Short answer: Yes. He had a military genius that cannot be denied, but Pickett's charge was pure madness.

No, I don't think so. Just desperate

While it is true that the charge seems like a really bad decision, Lee was right that the union line was the weakest in the middle. He felt that the cannon barrage would clear the middle, but the hitches of most of the cannon began to dig in to the ground and the shot was evelated over the Union position. My wife's great-great grandfather was a private in the 69th Penn. and was shot during the charge.