James A. Hessler
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38. Sears, Chancellorsville, 437. Stephen Sears listed Sickles among Chancellorsville’s failures for failing to “organize a determined assault on Jackson’s flanking column, and in the bargain misread what he saw and made the fateful announcement that Lee was giving up the field in retreating.” But Sears also rightly labeled almost everyone in authority including Hooker, George Stoneman, Howard, and Sedgwick as failures.
39. Meade, Life and Letters, 1: 372–376; Sears, Chancellorsville, 432, 436.
40. Meade, Life and Letters, 1: 377.
41. Ibid., 1: 381; OR 25/1: 510–511.
42. Sears, Gettysburg, 25; OR 25/1: 511.
43. OR 25/1: 511.
44. Peatman, “General Sickles, President Lincoln, and the Aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg,” Gettysburg Magazine 28, 118; Swanberg, Sickles the Incredible, 196; Lash, “The Congressional Resolution of Thanks for The Federal Victory at Gettysburg,” Gettysburg Magazine 12, 88.
45. Swanberg, Sickles the Incredible, 191–192; The Hornellsville Tribune, May 21, 1863; Strong, Diary of the Civil War, 323; Peatman, “General Sickles, President Lincoln, and the Aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg,” Gettysburg Magazine 28, 118.
Chapter 4: No One Ever Received a More Important Command
1. Swanberg, Sickles the Incredible,193; Favill, Diary of a Young Army Officer,235–236; Davis, Life of David Bell Birney,157; Warner, Generals in Blue,34; Scott, History of the One Hundred and Fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers,76–77; De Trobriand, Four Years With the Army of the Potomac, 474.
2. Humphreys, Andrew Atkinson Humphreys,25, 30–45, 156–177, 183–185, 194, 197; Stackpole, The Fredericksburg Campaign, 217–218; Tagg, The Generals of Gettysburg,73.
3. Humphreys, Andrew Atkinson Humphreys: A Biography, 183–184, 194, 197; David Birney to George Gross, October 28, 1863, David B. Birney Papers,USAMHI; Meade, Life and Letters, 1:378; Tagg, The Generals of Gettysburg, 73.
4. Scott, History of the One Hundred and Fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers,76–77; Styple, Our Noble Blood,103–104.
5. Styple, Our Noble Blood, 105–106;Scott, History of the One Hundred and Fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers,77; Conklin, Women at Gettysburg,97, 107; Frassanito, Early Photography at Gettysburg, 140.
6. Styple, Our Noble Blood, 105–106; CCW, 13.
7. Keneally, American Scoundrel, 273–274.
8. Longstreet, “Lee’s Invasion of Pennsylvania,” in Battles and Leaders,3:245–249; Jones, Life and Letters of Robert E. Lee,247; Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants,3:41–46; Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign,5–9; Brown, Retreat from Gettysburg,12–15; Allan, “Memoranda of Conversations with General Robert E. Lee,” in Lee the Soldier,11–17; Lee, “Letter from General Fitzhugh Lee, March 5, 1877,” in Southern Historical Society Papers,4: 69–72. (Hereafter cited as SHSP); Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day, 2–3.
9. OR27/1: 29–32; 27/2: 293; Humphreys, Andrew Atkinson Humphreys,185.; Smith, A Famous Battery and Its Campaigns, 97–98; Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign,74; Oeffinger, A Soldier’s General, 189–190.
10. Meade, Life and Letters, 1:382–383, 385–386.
11. Adams quoted in Swanberg, Sickles the Incredible,196–197; George Meade to Margaret Meade, June 25, 1863, George Meade Collection, HSP; Meade, Life and Letters,1: 385, 388–389. For examples of General and Mrs. Meade’s resentment over Reynolds, see George Meade to Margaret Meade: December 2, 16, 21, and 30, 1862, George Meade Collection, HSP. Such talk was not included in Meade’s published Life and Letters.
12. OR27/1: 60; Meade, Life and Letters,1: 387; Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign,130.
13. New York Times,June 17, 1863; Sickles, “Further Recollections of Gettysburg,” in North American Review,259; Smith, A Famous Battery and Its Campaigns,97–98.; Styple, Our Noble Blood, 110–111.
14. CCW, 13; Sickles, “Further Recollections of Gettysburg,” in North American Review,259.
15. OR27/1:61.
16. Benjamin, “Hooker’s Appointment and Removal,” in Battles and Leaders,3:242–243; Meade, Life and Letters, 2: 2–4, 11–12; OR27/1: 61–62.
