After Gettysburg Lee took the blame and in so doing created a refuge for those officers under him. He could have offered some legitimate excuses, a. His right arm, Jackson, died a month before at Chancellorsville.
b. His eyes, Stuart’s cavalry, was off gallivanting around Carlisle.
c. He had a bad case of diarrhea. True.
But in taking responsibility, he was a stabilizing force for the Confederacy and the generals under him. Unfortunately Longstreet and his general George Pickett were blamed by the Southerners who could not bear to put the blame on the popular Robert E. Lee. (who, in their opinion, could do no wrong).
