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When Longstreet was leading the attack it was rolling up Hancocks Corps. One Union regiment after another broke and ran for the rear. Union officers were unable to rally their men for an organized defense. Longstreet getting wounded along with the Confederate regiments getting intermingled caused the drive to stall. That gave Hancock time to rally the troops and form a defensive line while the Confederates got things sorted out. Thats what saved the Union left flank. I consider the attack devastating. They had to stop their attacks on Hill and then run for their lives for the most part.
Early was against Gordons flank attack on the Union right due to not knowing where Burnsides IX Corps was at. Him and Ewell feared his attack would put him in danger of being flanked. So they didn't approve Gordons idea all day long. Gordon and Early didnt think much of each other. In the post-war period Gordon claimed that Lee intervened and ordered it to happen. When launched the Union right flank folded up like a house of cards. Mass panic hit the Union army and again officers were unable to rally their men. The onset of darkness ad Union brigades stiffening resistance brought it to a halt.
The SHTF big time and very nearly collapsed both flanks. The Union army had some luck on their side in that those attacks didn't do more damage than what they did.
You basically just repeated yourself. It doesn't matter what caused Longstreet's attack to stall. It stalled. And when the fighting ended the Federals were where they had been the afternoon before. Same with Gordon's attack. It's a moot point whether darkness or something else stopped it. Neither attack ended up being devastating.
Last edited on Sun Nov 11th, 2012 05:58 pm by JG6789