352
But from the official accounts of Generals Pendleton and Wilcox j) we seethat the right of General Lee ’s army was not deployed as far as the Fairfieldroad on the 1st of July, that General Pendleton did not pass "beyond thisroad, and only noted the location of the ridge on the right from his positionon the Fairfield road especially as likely to he important “ toward a flankmovement.” With this idea in his mind he leaves us to infer that he leftour right and moved over to our left to supervise the posting of artillerybattalions just then coming up. Soon after General Pendleton passed fromabout the Fairfield road to our left, the division of General R. H. Ander-son,—of the Third Corps,—led by the brigade of General C. M. Wilcox, filedoff to the right from the Chambersburg road, marched in an oblique directiontoward the Fairfield road, where it was halted for the night, lying in bivouactill the next day, the brigade of Wilcox being on picket or guard serviceduring the night about a mile farther to the right. In the absence of otherevidence, one might be at a loss to know which of these accounts wasintended in a Pickwickian sense, but the account of General R. II. Anderson,who was guileless and truthful, supports the official reports. General A.A. Humphreys (of the other side), late chief of the United States Corps ofEngineers , a man whose entire life and service were devoted to official accu-racy, gives similar evidence in his official report. |
All the subordinate reports on the Confederate side confirm the accountby General Anderson, while the reports of subordinate officers on the Federalside conform to that of General Humphreys. It is conclusive therefore thatthe Confederates occupied no ground east of the Fairfield road till R. H.Anderson’s division advanced on the morning of the 2d at 10 to find its posi-tion on the right of Hill’s corps, after a clever fight between the 3d Maine and 1st U. S. Sharp-shooters against the 10th and 11th Alabama regiments.
When it is remembered that my command was at the close of the first day’sfight fifteen to twenty miles west of the field, that its attack as ordered wasto be made along the east side of the Emmitsburg road, that no part of Gen-eral Lee ’s army .touched that road till 9 a. m. of the 2d, that up to that hourit was in possession of the Federals, and that their troops had been marchingin by that road from early on the 1st till 8 a. m. on the 2d, it will be seen thatGeneral Pendleton’s reconnoissance on the 1st was made, if made at all, byhis passing through the Federal lines on the afternoon of the 1st and againon the morning of the 2d.
General Wilcox confesses want of personal information of the order fordaylight or early attack, but expresses his confidence that the order wasgiven. That is, he, occupying our extreme right on the 1st, on picket at apoint considerably west of the Emmitsburg road, believes that General Lee ordered troops some fifteen or twenty miles off, and yet on the march, to passhis picket guard in the night to the point of attack, east of the Emmitsburgroad, through the Federal lines, in order to make a daylight attack east ofthe road. While I am prepared to admit that General Lee ordered, at times,
t “ Official Records,” Vol. XXVII., Part II., pp. 340, 010.
“ Official Records,” Vol. XXVII., Part I., p. 529.