Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1863-09-11
[From the y \ Times
The Battle of Gettysburg--An Anglo
Rebel Account oft.

The letter Of the Southern correspondent
Of the London TimsS describing the battle
OF Gcttysburgh, does not perhaps contain
more misstatements than was TO be expected
but it certainly contains some which are too
great TO he passed over in silence. First and
greatest Is the statement that " both armits
have dro,rH Of terribly shattered from the
battlefield, and that the Federal army drew
of " because it feared its inability even upon
the vantage ground to repel another attack. "
This Is utterly untrue. Our army never
drew Of " from the battlefield of Gettys-
burgh At the close Of the struggle on Fri
day, July 3, our army held the field and our
pickets were advanced On saturday, se-
cording to another statement &C this same
correspondent, both armies staid in position,
and d" the big guns frOwned at each other in
angry silence" On that night the rebels
moved off On the next morning our forces
went forward, occupied the earthwOrks which
the rebels had built, and then turned in pur-
suit Of their retreating forces. So far from
fearing an attack upon our ground, another
day would have seen our army taking the
the offensive; and this Lee knew. and be
prudently retreated beforehand.
The correspondent exhausts all his power
in describing the terrible cannonade which
preceded the final charge of the rebels on
Friday. lie gives the number Of guns engnged
I'M il rs 200 Our estimate of il was only $50.
Gen Meade's dispatch stated il at that num-
hcr We NAV credit the writer's statement.
for he should have known better than we
All the more honor 10 those who faced its
storm without ilinching
But in his account Of the final charges he
icll into another enormous error. lie declares
tiat ten. Picket's column reached their
destination. with a wild yell they spring into
the Yankee earthwOrks astride of each fed
crtl gun rides 4 confederate soldier the
group around ten. Longstrcet cOnga tulates,
him that the advance Is cOmpleter success
and for few moments breath Is drawn more
freely This is all myth. Not "a gun was
taken that day. Not a man of those two
charging columns reached our lines except as
a prisoner. If the group round Longstrect
congratulated him, it was over a success Of
Pettigrew's column, for the head Of that col
umn marched as prisoners in such large mass
into our lines. that it is possible 1t might
have been mistaken from the opposite hill
for a successful reaching of our lines. No
such mistake could be made in reference 70
Picketts column and the best proof Of il is
that no sooner had the surrender taken place
than the rebel batteries from the opposite hill
opened upon their own men and ours mingled
together, with as fierce FIRE as any that day.
This fact, by the way. the Times correspond
ent does not mention. In fact, Pettigrev's
column, which he states to have been 10000
strong, was the first 10 make the charge and
the first 10 give way. The writer saws they
perceived a large column of Federals de-
scendins the hill TO flank them" and be
excuses their breaking BIZ saying that they
were most Of them '.men who had nevrr been
seriously engaged before This q hr-s
column" was composed Of two regiments Of
Vermont troops which had never previously
been IN a battle Of any kind And so far
from the destruction Of Pettigrew's column
snatchIng victory from Pickett's men, the
former had broke and large part Of them
surrendered 50 long before the latter came
within reach, that one of the same regiments
which had fanked Pettigrew, was Brought
back after his column broke. in time to per-,
form the same service for this second column.
All of which Is correct Our army t.lI
he field every where at the close Of the 6ght
on Friday. and had driven the enemy a con-
siderable distance on the left Our forces
re-occupicd Gcttysburgh in force on Friday
night Not rebel reached "the Yankee
earthworks" or lines on Friday, except as a
prisoner, and for fve-sixths of our front there
were no Yankee earthworks