terms "the weak points of the campaign of Gettysburg," in attempting to show the "eight" mistakes committed by General Lee.
The name of the author is not now given, because I do not wish to draw him into the discussion, but it is at the disposal of any one who questions the facts. His letter bears date April 15th, 1876:
"Major-General Fitzhugh Lee:
"My Dear Sir: I am in receipt to-day of your letter of the 14th inst., with its interesting inclosures in reference to the battle of Gettysburg. I have not had leisure to follow closely the controversy to which tho article refers, but I remember perfectly my conversation with General Lee on this subject. He said plainly to me 'that the battle would have been gained if General Longstreet had obeyed the orders given him and had made the attack early instead of late.' He said further, 'General Longstreet, when once in a fight, was a most brilliant soldier; but he was the hardest man to move I had in my army.'" * * * * *
Does this testimony prove that General Lee regretted that he had not adopted another's plan to fight the battle of Gettysburg, or is it not cumulative to all the other well-known facts? Gen. Pleasanton, Meade's cavalry commander, writes a paper for the Philadelphia Times, January 19th, 1878, in which he tells us what he said to Meade after our repulse on the 3rd, and this is it: "I rode up to him, and after congratulating him on the splendid conduct of his army I said, "General, I will give you half an hour to show yourself a great general. Order the army to advance while I take the cavalry; get in Lee's rear and we will finish the campaign in a week." A Sandwich Islander, knowing nothing about the war except what he might read in these papers of Generals Longstreet and Pleasanton, but of a humane and benevolent disposition, would inwardly rejoice that they did not command their respective armies lest the historic feat of the "Kilkenny Cats" should have been eclipsed by not even leaving to the public their two tales.
In conclusion, let our fancy picture the grim veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia paraded in their camp-grounds in that month of August, 1863, to hear the announcement that Mr. Davis had accepted the resignation of their chief, would there not have resounded from front to rear, from flank to flank, "Le Roi est