17. Meade, Life and Letters,1: 389; Benjamin, “Hooker’s Appointment and Removal,” in Battles and Leaders,3:243; Coughenour, “Assessing the Generalship of George G. Meade During the Gettysburg Campaign,” Gettysburg Magazine28, 31.
18. Meade, Life and Letters,2:33; Benjamin, “Hooker’s Appointment and Removal,” in Battles and Leaders,3:243; Byrne and Weaver, Haskell of Gettysburg,93; Acken, Inside the Army of the Potomac, 289.
19. CCW, 14; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak,32; Sickles, “Further Recollections of Gettysburg,” in North American Review, 259.
20. OR27/1: 482; Styple, Our Noble Blood,110–111.
21. Hyde, The Union Generals Speak,239; Dedication of the New York Auxiliary State Monument, 118; Coughenour, “Assessing the Generalship of George G. Meade During the Gettysburg Campaign,” Gettysburg Magazine28, 33.
22. Humphreys, Andrew Atkinson Humphreys,186–187; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 183–184; Coughenour, “Assessing the Generalship of George G. Meade During the Gettysburg Campaign,” Gettysburg Magazine28, 33.
23. Hyde, The Union Generals Speak,246–247; Lash, “The Congressional Resolution of Thanks for The Federal Victory at Gettysburg,” Gettysburg Magazine12, 88; Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day, 31.
24. OR27/1: 61–62, 114; 27/3: 398; CCW, 329–330; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak,103; Meade, Life and Letters,2:3, 8, 11; Callihan, “Passing the Test…,” Gettysburg Magazine30, 32; Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day,32; Smith, A Famous Battery and Its Campaigns,98–100; Scott, History of the One Hundred and Fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers,81; Craft, History of the 141st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, 111.
25. OR27/2: 307, 317, 358; 27/3: 933–934; Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox,333, 346–348; Longstreet, “Lee’s Invasion of Pennsylvania,” in Battles and Leaders,3: 249–250; Lee, “Letter from General Fitzhugh Lee, March 5, 1877,” in SHSP,4:74; Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants,3: 35, 49. There is some debate over whether the spy Harrison arrived on the 27th or 28th. Lee and Longstreet both said that Harrison reached camp with this intelligence on the evening of the 28th, and most historians have followed suit. However, Lee’s orders to Ewell at 7:30 a.m. on June 28 began with: “I wrote you last night,[emphasis added] stating that General Hooker was reported to have crossed the Potomac, and is advancing by way of Middletown, the head of his column being at that point in Frederick County.” See OR27/3: 933–934. It is possible that Lee’s note was misdated, and was actually sent the morning of the 29th, since both Ewell (See OR27/2: 443) and Jubal Early (See OR27/2: 467) reported receiving their orders to move toward South Mountain on the 29th. See Brown, Retreat From Gettysburg,20, 422 (n.32) for a recent discussion on whether Lee decided to concentrate on the 27th or 28th.
26. OR27/3: 395–396, 398.
27. Messent and Courtney, Civil War Letters of Joseph Hopkins Twichell,247; OR27/3: 399; Meade, Life and Letters, 2:12.
28. OR27/3: 420.
29. OR27/3: 415, 421; Meade, Life and Letters,2: 15–16; Lash, “Congressional Resolution,” Gettysburg Magazine12, 89.
30. OR27/1: 922–923; 27/2: 317, 358, 607, 637; 27/3: 400, 402, 414–415.
31. OR27/3: 414–416, 418; Meade, Life and Letters,2: 15–16. Howard appears to have been confused by Reynolds’ lack of precise directions, telling Reynolds: “I have received both your notes. One division occupies the place you did last night, and is ordered to be held in readiness to move at short notice. Another occupies a position near the Gettysburg road, on the right of the town. Would you wish me to join you along the Gettysburg road?… Please send me word as to where you want support, in case you do. I think it important to hold these roads toward Chambersburg, do you not? I want a map of Adams County, if possible. I have nothing.” See OR 27/3: 419.
32. OR27/3: 407–408, 414–417, 419–420; Meade, Life and Letters,2: 14–16; Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign, 200–2
01.
33. OR27/3: 407–408, 414–416, 419, 422; Meade, Life and Letters,2: 15–16; Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign, 231.
34. OR27/3: 422.
35. Ibid., 27/3: 424.
36. Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 184.
37. OR27/3: 424–425; Brown, History of the Third Regiment, Excelsior Brigade,104; Racine, Unspoiled Heart,46; Email from John Miller to author, February 9, 2008. According to Mr. Miller, the locals of the area believe that Sickles stayed at the farmhouse on MD-140 and Bull Frog Road. Miller also “used to know people who metal detected the fields and found all sorts of Union items.” Although the historical marker is clearly visible along MD-140 and opposite the farm, moving traffic does not easily facilitate stopping to read it. The marker was placed by the Maryland Civil War Centennial Commision and reads: “Bridgeport. As part of General Meade’s screen for Washington as the Confederates invaded Maryland and Pensylvania, the Third Corps, Army of the Potomac, arrived here June 30, 1863 from Taneytown. Next day General Daniel E. Sickles marched this corps to Emmitsburg.”
38. OR27/1: 924. At one point during the day, Reynolds thought, “if the enemy advances in force from Gettysburg, and we are to fight a defensive battle in this vicinity, that the position to be occupied is just north of the town of Emmitsburg, covering the Plank road to Taneytown. He will undoubtedly endeavor to turn our left by way of Fairfield and the mountain roads leading down into the Frederick and Emmitsburg pike, near Mount Saint Mary’s College. The above is mere surmise on my part.” See OR27/3: 417–418.
Chapter 5: The Third Corps Marches in the Right Direction
1. OR27/1: 61–62; 27/3: 416; Ladd, John Bachelder’s History of the Battle of Gettysburg,196; Callihan, “Passing the Test…,” Gettysburg Magazine30, 32; Grimsley and Simpson, Gettysburg: A Battlefield Guide, 12–13.
2. CCW, 330; Callihan, “Passing the Test,” Gettysburg Magazine30, 32.
3. OR27/3: 458–459.
4. CCW, 295, 329–330; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 33, 105.
5. OR27/3: 460; Meade, Life and Letters, 2:34; Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day, 49.
6. Tremain, Two Days of War,3–8, 10–12; Brown, History of the Third Regiment, Excelsior Brigade,104. General Wadsworth, commanding Reynolds’ First Division, said that Reynolds was usually “very particular in communicating his orders to his division commanders,” but on July 1 “he communicated none, if he had any.” See Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 229.
7. Tremain, Two Days of War, 12–14, 18.
8. CCW, 388–389; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak,184; Craft, History of the 141st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, 112.
9. Meade, Life and Letters,2: 35–36; Hancock, Reminiscences of Winfield S. Hancock,186–187; CCW, 403–404.
10. Meade, Life and Letters, 2: 35–36; CCW, 404; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 208.
11. OR27/3: 461; Meade, Life and Letters,2:36–37. As will be discussed later, there would be a disagreement over the wording of this order. At the Joint Committee hearings in 1864, Meade submitted a version of this order that read: “If you think the ground and position there a (better) suitable one to fight a battle.… ” Hancock’s widow and others later asserted that “better” indicated that Hancock had been given responsibility for choosing Gettysburg, while the insertion of “suitable” was afterwards designed to downplay the impression that Meade had not wanted to fight at Gettysburg and also intended to minimize Hancock’s part in choosing Gettysburg. See Hancock, Reminiscences of Winfield S. Hancock,186–187 and Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 209.
12. OR27/3: 461, CCW, 330, 377; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 104, 166–167.
13. OR27/1: 61; CCW, 404–405; Hancock, Reminiscences of Winfield S. Hancock,187–189; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak,208–209; Tagg, The Generals of Gettysburg,34, 62; Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign,284–285. Hancock, Howard, and Sickles were all promoted to major general dated 11/29/62, but Hancock was junior due to date of brigadier promotion. See Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day, 337 and Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 209.
14. OR27/1: 696, 702–703; 27/3: 463; Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day, 137.
15. Tremain, Two Days of War,18; CCW, 296–297; Raver, “Deception and the Citizen-General,” Gettysburg Magazine31, 62. Tremain’s arrival time is based on an assumption that he departed Gettysburg around 10:00 a.m. and that it took between 90 minutes and two hours to reach Emmitsburg. See Raver, 62.
16. OR51/1: 200; Tremain, Two Days of War,18; Raver, “Deception and the Citizen-General,” Gettysburg Magazine31, 62. Sickles’ response to Howard’s order is timed at 3:15 m. See OR27/3: 463–464. Howard stated in his OR that Sickles received the message around 3:30. See OR27/1: 703.
