Bentonville Case Study

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General Johnston’s initial decision to engage the Union army in a surprise attack at the battle of Bentonville was his only option to achieve a decisive result that was in keeping with both the operational and strategic objectives of the Confederacy. It was not until he chose to remain on the battlefield after losing the element of surprise and realizing he was outnumbered that Johnston came into conflict with General Lee’s intent and no longer nested with the operational objectives. After losing Wilmington, North Carolina to Union forces, Lee desperately required Johnston to maintain control over the rail lines in Eastern North Carolina that provided the beleaguered Army of Northern Virginia with crucial supplies necessary to continue its defense of the Confederate capital. Were Richmond to fall and Lee surrender, the Confederate government would be castrated, dissolving strategic objectives and rendering the operational …show more content…
By the end of the day on March 19th it was clear that the Union forces were reunited. Johnston, however, chose to delay at Bentonville for another two days in order to remove the wounded. This action was not nested in Lee’s intent because it jeopardized one of the only remaining Confederate armies for the sake of a few hundred wounded (Barrett, 1963). Lee was clear when he stated “a disaster to your army will not improve my condition” and that he “would not recommend you to engage in a general battle without a reasonable prospect of success” (Barrett, 1963). The element of surprise was lost and Union forces were no longer separated, precluding any hope of the decisive victory that Lee authorized. Johnston was aware of these facts, yet chose to remain on the field in direct contradiction to Lee’s