The Folly Of Unnecessary Battles

The Folly of Unnecessary Battles

The largest battle ever fought on American soil began with a search for shoes. Before the butchery ended, it had exacted fifty-one thousand casualties. It was the worst slaughter in our history.

Historians now agree that the battle should not have been fought. If only the commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia had read The Art of War by Sun Tzu, a single principle espoused by that Chinese warlord might have stopped him dead in his tracks: “There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked.”

But General Robert E. Lee had set out on a desperate gamble to turn the tide of a war that was going from bad to worse. If the Confederacy could win a major victory, England and France might be willing to throw their much-needed support behind the Southern cause.

Lee’s troops broke out of the Shenandoah Valley and marched north toward Philadelphia. But an army marches on shoes, and many of General Lee’s ragged Confederates were marching barefoot. In late June, scouts reported that there was a supply of boots at Gettysburg. Lee moved quickly toward the Pennsylvania town. But Gettysburg stood at a junction of ten roads. It’s not surprising that Lee’s army ran smack-dab into General George Meade’s Army of the Potomac.

As the sun dawned on July 3, 1863, Lee held all the cards. He had caught Meade’s Union army out of position. His army could either take the open road to an undefended Philadelphia or move south unchallenged to attack Washington, DC. Either way, he could strike a blow that would change the tide of war.

Yet Robert E. Lee inexplicably attacked Meade’s army at Gettysburg, even though the Union forces were larger and better armed, and controlled the high ground. At first, Lee’s old magic worked. Then his cavalry under Jeb Stuart went on a wild-goose chase. When he lost Stuart, General Lee lost his eyes. Unable to follow Meade’s troop movements, he was outmaneuvered.

His generals begged him to retreat, but pride got the best of Lee. He ordered fifteen thousand men to march across a mile of open field against Federals dug in on Cemetery Ridge. Leading the Southern charge was General Pickett’s infantry. Two-thirds of Pickett’s men were mowed down in a senseless slaughter. Among them were three generals, eight of ten officers above the rank of captain, and three thousand soldiers. The rebels suffered six thousand casualties in a single hour. Pickett later complained, “That old man killed my boys.” The shattered Army of Northern Virginia retreated in disgrace, and the sun began to set on the Confederate cause.

Sun Tzu was right: there are some armies that should never be fought. Wasted battles dissipate our strength on lesser things. Robert E. Lee’s folly at Gettysburg reminds us to think well before we waste precious resources on labors and battles that give little in return. Maybe our story will turn out better if we remember something Coach John Wooden once said:

Don’t mistake activity with achievement.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV