The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-01-30

day General Leo crossed the Kappa
hammock Hooker had always moved so
us 70 kccDtip touch with Lee. and be-
tween Leo and Washington.
~ could not be expected that after
lnc whole Southern army had crossed
tDc Potomac Hooker would halt IN
virginia and uncover Washington
Iiooacr's Prompt Movement.
On the eth a. r. Hill'a Corps moved
| from CharlestoWn to tho Potomac IN
sight Of the signal station on Mary
land Heights. rho news was teic-,
| graphed to Hooker, ana he set his
| army in motion for the Potomac tic
next day. stuart found Rockers army
marching on the roads which he had
expected TO travel, hence he had to
change his route and make a detour
through Fairfax around Rockers rear.
| Instead OF crossing the river on the
| evening OF tho 18th, he did not get
| over until the night OF tho 27th.
Pleasanton's Cavalry Corps had boon
| kept behind as the rear guard of tile
army, and crossed the Potomac some
! miles above on the same night 1t was
kept behind and neutralized by stuart
| being in their rear. and gave no trou.
| BILE to General Lee.
Colonel Talcott quotes from my
| book what is said about the premature
| movements in the Shenandoah Valley,
| making tho Gettysburg campaign the
| Had Of the South. and claims that
| this is an admission that the disaster
was due to the absence of the cavalry.
His conclusions are illog ical--a nom
| seauitur-no such meaning can be
given to any language. No matter
where Stuart crossed the Potomac
! cast or west OF the Ridgc--hc would
not have been with General Lee or
any where near Gettysburg. but away
off on the Susquehanna j never said
1t was tho cause of the loss of the
battle, but of the failure of the cam
paign as originally planned.
Hilrs Responsibility.
1t was this movement of A. u.
Hill on the Gath from Charlestown
that disclosed our plan TO the enemy
and caused 1t to miscarry. There never
would have been battle at Gettys'
burg IL Stuart had crossed tho 70
tomac on the evening OF the 25ti1-.as
ho had expected with his transpor-
tation destroyed. the canal on the
Potomac, which had become his line
Of supply. broken, and all communlca-
tions cut between Washington and the
North uooker's attention would nave
been drawn from Lee to the capital,
and stuart would have mafched lels-
urely ON to the .Snsquehanna. Long
street was Mt wildwood on the 24th.
and marched out of view of the signal
station by Bunker Hill and Martins
burr 10 Williamsport. AS he had to
march about three times the distance
that a. r Hill had to march from
Charlestown 10 Cross at ShePheFns-
town. Hill might irayc waited day
and then he, Longstreet and stuart
would all have crossed the Potomac
on tho same day and would nave lelt
Hooker behind in Virginia.
or course, General Lee did not an
ticlpatc that Hooker would follow so
promptly and defeat the operation that
was originally planned. still stuart
did cross in the enemys rear.
Colonel Talcott says II was neces-
sary for the two corps to move on the
gath to support Ewell. But EWolfs.
Early's and Rodea's reports show just
the reverse. A few militia met them
al two or three places. but scattered
without firing shot. When Eariy
got TO York he sent Gordon 10 secure
the bridge across the Susauehanna'
but the militia set fire to the prloso
end ran over the river. Hooker mao
detached no forces to follow Eweil.
while Ewen foraged In Pennsylvania
Jenk!ns-s Cavalry was skirrnlshins
with some militia in the suburbs OF
Harrisburg when Ewell, who was at
Carlisle, recalled him,
stuart,s Conduct on June Is.
Colonel Talcott also says tina, when
on the 25th, stuart found out that he
could not mass through Hooker's army
he ought to have turned back. gons
over the Blue Ridge and crossed the
river at Shepherdstown. But II was
easier then to go on than TO turn
back He simply obeyed General Lees
order. kept on and passed around
Rockers rear He could not possibly
have reached Shepherdstown before
the night of tho 27th. which was the
time he crossed at Seneca. General
Lee had then been two days at Cham
bersburg
II Stuart had gone back to shen-
hcrdstown he would have rested for
night. and then have moved on
through some pass In the south Noun,
tain to join Early at York. He would
have reached there about the timo
Early was leaving to join Ewell.
Stuart's crossing at Seneca, so near
Washington. cutting the canal inter-
cepting communications and capturing
supply trains seriously impeded the
operations of the Northern army.
Meade,s attention was directed from
Lee. he sent two thirds OF his cavalry
and three army corps off to the east
10 Intercept Stuart, save Baltimore.
and open his communications. which
Stuart had cut. But the fruit of these
operations was lost by a. P. HITS and
Heth's Ouixotic adventures In fSoins
off without orders to Gettysburg
Net nobody would suspect from read
ing General Lees two reports, or what
his staff officers have written, that a.
p, Hill and Heth broke up his plan
OF campaign. And here l will notice
a statement In Colonel Taylor's book
"Four Years With Lee"-that does
great Injustice to his chief. He says
that at Cashtown on the morning OF
July i, Lee stopped and had talk
with a. p. FILL before he started to
Gettysburg. II true, it makes General
Lee responsible for the blunder OF tina.
movement. Fortunately for General
Lees reputation this statement is con-
tradicted by the report OF General
Pendlcton, who rode that day with
General Lee.
/, On the morning of July his head
quarters were at Greenwood, about ten