Here’s An Interesting Comparison

Interesting. Frankly, I’d never considered the parallel. There are clearly some similiarities, but there are also some major differences.

First, and foremost, Hooker insisted that the raid go on even after the element of surprise was lost. Lee apparently decided it wasn’t much of a threat, because only Rooney Lee’s brigade was sent to pursue. They blocked Averell at Beverly’s Ford and then, after Averell packed it in, pursued Buford for a while. The blame for the debacle definitely has to begin and end with Hooker.

Second, the result is very much the same–insufficient cavalry to screen the advance, but the reasons and implications are different. As just one example, Devin’s brigade–the only one with the army–conducted a superb delaying action on the first day at Chancellorsville, and also was very effective on May 2. Lee, on the other hand, made atrocious use of the cavalry forces available to him.

There is no doubt that both raids were ill-advised and that neither accomplished what their author imagined. There’s also no doubt that these two reaids both left their armies without their eyes and ears.

However, Stuart’s ride at least accomplished what it was ordered to do: he fulfilled each aspect of Lee’s orders, including gathering supplies for the use of the army. Stoneman’s raid, on the other hand, accomplished absolutely nothing of use other than to largely wreck the Cavalry Corps by leaving many of its mounts unusable in the field.

Finally, there’s the issue of additional contributions to the army by the cavalry commander. Assuming, for argument’s sake, that Stuart was late to arrive at Gettysburg, he nevertheless performed magnificent service–perhaps his finest hour–during the retreat from Gettysburg. Stoneman, on the other hand, took medical leave on May 15 and never commanded horse soldiers in the AoP again, bringing Alf Pleasonton to command the Cavalry Corps. Thus, it seems to me that the failure of the Stoneman Raid had more far-reaching implications than did Stuart’s ride during the Gettysburg Campaign.

Very, very interesting thought, Phil. I had not considered previously, and I think it’s worthy of further thought.