Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Naval Happenings 150 Years Ago-- Jan. 8, 1862

JANUARY 8TH

General Robert E. Lee, not yet commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, but involved with coastal defense, realized that the Union Navy was just too strong for the Confederate defense.

The fleet could and on any place along the coast not directly in range of Confederate batteries.  And even those batteries were likely to fall as "We have nothing to oppose to its heavy guns, which sweep over the low banks of this country with irresistible force."

Essentially, Lee was not giving much hope to Confederate defenses versus the Union Navy.

However, get Union soldiers away from the protecting guns of the fleet and they become much weaker.  "The farther he can be withdrawn from his floating batteries the weaker he will become, and lines of defense, covering objects of attack, have been selected with this view."

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