The National tribune., 1910-10-06

iierIy carriage and perfect horseman-
ship, made him to me the ideal OF a
preux chevaIier-a Rayard without fear
md without reproach.
Offered tie Command to Reynolds.
cannot forbear adding an incident
that illustrates his remarkable tendency
TO seIf-efTacement. 1t consists of a
piece of secret history of which, how
ever. the writer holds documentary
proofs. At the time that Gen. Hooker
resigned the command there was ru-
NOR in the First Corps that Gen. Rey-
nolds had been offered the berth. Fhe
latter evaded all questioning about the
matter. He did not even hint at II IN
his family correspondence. One even
ing in March, 1864, DR. j. T. Heard,
who was Medical Director of the First
Corps and n very close friend of Gen.
Reynolds. passed some time in the COM
many of President Lincoln, with whom
he was we'll acquainted In the course
of conversation reference was made 10
Reynolds's death, and Dr. Heard told
the President of the aforementioned
rumor. 1T was perfectly true said
Mr. Lincoln. frankly. Il first offered
the command to Reynolds. but he abso-
luteIy declined it, and recommended his
friend Meade in his stead. So Meade
was appointed"
But TO finish my cockSure critic, who
at least has afforded me an opportunity
to record some interesting reminis-
cences. 1t seems somewhat remarkable
that a veteran taking part in a Strenu-
Gus charge involving the capture of a
rebel brigade should set the time of its
occurrence two and three-quarters
hours ahead of the evera. We cap
tured them ALL" declares he. Now, the
rebel brigades were numerically much
larger than ours, and Archer's had seen
little service and was but slightly de-
pleted. Only about l, 100 were captured
by the Iron Brigade. The writer stood
by as they fled out into the road un-
der guard. They were dirty, frowZy
and tattered and torn set of Tennessee
'po'h white trash," and as they de-
bouched into the road the risibles OF
we Yanks were excited as the Colonel at
their head shrilIed out the command:
by twos inter fours, roight smeert.
git" a tactical formula that probably
was not learned from ''Hardee."s
No, valiant comrade, You didn't cap
ture all of Archer's Brigade, nor even
all but 90 Of them, as you boast. As
Doubleday writes: There was now a
Iull in the combat. Heth was reorgan-
izing his shattered front line. The
remnant of Archer's Brigade was placed
on the right. and made to face south
against Ruford's cavalry, which it was
feared might attack that flank.
So it appears there must have been
a good many of Archer's men that es-
capped the dragnet. l dismiss without
comment the comrades cheap equi-
vogue about his mot seeing Comrade
Jepson there" which is a weapon that
cuts both ways, as anyone capable OF
drawing an inference from the fcrego-
ing will comprehend. There remains
only to notice the final pronouncement,
as il from the tripod of some classic
authority on military terminology:
This early morning scrimmage did not
precipitate the general engagement, as
Comrade Jcpson declares, That did
not occur until late in the afternoon
about O'clock" The comrades no.
ton Of time seems to be as defective In
this rs in previous instances. The hos
tile forces We're fairly pitted against
each other at about 10 o'clock, and
when at II O'Clock the two other divi-
sions of the First Corps came up and
went speedily into action there were
1900 rebels and 5000 Union soldiers
engaged in as fierce and bloody bat
tie as. considering the numbers, the
war furnished. Before the Eleventh
Corps arrived, about 1 o'clock, tht
fighting had been almost incessant, ex.
cepting only the brief interval Double
day mentions as above. Up to this time
the First Corps had lost more than one
half of its men and Heth's casualties
were proportionately larger-greatel
than the entire losses of the Spanish
War or than in any one battle of either
the Mexican or the Revolutionary War
If such battle as this does not consti.
tute a general engagement perhap.
Comrade Bishop in his superior mill
tary wisdom will tell us what does. Ths
general engagement which he says diC
not occur until about o'clock wa!
more like a general rout than an en-
gagement, for at that hour the tw,
corps were in full retreat, those wh'
were lucky enough finding refuge OIL
Cemetery Hill, over 1000 unlucky one
being gobhled up by Early in the town
And so ended in glorious disaster tn
first day of Gettysburg.
j am prompted to add but word fo
Comrade Bishops benefit-a word from
the Wise One, in which he castigate
him who is wiser in his own concei
than seven men that can render a rea
son."-George Edwin Jepson, Newton
Mass