets cautious near Pipe Creek. He won a clear victory against Meade at Gettysburg and is able to resupply from the landscape. He did not order a headless assault on the Union line on July 2nd (his strategy on that day was actually quite impressing), so I do not believe he would have done it at PC. Especially because he ordered Pickett's Charge out of frustration. In this TL he won a victory.
Even without Stuart Lee knows, that
a) He smashed a good portion of Meade's army
b) Meade is still new to command and a cautious commander
Therefore he might take advantage of the situation. The Pipe-Creek-Line is moe or less a natural barrier. Even with poor cavalry recon or a small scouting party one can figure out, that an assault on that position has a certain cost to it.
Lee remaining in the North for that long isn't up to him but due to the realities of his getting his 47 miles long trains
This is not a fully constructed ATL but should have served as an maybe inspiring idea. I could rewrite it in order to create a TL, but the size would require an own thread.
Remember that Vicksburg is on the brink of falling, and Lee feels that he MUST have a victory in the East to offset oncoming disaster in the West.
a) he has some sort of a victory
b) some historians argue, whether Lee's invasion was planned as nothing more than a giant raid. This might have been accomplished.
Not so crushing when A.P. Hill's Corps is late (Longstreet was almost late OTL!) and Jackson is forced to fight the battle all by himself. Though that might get Hill fired.
Essentially I was thinking of Gordon's counterattack (OTL) with more numbers behind it due to Jackson's similar approach at Chancellorsville
For how long before he is flanked? Longstreet is good, but he'll also be new to army command. Sherman...isn't.
This specific topic was debated on this forum several times. I stick with the opinion of Jeffrey Evan Brooks, author of "Shattered Nation", who is also member of this board, I think.