Resolved Question

Uh, frankathon, you got the generals correct, but Lee lost the battle and almost half his men. But pretty good for a Canadian - I commend you, most Americans couldn't answer that.

In fact, it was almost like Lee was destined to lose that battle. Besides a fatal mistake he made at the end of the battle, his commanders kept mis-interpreting his orders and the movements of the Union army.

There are a couple of hills there, Big Round Top and Little Round Top. The Union army had a very strong force on Big Round Top, with a much smaller force on Little Round Top, and Lee knew that. Lee ordered his commanders to take Little Big Top. Wave after wave they went up that hill, only to be pushed back. But they knew that the small force could not be re-supplied with ammunition or more troops. When the Union force, led by Col. Chamberlin was down to nothing, he ordered his men to charge down the hill screaming with their bayonets fixed, in a swinging motion.

The Confederate soldiers were overwhelmed by a much smaller force that was basically out of ammunition. The battle took a great physical toll on Chamberlin and his men, so they were ordered to an area to rest. That area was right in the middle of the Union artillery line. Lee, knowing the tactics of the Union army, felt that the weakest point in the Union line was the middle of the artillery line. He had no idea that the resting soldiers, who had been re-supplied and fed, were positioned in that very location.

When Lee ordered his charge to break the Union line, his men were cut down by the hundreds.

General Meads had just been appointed the general of the Potomac Army right before that battle. (I'm a Civil War buff)