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Anniversary of GettysburgToday, the fiftieth anniversary of the battle ofGettysburg, witnesses on that historic field one ofmost remarkable military reunions in the world's1history. In fact, it may be called the most remarkable, for It Is believed that neither ancient nor modern history gives a counterpart of the friendly meet* Ing of victor and vanquished under one flag to celebrate a battle fought fifty yee?s before,Dozens of volumes have been written about thisanone battle, and the various biographical articles covering Individual impressions and experiences would fill a library. While all of this is true, the fact remains that Gettysburg is the most difficult of allpegoat.wlfth80great battles of modern times to understand, and many of those who took part In It retain to this day 0fvery different impressions of what happened at certain critical moments. ,inA part of this uncertainty Is due to what Colonel Henderson, the English historian, In referring to this jusame engagement, calls the fog of war, but even himore lg caused by the fact that neither the Union nor the Confederate commander expected to fight the decisive battle of the campaign at Gettysburg.'hithotUnion side, General Meade, who had only h«IP Jbeen in command of the army for three days, had hiplanned a stand against General Lee’s advance some twenty miles hack from Gettysburg, and orders hadbtglalready been prepared for a retreat when the battle was precipitated by General Ewell, of the Con fed- merate army.On the Confederate side matters were some*risiOSwhat confused by the fact that General Stuart, the k r( cavalry commander, had gone on one of his spectacular rldeg uround the Union forces, and did not e# get back until the morning of July 1, after the armieswere engaged. Had General Stuart arrived at Gen- 0leral I^oe’g headquarters twenty-four hours earlier, luthe battle of Gettysburg would have probably been Gfought in a different way. The information secured by General Stuart as to the disposition and strengthof the Union army was correct, hut it was furnishedat a time to make It practically valueless.sitilniIt is now admitted by military historians that thebattle of Gettysburg was precipitated by GeneralolUei'Ewell, who.succeeded Stonewall Jackson In command tof one of the two great bodies of infantry into which siGeneral Ie« divided the Confederate army. After11much controversy It Is also established* t ____eral Klwell Judged the situation accurately, and that a1his prom jit attack upon the Union army at the mo- flt;array was about to be withdrawn was well ■f considered, and promised excellent results. ^It is certain that General Lee. when he arrivedupon the battlefield, approved the attack by Eweli, aand it is equally certain that General Ijongstreet,*the other Confederate corps commander, did not' ^approve of It, end failed to co-operate with nls asao- f,elate upon the first two days, as many writers think ghe should have done.In any event, the Confederates were successful ^July 1 and 2, and four different Union corps were pshattered by the Confederate assault. On the third tiday, however, the whole Cnlon armv stood at bay, ti** u Jand when the day closed with the failure of Pickett’sGeneral Lee .admitted defeat, and began tohdraw back his army.oThe Union army attempted no pursuit after Get- tltysburg, and around that policy a fierce 'controversy araged. The weight of authority is to the effect ^ that the Union commander acted wisely. The Union „.jarmy accomplished everything that could have been • sexpected by checking the Confederate advance uponainvasion of Northern soil planned nt Confederater“Tcheadquarters. General Lee risked much when he rtook his army into Pennsylvania^ out. he was play* »ing. for a great stake. He was defeated in that his advance was stopped, and that failure decided.« * * 3wur. Hut the Confederate army was not broken whenit retired from Gettysburg. Had General Meadetempted pursuit, It Is not improbable, the militaryhistorians say, that General Lee would have turnedupon him, and,, perhaps, won back ail the' Confederates lost at Gettysburg. * #Speculation as.to tho possible result under othercircumstances is out of place at this time, however. tThe result at Gettysburg was, hi the end, the best* fthing for the United States and Its people of the *North and the South.mc!
Newspaper Details
The Mobile Item
Mobile, Alabama, US
Tue, Jul 01, 1913
Page 4
Full Page
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Mobile P.
AL, USA 27 Sep 2021
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