Originally Posted by
dawg80
By stark contrast, General Robert E. Lee said, "They do not fight for us, they are here on their own accord."
This was reported by a staff officer of General Longstreet during a meeting several days after the Battle of Gettysburg. While reviewing the casualty list, which would eventually reach 28,000 for the Confederates, and staggered by the enormous human cost, Longstreet lamented they (meaning the Confederate commanders) had been responsible for this dreadful loss. Longstreet went on to say, they (commanders) owed it to the average soldier to be more conservative in their tactics to reduce casualities. The soldiers trust us and we are responsible to honor that trust, Longstreet said.
Lee's statement (above) takes on added meaning when you read one his letters he had written the previous year at the 2nd Battle of Bull Run, where he stated (paraphrasing): I would never be so presumptuous to believe the men fight for me. I am but one man, unworthy of such adoration. No, these men fight for what they believe in, for their country, for their homes, for their lands. And that is the blessing. I could not bear the responsibility for these men otherwise.