The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1890-11-14
Especial Correspondence.

wing Oh Cne army. olckleS leo MS corps
the Third Howard commanded his owl
corps, the Eleventh. and for time othe
troops on the field; Doubleday and Newton
commanded the First corps on different
days; Wright was second in command tt
Sedgwick in the Sixth corps and Gregs
commanded a cavalry division that fought
decisive battle with Stuart, an actor
that has been called the one great cavalry
6ght of the war. None of these generals
with the exception of Doubleday and
Sickles, has shown desire to fight the
battle over in print.
Sickles has written and spoken great
deal in answer to criticisms in high places
On his conduct in that battle, and Double
day has written to clear up history. How.
ard and Slocum, who, from the prominent
parts taken by them on that field and their
nearness to the commanding general,
Meade, during the most exciting periods,
should be qualified to give important tes-
Simony, have kept silent, except in one or
two cases where they were appealed to by
brother officers. Gregg, known to all the
army as silent man, has heretofore re-
fused to speak or to write on what he
knows of most vital part of the wonder
full fight. The charm that has been potent
u open at last the lips Of Slocum, How
ard and Gregg is the invitation of the
Count of Paris, who beyond all else that
distinguishes him is an able, painstaking
and impartial student and historian of the
Civil war.
Whatever the handspring of this royal
Frenchman's ambition may be, he has had
the patience and the love of hard labor to
produce work of history that has few
parallels, and has no equal at all in the same
field It is common saying that men
cannot write acceptable histories of their
own times, but somehow the counts expe-
rience refutes this notion. Several vol
umes of his work have been before the
American public for years. and the men
about whom he has written the most have
been the first to recognize his power and
his spirit of fairness. They are ready to
add to his material out of their own re-
sources, knowing the use that will be made
of it.
At the first thought it might be supposed
that a prince having the curious record
that lies back of the present head of the
house of Orleans could at best be only
dabbler in any serious work and mere
pretender to kingshp in the world of let
tiers, and confess that l went to Gettys-
burg as locker on expecting to see moth
ing more than formal entertainment of
the count amid those wonderful scenes,
something that would leave useless me-
mortal to the effect that distinguished mill
tary men had attended the royal visitor
over the field and no more. This was a
mistaken notion. When he had been on
the ground a couple of hours, examining
that series of intricate and battling maneu-
vers known as the first days fight, Gen.
Slocum remarked, privately, that there
was nothing of the novice or dabbler about
the count, but that his military knowledge
and critical insight were of the best and
the keenest.
Men who fought in the war and have fol-
lowed the counts descriptions of scenes
and actions familiar to themselves, but
which the historian never saw, have been
struck with his fidelity in minor details,
such as the direction of fence or a creek.
the positions of buildings, the ridges, "a
vines and woods on the fields, and ten
thousand little things that the record con-
tains. 1t seems that it is not accident in
any case, nor exceptional. Either the count
has written nothing but what he has veri-
fed in some way, or he has verified every
thing and written it all down. His mem
ory is also good. When the Gettysburg
guide, Capt. Long, who sat on the drivers
seat of the counts carriage, started on this
tour, he began to point out the old land
marks just as he is accustomed to do with
all strangers. This went on for some time,
the count responding, eyes" YES as the
objects were mentioned. Finally the royal
sightseer turned spokesman himself, and
on approaching a house, or farm, or creek.
would name it accurately, and the captain
who is full of his story, relapsed into 81
lence until called upon, which was usually
by Others of the party.
While going over the different positions
on the field the count was always accom-
panied by the Union general who COM
there excepting in the case of
Hancock's field), and these furnished infor-
nation when called upon. The questions
asked usually were why they, as command
ers, did certain things, or why they did not |
make certain possible moves. The knowl- !
sdge he sought for was personal and ex- |
planatory; descriptions he carried in his |
head. and had obtained them from the |
multitude of books, maps and manuscript |
records treating of the subject. During |
he survey of Gen. Slocum's lines, some of |
he party asked the general where he had |
had his artillery stationed since there were |