17. CCW, p 296–297. One presumes that Sickles’ testimony should read, “My preliminary orders in going to Emmitsburg were to go there and hold that position with my corps.” Emmitsburg was regarded as both an important flanking position to cover the rear and communications.
18. OR27/3: 463; Tremain, Two Days of War, 18.
19. Ibid., 27/3: 464.
20. Ibid.,27/1: 482, 519, 531; 27/3: 464–465; CCW, 296–297; Smith, A Famous Battery and Its Campaigns, 100; Meade, Life and Letters, 2: 56; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 36.
21. OR27/1: 530; 27/3: 465; CCW, 388–389; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak,184–185; Humphreys, Andrew Atkinson Humphreys, 187–188.
22. Sickles, “Further Recollections of Gettysburg,” North American Review, 262.
23. Rafferty, “Gettysburg,” in Personal Recollections of the War of the Rebellion,10; Sears, Gettysburg,190–191.
24. Raver, “Deception and the Citizen-General,” Gettysburg Magazine31, 62–63; OR27/1: 482, 703.
25. Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 35–36.
26. OR27/3: 466.
27. A. Wilson Greene, “Howard and Eleventh Corps Leadership,” in The First Day at Gettysburg,78–79, 85–86; Hunt, “The First Day at Gettysburg,” in Battles and Leaders,3:281; Meade, Life and Letters,2:53–54; CCW, 404–405; OR27/1: 696–697, 704; Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day, 338; Hancock, Reminiscences of Winfield S. Hancock, 189–190.
28. Meade, Life and Letters,2: 54; OR27/1: 252; 27/2: 307–308; Hunt, “The First Day at Gettysburg,” in Battles and Leaders,3:283–284; Hancock, Reminiscences of Winfield S. Hancock, 189–190; Pfanz, Gettysburg: The First Day,333–335, 344–345; Longstreet, From Manassas to Appomattox, 359; Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants, 3: 90–99, 171–172.
29 29. Longstreet, “Lee’s Right Wing at Gettysburg,” in Battles and Leaders,3: 339; OR27/2: 308; Fremantle, Three Months in the Southern States,p 255–256. As a general rule, the later Longstreet’s account was written, the generally more agitated was his portrayal of Lee’s decision making. For a discussion of Longstreet’s varying accounts of this conversation, see Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants,3: 108–109. Also compare Battles and Leaders3: 339 with From Manassas to Appomattox, 357–359.
30. OR27/1: 696–697, 704. Howard stated that Slocum arrived around 7:00, but Hancock wrote at 5:25 that “Slocum is now coming on the ground.… ” See OR27/1: 366.
31. Ibid., 27/1: 825; CCW, 405.
32 . OR27/1: 71–72, 366; Hancock, Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock,191–193; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak,105, 124, 212–213; Meade, Life and Letters,2: 37–39; Biddle, “General Meade at Gettysburg,” in The Annals of the War,210–211. There was some debate later as to whether Meade decided to concentrate at Gettysburg before or after receiving Hancock’s endorsement of the Cemetery Hill position. There were conflicting accounts as to whether Meade sent his 6:00 dispatches before or after hearing the verbal report of Hancock’s aide. In one version, Meade responded to the 4:00 report by stating, “I will bring up the troops.” See Hancock, Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock,191–193, and Hyde, The Union Generals Speak,105, 124. Meade’s staffer James Biddle emphasized in The Annals of the War(210–211) that Meade concentrated the army “without waiting to hear from Hancock” and that the first mes
sage from Hancock did not arrive until 6:30.
33. OR27/3: 467–468; Meade, Life and Letters, 2: 40.
34. OR51/1: 200–201.
35. Tremain, Two Days of War, 22–23, 27–28, 30–31.
36. CCW, 297; OR27/1: 482; Meade, Life and Letters,2:56; Tremain, Two Days of War,31–32; Craft, History of the 141st Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers,117. Birney reported that he arrived at 5:30; but Hancock wrote at 5:25 that the Third Corps had not yet arrived, and both Howard and Meade reported that Sickles arrived about 7:00. See OR27/1: 704.
37. CCW, 297; Hyde, The Union Generals Speak, 37, 211.
38. OR27/3: 468.
39. Sickles, “Further Recollections of Gettysburg,” in North American Review, 262–263.