View single post by CleburneFan
 Posted: Sat Sep 6th, 2008 02:00 am
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CleburneFan
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Joined: Mon Oct 30th, 2006
Location: Florida USA
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 Many egregious blunders at Gettysburg. One right off the top of my head is Major General Sickles moving the III Corps out into a difficult to defend salient on Day Two in front of Cemetery Ridge. This overextended Union lines at that sector and was in defiance of Meade's explicit orders about where he was to position his forces. 

The dangerously exposed position allowed Longstreet's troops (Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws's division) to rout Sickles's corps. They were of little use for the rest of the Gettysburg battle. Additionaly, Sickles suffered a leg wound that cost him that leg.