Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-11-26

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Gen. SiekIes AT Geitysburgh.
We give. elsewhere in our columns, the
promised continuation of Gen. CIRCUITS re-
ioinder to our criticism on portion of his
address before the Officers Reunion, together
with a mmunication from another admirer
ofGen. Sickles. who has come to Gen. CIRCUITS
assistance.
We may repeat AT the outset. what we said
at the close Of Gen. CIRCUITS first letter We
do not perceive that either of our correspond
ents has added anything to the already re-
corded history Of the battle nor have they
changed in any respect our impression Of the
relation of Gen Sickles' share in it to the
grand total and grand result Our main
charge against Gen. Grout, was " dia0r-
tions Of the history OF the battle. This
consisted in the monstrous proportion given
in his address to a single actor in the battle,
Gen d. E. Sickles. Gen. Grout tells us in
his first letter that it was no part Of his in
tention to make Zen. Sickles the d" chief
hero" of Gettysburgh. Had he prefaced
that portion of his address with the remark,
that being lover and admirer Of Gen.
Sickles, he had taken this occasion to mar
rate the part Of that officer in the battle, and
to give to him some Of the credit which
other historians had denied him, this dis
claimer would have been more apparent
As it WAS. that part of his discourse seemed,
and was understood to be, general account
of the great battle. Yet in it there was but
the faintest and most incidental allusion to
any corps commander but Gen. Sickles
two others who did the most of the fight /
ing were not even mentioned; while through /
page after page Of manuscript, Gen. /
Sickles was exalted, as The man who saved |
the lst and llth Corps on the evening
Of the first day, and whose action on the
second day made Gettysburgh historic. " We
would not take from Gen Sckles particle
Of the credit due him. lie marched prompt
ly, when sent for by Howard his advance
on the second day, though unfortunate, "
was well meant, and his corps fought stub
bornly and well till it was oyerpowered; but
against such disproportonate allowance of
credit We felt bound 70 protest. So much in
vendication of our main purpose. Our de
fence Of our position on the teveral points t
discussed by our correspondents, must bemore {
matter Of detail
And first, TO take up events in the order of a
their occurrence. as to the respective time OF
the arrival Of the Sd and 18th Corps at Gem
etery Hill. Our objection was not SO much
that Gen. Grout gave undue credit to Cen {
Sickles, as that he gave no credit to any !
one else. In his address, Gen Grout left !,
the impression that Sicklcs' corps was the v
first and only force that reached the field C
in time to prevent the humiliation of the LIST y
and lth Corps on Wednesday evening. In =
MS communication he admits that 'sperhaps'
4 division of the 10Th Corps arrived before the G
Sd. But he still thinks our statement that u
Slocum's 18th Corps reached the field before :,
he corps of Sickles, "needs correction We b
10 not perceive it. Our assertion was cor d.
eo. Geary division of Slocum's corps ar %
lived Just after the remnants of the LIST and =.
lth Corps established their position on Gem st
terry Iill,-about O'Clock The last of re
he 18th Corps arrived about 6 o'clock The HI
rst division of the Sd Corps, arrived at 5 ~ =,
clock. Testimony Of Gen. Birney, its COM Bl
lander, in Report of Committee on the Con- it
net of the Weir. The larger part of the de
smainder of the ID Corps did not arrive till ~ '
le O'Clock next morning, and the last he
,igade of the corps did not arrive till nine OH
clock the next morning. 1t is to be noted Su'
st an army corps, proceeding by narrow H.
ID often impeded roads could not quite dar
arch on to the field in a body las a company AM
arches into line on dress parade. The vari- gu
is corps reached Gettysburgh by various tho
ads, and portions OF some of them were ha,
ming IN at the same time with r,ortions of did
hers. But the fact remains that the first ne ne
'ops to arrive of the 10Th land strong I'd
d good division of it, tool reached Gem Gel
ry Hill before the first troops of the Sd and rep
1t the last of the 18th arrived long before WI
, last of the Sd. Our correspondent az" ali,
otes Gen. Hancock, as testifying that he up
md the Sd Corps, with the LIST and llth. que
'upying the position on Cemetery Hill w. ne
en- he reached there. But Hancock testi- = a
to nothing of the kind as &" E. - will see on 1
erring to his testimony 1t further more sane
opens that Hancock report to Gen. Meade , mem
the situation as he found it on Cemetery havi
L. is on record. In that despatch, dated with
%, Hancock says; " We have taken IN tSc
osltion in the Cemetery, and cannot well of n,
taken. - Slocum is now coming on the
und, and is taking position on the right, :"
Ich will protect the right. But we have tell '
yet no troops on the left, the third corps De.
har'ng yet reported, but l suppose i is office
rching up" place
-, their
rem. Trout questions our statement that with
respective times of arrival Of the corus cont
determined by their distance from the II
when the orders to march reached them do an
such was the fact. We do not say that Ii
UNI moved promptly-that he did not do oil an
to his lasting discredit-but be did move -;
that his troops were the first to reinforce II !.
'ard was due 70 the circumstance that mony
mad but three or four miles to march. oat o
ID Corps, IN spite Of superior PROM triess tho a
ar'ing could not get up till later, for thew issue,
Ten miles to march The ID Corps, having sition
cen miles to march, from Taneytown) oi !. ms +
Oo'le'foenfy-fhree miles the &c
when the order came, arrived next. and of Jul
9TH Corps, which marched the hardest acter
fastest of ALL came last because if had n,H u,
y'nr miles to come. If this Is nat an rapidi
OF arrival determined by respective dis could
e, what is it? ""na'
We
p'nueh's must also allow us to Their;
IN our opinion that Cemetery Hill would by til
have been carried by the rebels wedpes- artliie
night even If, (other things being the dent Der, |,