The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-11-27
THE BIiANI y
On General Lon gstreet for Gem Lees
~ Repuls ct g Gettysb rg.
B d IOsT NOTABLE zINCIDENT

~
4 MO MOsT M or ABLE INCIDENT
. sRecorded SinS the Book is nm Inter
view Which Q occurred Be-g ||S
{ tween Gen: Lee aud
II l. @ en-. j jackson.
Ii is valuable contribution to the
materials for the future history Of our
civil war that Gen. John B. Gordon
4 has made In his "reminiscences Of the
) Civil The contribution is yalu-
4 able, not only because the writer has
& had 1t in his power to furnish a great
;$deal.of first hand testimony concern
1 Ing mportant:events and distinguish
led commanders, but because the
sltrustworthiness OF the narrative Is
Z guaranteed by the admirable spirit
+ that prevades it. Gen. Gordon is one
OF those brave men who Sheathed
i their tongues when they sheathed
3 their swords. He is indeed, just as
4 firmly convinced now as lie wac in
1851, that the seeding States were
Z constitutiOnally justified in attempt
Ing to organize a separate Confed-
eracy, but he holds that the arbitra-
/ ment of war has made the question
purely academic, and that, as it is
now. the duty, so, too, it should be
OF their descendants to demonstrate
/, their loyalty to the reconsolidated
Union. AS also might have been ex-
pected from "a fair-minded man. he
studiously refrains from caustic com
7 mentS on any Of the generals who
took leading parts in the contest on
one side or the other. There is not q
trace Of prejudice, much less of ran
cor, in the book Even Of Gen. Long
street, whom he regards as chargeable
to considerable extent with the de-
feat Of Lees army at Gettysburg, he
speaks in accents Of regret rather
than Of reproach. His references to
such northern commanders as Nc
Clellan, Hooker, Meade, Grant and
Sherman, are not only impartial, but
magnanimous; they always show ap-
probation, and are sometimes tinged
with admiration.
PRAISE FOR GEN. MEADE
With regard to Gettysburg, Gen.
Gordon concurS in the wellnigh uni
yersal opinion that this battle was
the turning point in the south's for
tunes. He comedies that ''the high
water mark Of the Rebellion" was
reached when Pickctts Virginians
under Kemper, Garnett and Armi-
stead, in their memorable charge,
swept over the rock wall. 1t is Gen.
4 Gordan's conviction that to the Union
commander, Gen. George Gordon
Meade, history will accord the honor
OF having handled his army at Gcttys-
burg with indisputablc ability. In
Gen. GOrdon's Judgment, the record
and the results OF the battle cntitlc
Meade to a high place among Union
leaders. ITO him and his able sub
ordinates and heroic men is due tho
credit of having successfully met anC
repealed the Army, of Northern Vir
j giniasin the meridian Of its hope ant
confidence and. power. This mucl
< seems secure to him, whether his fail
ure vigorously to follow Gen.. Lee ane
force him to another battle IS justi
+ fed or condemned by the military
critics of the future. Gen. Meade!
army halted, 1t is; true after having
achieved 4 O victory. The victory
sg hove ver: nns Of so ',ai
chafac ter as to demoralize Lees for
ces." Our author recalls the dictun
~ Of the great Napoleon that bad a
may be the condition Of victoriou
army after battle it Is invariably tru,
that the condition of the defeated
army is still worse. The comment OF
this dictum is that, IF any success
ful commander was ever justified il
disregarding this truism Of Bona
parties, Gen. Meade was that com
mander, for a considerable portion O.
Lees army, probably one third of it
was still in excellent fighting trim
and nearly every man in it would
have responded with alacrity to Lees
call to form defensive line and de.
liver BATTLE"
LONGSTREET LOST GETTYSBURG.
We have said that it is rather with
regret than reproach that Gen. Cor
don marks what he believes TO have
been Longstreet's fatal shortcomings
hu oSopJoouibs LILO dCIl W. NCuuC-
tjonS from all the evidence obtainable
4 are set forth in footnote to page 16O
OF this volume. TO Gen. Gordon it
now seems certain that impartial mill
tary critics, after thorough invcstiga-
tion, will consider the following facts
established: First, that Gen. Lee
distinctly ordered Longstreet oattack
early on the morning Of the second
day, and if Longstreet had done SO
two of the largest corps Of Meades
army would not have been in the
fight; but LoDgstreet delayed the at
tack until o'clock in the afternoon,
and thus lost his opportunity Of oc-
cupying Little Round Top, the key to
the position, which he might have
done In the morning without firing a
shot or losing man. Secondly, that
Gen. Lee ordered LongStreet TO at
tack at daybrcak on the morning Of
the third day, and that the latter did
not attack until 2 or 3 o'clock in the
afternoon, the artillery opening at /.
Thirdly, that Gen. Lee, according to
the testimony Of Col. Walter Taylor,
Col. S. G. Vcnablc and Gen. A.
Long, who we've present when the or
der was given, ordered Longstrcet to
make the attack on the last d.ly with
The three divisions OP hic earns and