If the Confederate Army had invaded the Union more than in July 1863,

[Laelth]

24. There can be little doubt that Lee's principal goals were political.

That, after all, was as much as the Army of Northern Virginia could really do--pose a credible threat, as you say, and hope for a political solution, i.e. that the North would give up and just let the South go. And I'm reciting what I recall from study many years ago. I am certainly not up to date on the most recent scholarship, but I do recall having heard that the Confederates at least debated severing the North in the same way that the North was severing the South. In fact, the main body of Lee's army, iirc, was well north of Gettysburg when Meade took up a strategic position to the south of Gettysburg and threatened Lee's supply lines. Lee had to turn his army around and head back south in order to engage Meade. From what I recall, whether he intended to go all the way to the Great Lakes or not, Lee wanted Lincoln and Congress to think he was headed to the Great Lakes and intended to sever the North.

I honestly don't think I dreamed this up, but I haven't done any real study on this in years. I'll have to look around and see what I can find.

-Laelth