The lecture
hall erupted in applause as everyone stood, giving Alex a standing ovation.
She
blinked, trying to clear the last of the vision—memory?—from her mind. She
scarcely remembered what she had just been saying. It all felt hazy, like a
dream, while the image of Lee penning his letter was vivid.
Which is just absurd. While Lee almost
certainly did intentionally flub Gettysburg, there’s no way he would ever put
pen to paper detailing the deed. Burning the letter would be a convenient
excuse for there not to be any proof, but we can’t use nonexistent proof.
The vision
was insistent, and had all the details just right, though.
“Dr.
Conrad,” A student pushed her way onto the stage, “How did you determine that
the battle plan at Gettysburg was an attempt to make the Confederacy lose?”
The
question helped cut through some of the vision, and she remembered her own
research. “Lee was at odds with Gen. Longstreet, and uncharacteristically
impatient, especially to attack. When you look at the diagram and disposition
of forces, it really makes no sense for Lee to press an attack, especially to
the extent he did. Logic, then, suggests that something else was afoot. I’d go
into more detail, but then you wouldn’t have reason to take my class or buy my
new book,” she winked.