It is worthwhile to contrast Gaines' Mill and Gettysburg. Both Lee and Hood
considered Gaines' Mill the prototype for the frontal assaults they later
attempted at Gettysburg and Franklin, respectively. Longstreet was an
eyewitness to the breakthrough at Gaines' Mill and commanded supporting
troops. He launched similar successful attacks at Second Manassas and
Chickamauga, but may have recognized that the elements which led to success at
Gaines' Mill were absent at Gettysburg.
1. At Gaines' Mill the attacking troops were concealed by a rise in the ground
until they were within about 3-400 yards of the defending forces. The attack
was not preceded by an artillery barrage (not through any deliberate plan but
from the nature of the terrain) and thus achieved a degree of surprise.
2. The Union forces at Gaines' Mill had been under attack all day, were
fatigued, and were low on ammunition.
3. The Federal defensive lines were both more formidable at Gaines' Mill than
at Gettysburg, but more brittle. The infantry were deployed in such a way that
the second line (uphill from the first) could fire over the heads of the first
line and the artillery over the heads of the second. The depth of the
formation, however, left the Federal line with insufficient mass at the point
of attack. The retreating first line blocked the fire of the second and third
lines. The nature of the terrain--heavily wooded and cut with ravines--kept
the Federals from moving laterally to seal off the breakthrough. Indeed, two
Union regiments were entirely bypassed by the Confederate attack without
knowing they were cut off.
4. The Confederates of Whiting's Division (Hood's and Law's Brigades) charged
the lines with fixed bayonets and did not pause to fire. All three of
these commanders said this was the key factor in the success of the charge.
5. Unlike Gettysburg where Pickett's and Pettigrew's flanks were open, the
flanks of Whiting's division were protected by other troops (Ewell and
Longstreet) advancing in support. The initial breakthrough occurred on only a
three-regiment front--the 4th Texas, 4th Alabama, and 11th Mississippi
breaking the 1st Michigan, 25th New York, and 13th New York--but supporting
troops were able to roll back the Union lines in both directions.
One can speculate that Longstreet recognized that the terrain and the
opposition at Gettysburg were not as favorable as at Gaines' Mill, but this
does not exonerate him for having failed to apply the factors he did control
which might have given Pickett's charge a slim chance of success.
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