Me the drama queen

[MajGenl.Meade]

I'm off for a 7 a.m. "old man" type of relatively minor surgery . . . but not feeling as sanguine as I did for two replacement knees, a carotid clean out and the heart bypass stuff. Just in case . . .

. . . if you don't hear from me from now on, it's either because ICE finally got me or I'm on ice myself. In either case, thanks for all the fish. Isn't it a long way down?

[Joe Guy]

You don’t have to tell us what the operation is, but does it involve hormone therapy and a change of wardrobe?

Hang in there, Meade, you’ll be fine.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery….

[Crackpot]

Good luck.

[BoSoxGal]

Will keep you in thoughts and prayers today; please check in from recovery when you are able.

[Sue U]

Best wishes for a successful outcome and a speedy recovery. And if things go sideways, I know a few very good med mal attorneys.

[Burning Petard]

The older I get, the less 'routine' my own perception of my medical constraints and treatment seems to be

Take time to enjoy the cute nurses. Best wishes. As part of your recovery, go to Fairmont Park in Philidelphia and ponder your statue. We don't hold it against you that you were not born in the USofA. You still managed Gettysburg pretty well, considering.

snailgate.

[MajGenl.Meade]

You don’t have to tell us what the operation is, but does it involve hormone therapy and a change of wardrobe?

Thank you all. Back from the hosp., Foley catheter is a bastard. Bra's a bit tight too, Joe. Attorney on hold, Sue. And Snail, always remember I beat Lee in open battle. No one else did that; Grant just snuck around until they-all got tired and hungry.

[Big RR]

All the best in your recovery Meade.

Grant just snuck around until they-all got tired and hungry.

[liberty]

Lee found himself at Gettysburg without J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry intelligence, which left him effectively blind to Union movements. As the days passed, Lee’s position weakened while Meade’s grew stronger. That pressure pushed Lee toward taking decisive action. Pickett’s Charge might have succeeded if Longstreet had not hesitated and if the artillery bombardment and infantry assault had been better coordinated. It was a risky move, but given the circumstances, Lee didn’t have many good options.

What we Southerners learned from that experience was that discipline in the military, especially among the officer corps, is indispensable. In my opinion, the only acceptable consequence should have been for both Stuart and Longstreet to be Left face on the ground decaying as the army retreated. But nineteenth century military culture did not allow for that. Officers, considered gentlemen, were often able to get away with actions for which an enlisted man would have been severely punished; that was a weakness in the system, and it probably still is.

Lee is often criticized for sacrificing fifteen thousand troops in Pickett’s Charge, but he had very few options. He could not retreat without risking a collapse in morale, and such a withdrawal might have been seen as extreme cowardice. Most likely, it would have damaged the army’s confidence. It was a sacrifice that had to be made, and Lee’s men did not hold it against him. These are military realities that we should study and learn from today.

In the military, the unit is everything; everything else is irrelevant.