troversy with General Longstreet. My opinions about the battle of Gettysburg were formed long since, and have not been changed or even modified by any supposed new light shed upon it by recent publications. They were made up from a careful reading of the reports of Generals Lee, Longstreet, A. P. Hill and R. H. Anderson, and my own personal observation and experience during two days of the conflict. I regret that I have again to refer to General Longstreet's misstatements, but trust before I have done to make it so clear that all will see and admit the injustice as well as the incorrectness of them. I say all: this should be qualified,—all except General Longstreet. "Going astray at the opening of the fight, either through ignorance of orders, or a misapprehension or in violation of them," is what General Longstreet alleges in his first paper[1] and repeats in his second;[2] and also that my "brigade was the directing brigade for the echelon movement that he says was to protect McLaws' left flank." In reply,[3] I stated that the orders given me during the day were to advance when the troops on my right moved forward; and I may add now that these orders were repeated three times during the day. Nothing was ever said or ordered of an echelon movement of which my brigade was to be the directing brigade, or that I was to guard McLaws' flank. No brigade commander of Anderson's division, so far as I know, ever heard of the orders claimed by General Longstreet to have been given; certainly I never did until I read his article in the Times. Had there been such an order as the echelon movement, it would have been impossible of execution, as the lines of battle held by Anderson's and McLaws' divisions were nearly, if not quite at right angles to each other, and my brigade was on the right of the former. General Longstreet may not be skilled in tactics, but he must know this movement by echelon, that he has twice repeated, was not practicable. In addition to the orders that were three times repeated during the day from division headquarters, General Lee in person directed me what to do, and said nothing about McLaws' flank, or mine being the directing brigade of an echelon movement. That no such orders were given may be plainly inferred from the reports of both my division and corps commanders; and it is further asserted these same reports, together with that of General Lee, will show that Longstreet did not make the attack on the 2d July as he was directed.
Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 06.djvu/108
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
This page has been validated.
98
Southern Historical Society Papers.
