Dixie Victorious: Chapter 6, Stuart makes himself useful

SYNOPSIS | Just for the fun of it, we're going through the scenarios in Stackpole's new offering, Dixie Victorious: An Alternate History of the Civil War (Peter G. Tsouras, ed.). I'll compile my comments on the scenarios and post them Sunday. (Note that the title of this post is a link to the book description on Amazon.)

Chapter 6. "Absolutely Easential to Victory"

As the Union Army moves north post-Chancellorsville, Stuart holds a council of war in which his subordinates veto his plan for a ride around the Union forces. Keeping contact with his own Army, Stuart intercepts a federal order that tells Lee that only Buford's cavalry prevents him from occupying Gettysburg. Lee occupies Gettysburg after a brief battle. The main body of the AoP takes positions south of Lee in Maryland around Taneytown. As the AoP prepares to challenge Lee in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia is sacked. Northern morale collapses. Lee then ambushes a corps-sized detachment at Reading. Lee then spends a long time living off the land and keeping federal forces off balance. The war ends in a CSA victory. (The details of the end of this war are not specified.)