re: #86 Sol Berdinowitz

It was a crap shoot, but Lee knew it was the only option left to him at the time.

Not sure about that. He could have tried to move his army and get between the Army of the Potomac and Washington DC. But much of the problem with that was is described below:

This was part of Longstreet’s grand vision for the Pennsylvania invasion. Indeed, Longstreet had proposed that, once in Pennsylvania, Lee should maneuver his army in order to find and occupy a strong defensive position that would require Meade to attack Lee. But this was never a serious option. While Lee knew northern Virginia like the back of his hand, he was unfamiliar with the military geography of Pennsylvania. He had to avoid cutting himself off from the Cumberland Valley, which constituted his only line of communication and supply back to Virginia.

The preceding paragraph is part of an article in National Review by Mackubin Thomas Owens. The full article, which is balanced and a good beginning account of the battle, can be found here.