Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-09-28
Still FalsifJing History.

acknowledging it was in error in stating
that Gen. Hancock was not present on
the third day of the battle of Gettysburg
after the ISTELLIGESCER had furnished
abundant proof from official documents
that he ,ras there aud bore the brunt of
the battle on that day of carnage, the
Neu Era attempts to bolster up its false
statement by quoting paragraph from
Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia, for 1863,
wherein it is stated that during the Sec
ond's days fight :Gen. Sickles was
wounded in the leg and the command
devolved on Maj. Gen. Birney. Gen.
Hancock was wounded in the thigh and
Gen. Gibbon in the shoulder The
Ne,c Era says that it consulted the Cy-
clopedia before printing the German
town Tclegrcph's article. If this be SO
the Era must have known that the edi-
tor of the Cyclopedia made mistake in
stating that Sickles, Hancock and Git-
bon were all wounded on the same day !;
because, on the very same page QO6)
from which the Ne,c Era quotes is print
cd a despatch from Gen. Meade written
On the night Of July I'd, in which he
writes 1--WE have suffered consider
ably in killed and wounded. Among the
former are Brig. Gems. Paul and Zook,
and among tine wounded Gems. Sickles,
Barlow, Graham and Warren slightly
Not word, it will be observed, about
Hancock OF GibbOn. On the following
page of the Cyciopedia Q0O in describ-
ing the assault de by the rebels on the
third days fight it is stated that C. Gen.
Gibbon in command of the Second
corps, walked composedly along the
ranks, saying 6 Hold your fire
boys-they are not near enough
yet" The Era quotes the above and
adds: Then follows a graphic descrip-
ton of the destruction of Pcttigrew's
and Pickett's divisions under General
Gibbons superior generalsllip." Ger
tainly very brilliant achievement for
an officer who had been wounded in the
shoulder theday before according to the
authority consulted" and "cndOrsed y
by the Ncw Era. Had our esteeme d
contemporary just read OH, for few
lines further, lie would. have found Gen.
Meadc's despatch to the authorities at
Washington, giving an account of the
third days fight at Gettysburg. 1t is
dated July 3, $50 p. m. and states: " The
enemy opened at o'clock p. m. from
about one hundred and fifty guns. They
concentrated upon my left centre. =
The enemy left many dead upon the
field and Il large number of wounded in
our hands. The loss upon our side has
bee.I considerable. Moj. Gen. Hancock
dad Brig. Gen. Gibbon ,rcre ,rounlcd."
This statement of Gen. Meade, made
officially on the very day of the fight.
corroboratci as it is by Generals
Butterlield, Sickles, Birney, War.
rem, Crawford and other distin-
guished officers, not to name Han.
cock himself, who certainly ought to re-
member when and where he was wound
ed, is probably sufficient to satisfy any
one except a DeGolyerite blinded by par
tisan malice. But us our esteemed con-
temporary may not yet be quite satisfied
we are constrained to add the testimony
OF Gen. Gibbon himself, an officer whose
superior generalship'; is endorsed by its
editor. We quote from Gen. Gibbon's s
sworn testimony before the congressional
s'committee Oh the conduct of the war;
WASHINGTON, April 1, 1864.
Brigadier General John Gibbon sworn
and examined.
BY the chairman
Question. What is yonr rank and posi-
ton in the army?
Answer. am a captain in tue 4th regu-
lar artillery and 4 brigadier general of vol
untecrs commanding a division in tho 2d
corps of the army of the Potomac.
Question. We are inquiring more par
ticularly about the battle of Gettysburg.
You were in that battle?
Answer. Yes, sir, commanded a livi-
sion there.
Question. Will You state to us in your
own way such facts and circumstances
connected with that battle rs YOU may
deem material o. interesting?
Answer. can only tell my own part of
it. l do not know much about any of the
rest. l was put in command of the I'd
corps on the afternoon of the 1st of July,
at Tancytown, General Hancock haciag
been ordered to the front when news ar
rived of Gen. Reynolds having been killed
or very seriously wounded. was ordered
to march to Gettysburg, and began the
march but about sundown received OF
ders from General Hancock to put the
corps in position on the Tancytown road,
about three miles from Gettysburg. That
night about 12 o'clock Gen. Meade passed
my headquarters on his way to Gettys-
burg, and shortly afterwards | received
orders to push the corps forward to Gettys-
burg. I got in motion shortly after day
light [July q and got upon the field early
that morning. The corps-Geaeral Haa-
cock resuming command Of it-was put in
position on the ridge to the left of Gene
terry hill. During the most of that forenoon
understood that the troops were coming
into position taking their places in the line
There was not much fighting going on
until General Sicsles' movement took place,
about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. under
stood his position to be on the left OF our
line, extending our line along the ridge in
the direction OF Round Top hill, quite u
prominent hill on our left flank. About
o'clock in the afternoon was standing on
the hill within the limits of my division,
and noticed troops moving out to our left
and front. 1t turned out to bc the Sd corps
under General Sickles; they were taking
up their position obliquely to our line ana
to the front, somewhere along the En-
mitsbrrg road, which ran just to the front
of the right of my division and obliquely
to the line. was standing there with