re: #357 Blind Frog Belly White

Lincoln didn’t have a phobia. He had a series of bad generals. Even GG Meade, victor of Gettysburg, failed to pursue the Army of Northern Virginia as it slunk back South. Lincoln famously chided Meade for this, saying it reminded him of an old woman shooing geese out of the yard.

Lincoln was cursed with lousy generals, and it took him several years to realize he actually understood better than they did what was needed.

I tend to agree with those that a rapid pursuit was simply not going to work after Gettysburg. The Union Army was badly battered and had lost a LOT of senior experienced cadre. There was no tactical reserve sitting around to exploit this sort of thing. If he had tried, he might just as well gotten mauled running head long into rebel defense lines at the Potomac.

His fuck up with the Battle of the Crater is something else entirely.