The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-28
THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.
GEN. M'LAWS' REVIEW OF THE
TERRIBLE CONFLICT.

Confederates 20 Win Victory
Was Due TO Lack Of CO-Opcration
on the Part of the Corps Conn
mander and Was Not Due TO Any
Fault in the Plans of Gen. Lee.
gen. Longstreet's Orders and His
Actions During the Day Criticised.
Gen. McLaws' lecture on the battle OF
Gettysburg az the Guards arsenal lasi
night was largely attended 10y the mem
bers Of The confederate veterans and lhe-F
families and others interested In hearing
the account Of a great conflict given in
detail by one Of its principal actors.
Gen. AycLaws was escorted TO the plat
form ty a committee. consisting Of Coz.
W. W. Gordon, Col. J. H. Estill, Maj. G.
N. Rytls. Or. T. +. Besseleu, and AIr.
S. T. Baker
He was introduced by Col. Gordon, who
said that the occasion, Confederate Me
mortal day, made the address very APP
propriate one. Ii would serve, he said
TO call attention 10 one fact, which was
Illustrated b. the school children join
ing in the memorial exercises. The gen
Grafton which participated in the war Is
passing away and It is desirable that the
rising generation. should be instructed In
the events OF the conflict The personal
narratives Of those who took promi-
nent part in the conflict should be made
public for this reason.
or Gen. McLaws, Col. Gordon said. he
only desired TO say that he had been a
soldier all his life. a typical confeder-
ate soldier, and one who had proven true
In every walk in life.
Gen. McLaws. IN his account of the bat
Tie. gave in detail the movements OF his
own division, with the events connected
with IL which came under his own knoMl-
edge or which ne Afterwards learned. Inc
reasons for Gen. Lees movement lulo
Pennsylvania. he said, We're the weaken
ing of the federal forces by the mus teFlnS
out o. 20C0O men OF Aookers corps, the
strengthening OF the confederate army by
the return of Gen. LOugstreets corps from
the south and the belief that a successful
movement into the union territory Would
result in all uprising OF the southern sy
pathiZers or copperhead element IN the
north.
Judging from Gen. McLaws' address the
reason Of the failure Of the
movement was the failure of the confeder-
ate commanders to properly cooperate
with their chief and with each other, when
success was only possible 10y such cooper
alton. The nrSt great mistake or ulaiui-
tune Of the campaign was the failure OF
Gen Stewart to return TO the main army
with his cavalry, thus deprivlng Gen. Lee
of Information Of which he " as greatly
III lEtu dH wen d. "a tAAN ASST ~
this valuable corps. Gen. Lee, Gen. Nc
Laws stated, was very much perturoed nc
this failure. Gen. McLaWs account SHOWS
that there was considerable friction De-
tween himself and Gen. LOngstreet, 10
whose corps his division was attached, ana
that in particular Gen Lee and Gen. Long
street differed as 10 the manner IN which
McLaws' division should be placed in the
line of battle Gen. Lee ordering that IL
should be placed in position at
right angle to the mitsburg pike.
Gen. Longstreet desired that the division
be placed in line with the pike and not
perpendicular to it. There was consider
able difficulty in getting into position and
it was evident that the movement had
been undertaken too late. Here friction
again occurred between Gen. McLaws and
Gen. Longstreet, the latters orders pre-
venting the occupation of Cups hill,
which commanded Cemetery hill
This referred to the events OF the sec
Ond day, the confederates having been
victorious in the first days fight and hay
ing driven the federal forces through the
town. Gen. McLaws pointed out that the
failure TO take advantage of this victory
by occupying the desirable positions on
the morning of July was most serious
mistake. IsongStrSets cOrpss composed
of McLaws and Hoods division, did its
lighting in the afternoon of the second
day, when a charge was ordered by Gen.
Longstreet. Gen. McLaWs opposed this
charge and did not order the movement
until he had been peremptorily ordered to
do so. The enemy was in such great
strength in his front and so strongly in
trenched with artillery that he did not
believe charge SHOULD be made until the
confederate line should be gotten in bet
ter position and his artillery given a
chance to play on that of the enemy. The
enemy's left also extended much further
TO his right than had been expected. The
charge was made under the personal SUI
pervision of Gen. Longsueet. This charge
was the hottest work done by the confed-
crates during the day and the losses ex-
ceeded that of Picketts charge the next
day. Gen. Barksdale of the Mississippi
brigade and Gen. Semmes of the Georgia
brigade were killed at the head of their
brigades, Gen. Barksdale falling inside the
enemy's lines. The enemy's line was driv-
en- back in a number of places and the
two lines fought almost face to face
Wright's brigade drove the enemy from
Cemetery hill and held 1t until ordered &c
retire.
The failure of Hoods and McLaws' Iii.
visions to properly cooperate with each
other, and the confusion due to the mis-
understanding of orders, resulted in the
CURED here between Gen. Longstreet anC
Gen. McLaws as to the ordering back Of
sorting that he had not ordered the bri
gade back, and Gen. Wofford and Col
Bryan of his brigade asserting most pos
itively that Gen. Longstreet had ordered
the brigade back. Gen. McLawS' loss wa!
2,3f0 killed, wounded and missing; tina
of Gen. Hood 2,2S9. Gen. McLaws' los.
was one-third Of his entire division. Tn,
losses were greater than in those of Pick
etts charge the next day.
Gen. McLaws was an eye witness I,
Picketts charge, the hopelessness o
which was evident from the beginning
The other troops were not in position t,
give the support needed to make tn
charge a success under the most favora
BILE circumstances, and here again TIL
absence of cooperation was particular,
noticeable
Gen. McI.aws discussed all these event
in detail. His conclusion was that Gen
Lee was not at fault either in his move
ment into Pennsylvania or his decision {
attack the enemy at Gettysburg, an,
that had the confederate corps command
ers had a more thorough understanding
of the situation, and had been in close
touch with each other and with thei
commander, the result would have just
fed Lees plan Of battle. The several in
stances given by Gen. McLaws where ap
parently contradictory and unreasOnabl
orders were given by Gen. Longstree