The National tribune., 1908-04-09

who had grown up with 1t, and had the
confidence of every man in 1t, while
Barlow, superb soldier that he was, had
yet to be tested. and his severe, repel-
liant manner did not make his assign
ment the more agreeable.
One division had been commanded by
Gen. Mclean, son of that eminent jurist,
John Mclean. of the United States Su-
preme Court, who had made himself adj
mired all over the country by his force
full dissent from the Dred Scott decision.
Gen. Mclean was returned TO his bri-
gade in order that the command of the
division, which he had richly earned,
should be given to one of Hooker's
fayoriteS, Gen. Charles Devens. Like
Gen. Barlow, Gen Devens was not a
man to make his advent to the new
command popular. He had the same
cold. strict. harsh manner of Gen. Bar
low, a manner then entirely too fash
ionable among New Englanders. The
men of his division, who resented the
displacement of Gen. Mclean, found
abundant reason for dissatisfaction with
his successor. After the battle they
were able to say with entirely too much
reason that if Mclean had been in COM
mand of the division instead of Devens
the disaster never would have occurred,
since Mclean was thorolv acquainted
Drith Jackson's mode of fighting, and
had foiled him in two of his flank move
ments.
Defense of the Corps.
One of the ablest studies made of any
battlefield since the war is that of the
Eleventh Corps at Charlottesville. by
Augustus Choate Hamlin, formerly
Lieutenant-Colonel and Medical Inspec-
tor, and since the war Historian of the
Eleventh Corps. DIR. Hamlin is not only
man of unusual ability, but possesses
exceptional talents for clear forceful
writing. The vindication of his corps
has been lifelong work for him, to
which he has devoted unsparingly of
his energy and intellectual powers His
conclusions are stated with remarkable
strength and clearness in the book pub
lished by him at Bangor, Me-, from
which l shall extract literally. He gives
this statement of the position of the
corps, its strength and compositions:
'.At this time the Eleventh Corps
numbered about 1900 effectives, which
is the estimate of Gen. Howard and
also that of Col. Fox, but Cen Hooker
stated before Congress that it was but
1900 men, and this is the estimate
given by Gen. Underwood, who made a
careful study of ;the battle after the
close of the sgar. 1.-THE left wing of the
corps, composed of the two brigades of
Buschbeck and Barlow. and under the
command -of-Gens Steinwehr, was sta
toned along$@the DowdalI Farm, with
Bpschheck's Brigade strongly intrench-
ed on the crest of the southern border
of the farm and facing south, and sup
ported by, Neidrick's Battery of six
guns. North of the Dowdall House Bar
lows Brigade was placed in reserve for
the corps, ana in the morning had con-
structed shallow rifle pit, extending
diagonally ACROSS, tbe open field from the
rear of Dowdali's to the woods in rear
of the littlen church and facing west
In the same nfield,9 on its eastern edge
the reserve artillery of three batteries
was parkedI Torfthe right of Busch
beck's four regiments of Schurz's Divi-
sion were interposed along the road
facing south as far as Devens's Division
at the Talley Farm. while the remaining
five regiments were bivouacked on the
Hawkins Farm, directly in the rear.
Prolonging the right of SchurZ and ex-
tending for more than half mile were
five of the regiments of Devens's Diyi-
sion, standing in the road and facing
south. On the extreme right of this
line were two regiments, DETECTED at a
right angle from the pike, facing west
and coyeIaag the approach from that
direction. In the angle of the line and
in the road were placed two of Dick
mans guns, $50 yards from the Tailey
House. The ether four guns were placed
east of Talley's. facingi south, to com
mand the Plank road. The remaining