SOUTHERN HISTORICAL SOCIETY PAPERS.
Causes of the Confederate Defeat at Gettysburg.
[continued from august no.]
We present our readers this month several other papers of our Gettysburg series, and feel quite sure that their deep interest and great historic value will be appreciated by all seekers after the truth. We hope to give soon other papers on this campaign which have been promised us, and that yet others of our ablest soldiers will be induced to tell what they know of the great battle.
Letter from General E. P. Alexander, late Chief of Artillery, First Corps, A. N. V.
Montgomery, Ala., March 17th, 1877.
Rev. J. Wm. Jones, Sec'y:
Dear Sir: I have your favor of the 27th ult., enclosing copy of letter from , giving an outline of his views of the campaign and battle of Gettysburg, and inviting my comments thereon. I take great pleasure in giving them in the same frank spirit in which they are asked, and asking no one to accept them to whom they do not commend themselves, and not pretending to know every thing about it.
My rank and position during that campaign was colonel of artillery, commanding a battalion of six batteries attached as reserve to Longstreet's corps; and on the field of Gettysburg I was placed by General Longstreet in command of all of his artillery on the field as chief of artillery for the action. As I had belonged to the United States Engineer Corps before the war, and as General Longstreet at that time had no engineer officers on his staff, I was frequently called on, also, during the campaign, as an
