The Tide Has Turned

A slaughter such as this has never been witnessed in our burgeoning Confederacy. My strategic advice unheeded, my men slew by the thousands in front of me, and my General seeming to succumb to the stress of position. Gettysburg is awash in the blood of my comrades and we the living are to blame.
My own personal conduct has come under fire and for good reason. On that morning of July 2 I had not adequately assembled my troops until near midday, a delay that Meade took advantage of to our dismay. While I massed my troops, Meade strengthened his left flank with reserves that arrived during my gathering, an area that I had initially planned to assault. Continuing from that point, our Gettysburg commenced for naught. Against my admittedly heated advice, I insisted that the outline for Pickett's Charge had little chance for success. If I recall, my words were:

"General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know, as well as any one, what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men ever arranged for battle can take that position."

Prior to the charge, I went so far as to attempt to pass off the responsibility of confirmation
to Col. Alexander, a move that failed. The disagreement between me and my General Lee had reached a critical point, where I would describe his peculiar behavior in extreme circumstances:

"That he [Lee] was excited and off his balance was evident on the afternoon of the 1st, and he labored under that oppression until enough blood was shed to appease him."

Perhaps these feelings affected my ability to effectively command my men. During Gettysburg, Lee consistently ignored my advice to disaster, an offense that I take personal affront to. After all, if he had heeded me, THOUSANDS of our brethren could see tomorrow's sorrowful sunrise. My defensive tactics have not failed insofar of this conflict, and next time, I WILL ensure our survival.

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=rPOCXCUyIrwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA9&dq=battle+of+gettysburg+longstreet&ots=E3vUpv-F6T&sig=iEeN8CJ66jDyI2YIntRMMgtYZHY#PPA215,M1