St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-08-14
THE ROW AT ROUND TOP
The Battle of Gettysburg Fought Over in
Print as Fiercely as on
the Field.
Zen. Sickles is Now Out With Reply to
the Letter From Gen.
Meade.
he Alleges Incompetency and Doubt
on the Part of That
Leader.
The Contest Won Almost Against His
Wishes by Subordinate
Generals.
Gem. sickles, Reply.

Gem. Sickles' Reply.
NEW YORK, Aug. 13.-Gen. Sickles has
replied to the recent letter published in the
Philadelphia Weekly Press from Gen.
Meade dated in 1870 to Col. Benedict of
Burlington. vt. Gen. SickleS says:
Gen. Meade's letter must have been written
without elaboration, without revision and
without comparison with the official records.
1t contradicts his own official reports of the
battle made in October 1866 and his testimony
before the committee on the conduct of the
war in March 1864. Gen. Meade is altogether
mistaken in speaking Of charges, insinuation
and attacks upon him by me. l have never
spoken OF his conduct at Gettysburg, except
in my testimony before the committee
upon the conduct OF the war in
February 1864 Gen. Meades' tes-
timony was given in the following month
and with due knowledge of my statements,
none of which were contradicted by him
when he testified. The report of the COM
mittee on the conduct of the war JUSTIFIED
me and censured Gen. Meade 1t must not
be supposed that Gen. Meade had contro-
versy with Gen. Sickles only. Other corps
commanders made protests
WHEN WAS SILENT.
Twill only speak now of one or two as ex-
anples. Immediately after Gen. Meade'S
port of the battle of Gettysburg Maj. Gen.
Slocum, commanding the right wing of
the army of the Potomac at Gettys-
burg, in an official communication to
Gen. Meade arraigns him for O.
series of inaccuracies, to use the mildest
phrase IN Gen. Meade's report of Gettys-
burg, by which great injustice was done to
Gen. Slocum and the corps at his command.
After reciting so much of Gen. Meade's re-
port as relates to the operation of his (Slo-
cums) command, Gen. Slocum said: "Yet
the facts in the case are very nearly the
verse of the above in every particular, and
directly in contradiction to the facts as set
forth in the reports of Gems. Geary and
Williams. Brig. Gen. Williams, command
ing the Twelfth corps, in an Official COM
munication to Maj. Gen. Slocum dated Dec.
26, 1868. points out
FOUR SERIOUS MIssTATEMENTs
in Gen. Meade's official report relating to the
operations of the Twelfth corps on the I'd of
July. I could amplify similar proofs show
ing the characteristic inaccuracY of Gen.
Meade in his official reports Of his military
operations. Gen. Meade knew nothing Of
Gettysburg, and he so stated TO the committee
upon the conduct of the war. 1 assisted in
this battle by moving my corps twelve miles
from Emmettsburg to Gettysburg on the aft
ternoon of July 1, to help Howard after
Reynolds fell. Also by letter to Gen. Meade
written at Gettysburg at o'clock on the
night of July l. asking his approval of my
march made without orders, and urging him
to come to Gettysburg with his army, deScrib-
ing it as "a good place to fight BATTLE" and
pointing out to him that its weak place would
be on his left, as it proved to be the next day
when was
LEFT UNSUPPORTED
for two hours to resist Longstreet's assault
After Gen. Meade had brought his forces up
TO Gettysburg and had accommodated his posi-
ton, he was dissatisfied and frequently spoke
of it during the I'd of July as mo place to
fight battle He so expressed himself in
the council of war held on the night Of the
I'd. After this council had decided to stay
and fight it out, Gen. Slocum then describes
what took place. Gen. Meade said: well,
gentlemen, the question is settled. We will
remain here, but wish to say that 1 con-
slider this no place to fight a battle.'' This
was after the combat Of the LIST and I'd of
July and after ~, 900 Union soldiers had fallen
on that field Gen. Meade seemed to
MANIFEST RESENTMENT
against every corps commander who had
been instrumental in the choice of Gettys-
burg for battlefield. He owed his splendid
position then to Buford, Reynolds and How
ard and the divisions of Wadsworth, Double
day and Robinson, yet all of the officers
except Reynolds, who was killed, suffered
marks of his diSpleasure, or were dismissed
with the scantiest recognition of their heroic
conduct In Towards case congress inter-
posed to do him justice when he received
their formal vote of thanks for his choice of
our position on Cemetery Ridge, the
less neither Howard nor Siocum
were welcome in Meade's army
and sought service in the West under Sher-
man, where both gained so much distinction
Gen. Meade was surprised by the attack of
Longstreet on the Union left, on the after
noon of July >. No preparations whatever
were made by the commanding general to
meet Longstreet's assault. There was
NO ORDER OF BATTLE.
Gen. Meade had not personally recon-
noitered the position, though frequently
solicited by Gen. Sickles, Gen. Hunt and Gen.
Warren, his chief Of engineers, to do So This
appears in the testimony of Gen. Hunt and
in the report OF Gen. Tremaine. Not only
was no preparation made by Gen. Meade to
meet the attack upon his left, the
position 1 held, but he deprived
me and himself of the only effective support
he had upon his left flank, by his unac-
countable withdrawal of Buford's divisions
of cavalry, which held the Emmettsburg road
and covered our left flank, including Round
top until late hour on the morning of the
End Gen. Geary's division of infantry had
been withdrawn from the left very early In
the morning of the I'd. These dispositions
imposed upon me, thus weakened by the
withdrawal of two divisions, the sole respon-
sibility of resisting the formidable attack of
Gen. LongStreet upon our left flank. The
first support that reached me was Buford's
division Of the Fifth army corps, that got
D
two hours after the battle opened. Gen
Sickles then quotes from Count De Paris's
book to sustain himself, and adds: Gen.
Meade's whole attention was taeitically fixed
upon his right flank. He did not believe
that.
THE ENEMY WOULD ATTACK HIS LEFT,
although Hancock and myself had pointed out
that his left was vulnerable. At o'clock in
the afternoon of July 2, q few moments be-
fore Longstreet opened his assault, Meade
telegraphed to Halleck: IF satisfied the
enemy Is endeavoring to move to my rear ]
shall fall back to my supplies at Westmin-
ster." Here Gen. Sickles stopped for mo-
had already sent Buford there two
hours before Gen. Sickles in
long statement refutes Gen.
Meade's statements seriatum. and saws:
'In conclusion, allow me to repeat that Gen.
Meade's recently-published letter. so far as
it relates to the orders and instructions
therein alleged to have been given to me- is
fatty contradicted by his own official report
of the truth, and by his own testimony before
the committee upon the conduct of the war
In his official report Gen. Meade says that
the Second and Third corps were directed to
occupy the Cemetery ridge, on the left of
the Eleventh corps -
That is the only statement in Gen. Meade's
official report to indicate the position of the
Third corps. Now we will see how guardedly
ne speaks OF IL III MS testimony. "ADOuC
8 or $3.50 o'clock in the afternoon l proceeded
from my headquarters to the extreme left in
order to see as to the posting of the Fifth
corps and also to inspect the position of the
Third corps, about which I was in doubt.
Gen. Sickles had sent to me earlier in the day
that there was IN the neighborhood of where
his corps was some
VERY GOOD GROUND FOR ARTILLERY,
and that he should like to have some staff
officer of mine to go out there and see as to
the posting of the artillery. He also asked
me whether he was not authorized to post his
corps in such manner as in his Judgment
he should deem the most suitable answered
Gen. Sickles, certainly, within the limits
of the general instructions I have