U.S. Grant saved George Pickett's neck

[Gene C]

Both Grant and Pickett were West Point men, and had known each other before the war. Holt's background was a lawyer. Grant and Pickett had more battlefield experience and had to make decisions, or follow orders that led to the death of many young men on the battlefield. I think Grant had a better understanding of why Pickett (right or wrong) made the poor decison that he did, and understood the pressure on battlefield commanders and soldiers (especially in a civil war). If Pickett were prosecuted, where would it stop?

IMO, Grant was able to see better the consequences of prosecuting Pickett than Holt or Stanton. For Grant, the war was over and it was time to heal. For Santon and Holt, (both laywers who did not command in battle) the war was over and it was time to punish.