Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 05.pdf/172

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Reply to General Longstreet.
167

his own army commander. It is well known that General Lee loitered, after crossing the Potomac, because he was ignorant of the movements and position of his antagonist. For the same reason he groped in the dark at Gettysburg. From the 25th of June to July 2d, General Lee deplored Stuart's absence, and almost hourly wished for him, and yet it was by his permission his daring chief of cavalry was away. General Stuart cannot, therefore, be charged with the responsibility of the failure at Gettysburg. Did such failure arise from Ewell and Hill not pushing their success on the 1st of July? I have always been one of those who regarded it a great misfortune that these two corps commanders did not continue to force the fighting upon that day. Each had two divisions of their corps engaged, thus leaving one division to each corps, viz., Johnson of Ewell's, and Anderson of Hill's, at their service for further work—something over 10,000 men. The four divisions engaged upon the Confederate side in the battle amounted to about 22,000. The loss after the repulse of the enemy, in Early's division, amounted to 586, (Early's review of Gettysburg, December number of Southern Historical Society Papers, 1877, page 257,) leaving him still about 4,500 fighting men. Heth says, (see his paper in Philadelphia Times, September 22d, 1877,) he went into that fight with 7,000 muskets, and lost 2,700 men killed and wounded. He was still left with 4,300. Estimating those four divisions, at the close of the action, at an average of 4,500 men apiece, we had 18,000 men; add the 10,000 of the two divisions not engaged, and there will be found 28,000 men ready to move on, flushed with victory and confident of success. General Early, in a letter to me, places the effective force in Ewell's and Hill's corps, on the morning of the 2nd, at 26,000 men. Upon the Federal side there had been engaged the First and Eleventh corps, (save one brigade, Smith's of Steinwehr's division, left on Cemetery Hill as a reserve,) and Buford's two brigades of cavalry. As bearing directly upon this portion of the subject, I give a letter from Major General Hancock, and also one from Colonel Bachelder. (The latter remained on the field of Gettysburg for eighty-four days after the battle, making sketches and collecting data, and has since visited the field with over 1,000 commissioned officers who were engaged, forty-seven of them being Generals Commanding. General Hancock writes of him to General Humphrey's: "Mr. Bachel-