The relationship between Confederate Generals George Pickett and Robert E. Lee is one of the most fascinating stories to emerge from the American Civil War. Pickett is best known for his failed infantry assault on the Union center on the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, a charge that bore his name thereafter. But what is less known is the bitter resentment Pickett harbored toward his commanding officer Lee for ordering the charge that decimated his division.
Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg
On July 3, 1863, the third and final day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee planned an all-out assault on the Union center on Cemetery Ridge. He ordered Pickett to lead the charge with his fresh division, supported by divisions from A.P. Hill’s Third Corps. After a massive two-hour artillery bombardment to soften up the Union defenses, approximately 12,500 Confederate soldiers advanced across open fields for over a mile under heavy Union fire. What ensued was a bloodbath, as Pickett’s division bore the brunt of the assault and suffered over 60% casualties before retreating. It was the pivotal moment of the battle, and Lee’s most disastrous defeat.
Pickett himself was one of the few Confederate generals to escape injury. But he lost over two-thirds of his division, including many of his closest friends and all three brigadier generals. When retreating Confederate soldiers blamed Lee for the disaster, Pickett was said to remark, “That old man destroyed my division.”
The Aftermath at Gettysburg
In the immediate aftermath, relations between Pickett and Lee remained cordial on the surface. When Lee asked Pickett to return his division to Cemetery Ridge to help cover the army’s retreat, Pickett obeyed despite his exhaustion and grief. But those close to him saw the seeds of resentment taking root.
Pickett’s staff officer Captain Robert Bright later wrote that Pickett “felt that it was due to want of proper concert of action and reckless disregard of his troops, if not actual incompetency, on the part of Lee.” Another officer close to Pickett, Lieutenant John Haskell, recalled him saying bitterly that at Gettysburg Lee “had murdered his division.”
Pickett’s Change in Attitude
Pickett’s attitude toward Lee only grew more hostile in the weeks after Gettysburg. He became withdrawn, cursed Lee’s name, and told his young fiancée LaSalle Corbell, “That old man destroyed my division.” He further complained to her that Lee had little regard for his men’s lives.
Pickett submitted his official report on Gettysburg over a month late, and left out any mention of his once-admired commander. When Lee submitted his own report praising Pickett’s conduct during the battle, Pickett did not return the courtesy. Their relationship would never be the same.
The Question of Forgiveness
Given the obvious bitterness and lack of reconciliation after Gettysburg, most historians do not believe Pickett ever truly forgave Lee for the disastrous charge that decimated his division. As his biographer Lesley J. Gordon put it, “Pickett clearly lost his faith in Lee.”
There is no record of the two generals attempting to mend ties after the war. When Lee died in 1870, Pickett made no public comment nor attended any memorials. A year later, when Colonel Freemantle who had witnessed Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg asked Pickett if he had forgiven Lee, he allegedly replied, “Forgive him, perhaps; but forget him, never!”
Pickett’s Resentment Persisted
Other later comments by Pickett reinforce the lasting hostility he felt toward his former commander. In 1872, when a newspaper quoted Lee as saying the failure at Gettysburg was due to the men, Pickett angrily denounced the report as a “calumny” and said Lee was fully to blame. Right before his death in 1875, Pickett maintained that “Lee repented of [the charge] as soon as made” and called it “the worst single order ever given by a commanding general.”
Given this evidence, Pickett likely went to his grave resenting Lee for what he saw as a betrayal at Gettysburg. While he stayed respectful in public comments, his private remarks paint the picture of a man who never forgave the commander who had sent so many of his men to their deaths.
Could Pickett Have Forgiven Lee?
Though Pickett’s resentment is clear, some historians have argued that it is possible he may have eventually forgiven Lee if they had achieved reconciliation. After all, they shared a long history going back over a decade to the Mexican War, where Lee had taken the young Pickett under his wing.
In particular, Pickett’s mentor and superior James Longstreet believed Pickett was open to mending ties with Lee after the war. In his memoirs, Longstreet wrote:
“Pickett I am sure cherished no resentment toward General Lee on account of Gettysburg, yet he seemed not as cordial to his old commander as I had hoped. He was warm in his greeting with me, and talked freely of Gettysburg.”
Longstreet thought Pickett just needed encouragement to seek the closure of speaking with Lee about the battle. If Lee had reached out to Pickett to discuss what happened, perhaps apologies could have been made that would allow Pickett to forgive.
Conclusion
Given their shared history and Pickett’s admiration for Lee prior to Gettysburg, reconciliation after the battle may have been possible. But there is no evidence Lee attempted to discuss Gettysburg with Pickett or tried to mend ties. Pickett was deeply loyal prior to July 1863, so an apology from Lee may have opened the door for forgiveness.
Yet in the absence of any effort by Lee, Pickett likely carried his resentment to the grave. The gastroenteritis that killed him in 1875 took away his chance to ever make peace with the commander he had once loved. The story of Pickett and Lee thus remains one of the great tragic fallouts in American military history.