The National tribune., 1909-09-23
Lees March North.

| AS if in cOntemptuous disregard of
Hooker, Lee marched on a wide circle
around him, constantly presenting his
| tanks and his communications with
indifference as to what Hooker might
do. 1t was in vain that President Lin
coin urged the commander of the ARMY
| of the Potomac to attack, and wrote
him in his homely way that "If the
| head of the animal was on the Susuue-
| hanna and the tail on the Rappahan-
| mock, it must be thin somewhere: find
the spot and attack" Hooker made an
utterly untenable suggestion to take
advantage of Lees absence to capture
Richmond, which President Lincoln re-
Jected on the instant. Lee was only
too anxious to exchange Richmond for
Washington, and the defenses of the
National Capital had been stripped to
swell Hooker's army until only 1900
men were left there under the COM
mand of Gen. HeintZelman. ANYWAY,
as said before, few of the Army of the
potomac were willing to go into battle
again under Hooker, and once more the
momentouS perpleXity of selecting n
new leader and his successor presented
itself.
Among the new corps commanders
in the Army of the Potomac, SedgWlck.
Reynolds, Meade and Sickles had given
good accounts of themselves at the bat
been disappointment ana was re-
lieved. his place being taken by the
superb Hancock, an ideal corps COM
nander. The rumor at the time was
that the command of the Army of the
Potomac was offered to Sedgwick and
TO Reynolds, both of whom obstinateIy
declined it from unEillingness to en-
counter the jealousies which would in
evitably develop. Both of these Cen
HnH
who had been promoted to the com
mand of the Fifth Corps after his bril-
liant lighting at Fredericksburg, with
the applause of the whole army A
pretext for letting Hooker down easily
was found in refusing to give him the
troops at Harper's Ferry. 1t worked
well. Hooker Immediately rendered
his resignation, which was accepted.
and Geo. c. Meade was astonished at
receiving an order, June 2S, 1863, plac-
ing him in command of the army AL
most in the same breath was another
order giving him the troops at Harper's
Ferry.
Meade, with great modesty, assumed
command of the army as a duty. NOT
of his seeking, but imposed upon him
by order of his superior officer, and
which he had no right to refuse. 1t
must be said to Hooker's credit that
tho he failed to attack Lee or to avail
himself of any of his opportunities to
interfere with Lees march, he had
handled the army with great skill, and
had it in an excellent position to cover
Washington and attack Lee when
Meade took command
The Battle OF Gettysburg.
Learning, to his surprise, that the
Army of the Potomac had crossed the
river whose name it bore and was rap
idly nearing him, Lee ordered a hasty
concentration at Gettysburg, and the
two mighty hosts of men, so equal in
strength, crashed together July 1, to
the great surprise of both. 1t was to
the intense disappointment of Gen Lee,
who had hoped by his swift manuyer
to confuse and separate the Army of
the Potomac and beat it in detail But
the battle was now Joined. and there
was no choice. 1t had to be fought
out For the first time the fighting
was in the open field. men to mon,
where Lee could not employ the sur
prise and the unexpected attacks in