The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-02-13
RICHMOND VA SUNDAY FEBRUARY s 1910

or certainly before day break or the
doth. IN aither case he would not hava
made the fruitless march to Carlisle
on July the LIST, but would have march
ca with Ehrly on the goth, and would
almost certainly have been interposcd
between tho enemy aud the infantry
4 or Early and Eli, and would thus prob
ably have prevented tho battle from,
being precipitnted by Hill on the morn
Ing OF July list See Hendersons
Science Of War" -. $50
I There can be no doubt that tho march
! of stuarps horsemen was seriously inn
pedcd BY the captured wagon train
which he took along" Colonel Mos
by admits Up. 1918 that he might have
reached York on the 30th, instead OF
July the LIST, IL he haa burned the wag-
ons. He crossed the river the night OF
the 9TH, and York Is about so miles.
This is also the Judgment of General
~ Z. Alexander who says, page 31o.
In saving large number of wagons
instead of burning them and In delay
Ing twelve hours to parole his prison.
! ers, Instead of bringing along the Of
! fcers and letting the men go. Stuart
committed fatal blunders" And ho
adds, "The delay caused to subsequent
marches by the long wagon train and
\ the embarrassment of protecting IT..
I was responsible for the loss of time,
| which made. on the whole, II sad fail
ure of the expedition"
Two possibilities were eliminated by
the drag put on General Stuart's col
umn by the captured. wagon train. l..
| But for the delay thus occasioned he
might have marched from Westminster
| to Gettysburg by Littletown,s as ap-
parently he hoped to do. for he could
\ I.,, ~,
! by the morning OF the eotb Instead OF
at shutdown (for that place is only As
/ or so miles from Seneca Ford), and a
that earlier hour he probably would
/ not have found tho Federal cavalry
! on that road.
tNote.---1n his report General Stuar
| says no reached Westminster at p
NJ. and camped at Union Mills. mid.
| way between Westminster and Littles.
! town, on the Gettysburg Road. Up. $685.,
| Scouts reported that the Federal cav
airy had reached Littlestown during
the night. But for this 1t would ap-
pear Stuart would have marched to
Gettysburg. Instead he marched to
Hanover. General fitzpatrick in his
report says, Stuart was making for
lLittlcstown."
General e. P. Alexander. In his I'M
portant work %. 275) says that had
General Stuartss column here follow
ed the direct road VIC Littlestown to
Gettysburg, only about l6 miles away,
1t could have occupied Gettysburg be-
fore IL A. NJ. on the 36th. when 1t
would have found Itself In good posi-
ton in front of Lees army, then con-
centrated at Cashtown." And he adds
! that in that case. Lees army would
have occupied some strong position be-
tween Cashtown and Gettysburg, and
the onus of attack would have been on
the Federals, as had been the plan OF
the campaign
1t would have been natural for Cen
eral Stuart to make Gettysburg his
objective, for In his report he says he
had been instructed that one column OF
our army would move by Gettysburg"
His language is not conclusive as to
whether he had meant to march by
Littlestown and Gettysburg, but 1t is a
natural inference from what he says
that but for the news that during the
night of the cath the Federal cavalry
had reached Littlestown, he would have
marched to that place and SO on to
Gettysburg. But for that unnecessary
and fatal delay. he would have been
at Littestown before the Federals and
could have reached Gettysburg by The
The Federal cavalry reached Little
town during the night of 29th. And 2.
Had he decided instead TO press on
through Hanover to York. he would
have been able to effect a junction with
General! Early at York by the evening
OF the Goth or the early morning OF
the Goth. and his superb leadership
would then have been available in the
march from York TO Cashtown on the
30th, and in the operations on the
fateful LIST OF July.
Certainly tits not strange that Gen.
eral Lee should have been surprised
that he had no intelligence from Cen
eral stuart between the 2Sd OF June
and the I'd of July; and the question
is whether that long delay was un-
avoidable under the circumstances in
which General Stuart found himself
after he parted with General Lee. Col
onel Mosby says General Lee had
studied astronomy and knew the ma
ture Of an eclipse. Yes, but General
Lee was not surprised at the eclipse.
, but at the length OF It's duration. He
sent couriers in every direction to gain,
If possible, news of General Stuart.
Colonel Mosby Insists it was no part of
General Stunrt's duty to report to
General Lee the movements of Rockers
army. yet StuuTC ulHlSelI writes IN
his report, 1T was important for me to
reach our column with as little delay
as possible, to acquaint the command
Ing general with the nature of the
eneuy's movements, as well as to place
with his column my cavalry force"
(P. 6o5.)
Colonel Mosby tells us of Stuarts
energetic action In Rockers rear be-
tween the 27th OF Juno and the 1st
of July: but General Lee did not in
struct him to destroy Hooker's trains,
or to damage the canal, or to break
Hookers communication with Wash
ington, or TO burn the railroad bridge
at Sykesvllle, but after crossing the
river Cat Shepherdstown, or Seneca)
you must move on and feel the right
of Ewell's troops, collecting informa-
ton, provisions, etc" 1t was brill
liant raid, executed with great skin
and with marvellous endurance and in
trepedlty-but it was not ordered by
General Lee, and the results were very
unsatisfactory.
Does it not appear reasonable that
General Stuart. having been. even If
without fault of his own, delayed two
days In crossing the Potomac, would
then have felt, If he was to perform the
service intrusted to him by General
Lee on the 23d of June. he must
fmarch with all possible haste, by the