Confederate General James Longstreet was present at the meetingin Richmond where strategy was formed on the best way to counterthe Union's attack on the Peninsula. Longstreet accuratelypredicted that because Union General George B. McClellan was anengineer at heart, he would not act rashly. Longstreet cautionedagainst making any rash moves against McClellan because the Uniongeneral was known to avoid heavy offensive operations. Therefore,prudent but effective defensive actions would slow down the battlecautious Union general.