A position which an army occupies with a
view to decisive battle should fulfil four requirements:--
1. It should not be too strong, or the enemy will not attack it.
2. It should give cover to the troops both from view and fire from
artillery, and have a good field of fire.
3. It should afford facilities for counterstroke.
4. It should afford facilities for pursuit.
Of these Lee's battle-field fulfilled but the first and second. It
would have been an admirable selection if the sole object of the
Confederates had been to gain time, or to prevent the enemy
establishing himself south of the Rappahannock; but to encompass the
destruction of the enemy's whole army it was as ill adapted as
Wellington's position at Torres Vedras, at Busaco, or at Fuentes
d'Onor. But while Wellington in taking up these positions had no
further end in view than holding the French in check, the situation
of the Confederacy was such that a decisive victory was eminently
desirable. Nothing was to be gained by gaining time. The South could
furnish Lee with no further reinforcements. Every able-bodied man was
in the service of his country; and it was perfectly certain that the
Western armies, although they had been generally successful during
the past year, would never be permitted by Mr.
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