Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-09-10

away back to Meade that Reynold
was dead, and in his opinion, Their
, was no directing person. Meade or
dered Hancock to the field with di
rections to take command, and, if th,
position was good one, he Meade,
would order up the rest of the army
When Hancock arrived, after
mad gallop of twelve miles, oul
troops were falling back in confus
ed mass from the field through these
streets, and all there was of orde,
was reserve brigade of Steinwher's
Division, on Cemetery Ridge, with a
battery or two, and Buford's cavalry
lighting as infantry, in the plain
Nearly all else was confusion and the
enemy coming on. Hancock soon re-
stored order, took advantage of the
fine natural position, posted the
troops as they came in, turned over
the command of the field to Slocum
when he arrived, returned to Meade's
headquarters at Taneytown, and re
ported the position good. Our losses
that day were ten thousand; we had
been driven from the field; our new
POSITIONS strength was not then
known to the Confederates-and the
evening and the morning were the
first day, and they saw that it was
good.
SECONDARY, THURSDAY, JULY2, 1863.
Meade, after Hancock's report,
dropped as obsolete the Pipe Greek
line, and gave orders for an imme-
dtate concentration at Gettysburg,
he himself arriving at | p. NJ, and he
inspected the position as well as he
could before daylight and approved
of it. 1t proved to be a bloody good
one. AS the differeut corps arrived
they were placed with rare Judgment.
Above all else our Army had secured
the defensive, and this was q very
great deal. No man who has ever
been soldering in earnest, whether
he wore stars or searched for gray
backs, lived on canned goods or on
hard tack, could stand on Round Top,
Cemetery Ridge, or Culp's Hill, and
not know, see, and appreciate that
for once we had a position as was q
position, and the Confederates
thought so too. They felt around a
lodg time they tried to lure us out
of it; they badgered Meade to at
tack-the wary, long-necked, cool
headed, hard student and good sol
der, with his goggles on, saw his adj
vantage, stuck to it, and defeated
the enemy before he got through.
A heavy pressure was brought to
bear upon him at headquarters to
mass his troops and plunge through
he enemy's centre; he couldn't see
t. He did think of ordering Slocum,
Who commanded on the right, to
axe the initiative there, but Slocum
md Warren reported against it, and
hat was given up. In the mean
Inc the mon worked like beavers in
up crude breastworks to
trengthen what was already strong.
Sickle's error in advancing his .
roops to take advantage of rise in
ront of the general line can be seen j
y any soldier. His anomalous fix did ,
ot become known to Meade till the ,
fternoon when he (Meade) reached c
here, but it was too late to withdraw q
i'm, as the enemy, about 4 p. NJ, G
egan the attack. And such an at 8
'ck. Longstreet threw his corps in t
y brigades, crowded Sickles and I
IL who came to reinforce him stead n
y back, fighting like devils against v
oavy odds; but our main position O
unbroken, and the day, in q
lat part of the field, our left and f
leir right, ended. We had drawn 4
'avlly from our right to reinforce r
II left, and that left our right poor "
manned. Ewell, taking advan- a,
ge of this, by. a furious rush, cot 80
'ssession of our lines there and q hi
'rt OF his troops slept within them ii
at night. And the evening and q.
o morning were the second day, ia
ID they saw that it was good. O,
lIRD DAY, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 1863. or