d^ Idled Soldkr S»a-i'.-niri'-pRrrowed IKeir repu iicf's. concilrri^K to render application ed clmracters, how evfi'. w liase names nrc i;t>«cueoiitU'iar| ■ ' < rx -J doubtful if another man in the country them, who as a rale fill car public oiEces at this time. Sickles PHOVED HIS CAPACITY when that quality was absolutely necessary to obtain popularity, since the vast majority of our people then were, as yet, thinking Americans, not a stupendous hash of infe- rior races, with very little of the solid njeat of honest Americanism in it. When Buchanan was Minister to England, Sickles was his Secretary of Legation and the deus ex mackina — the uower behind the throne ; and if he did not possess the cun- ning of " Old Buck," to those who are ac- quainted with both men there ~is little doubt that the younger man possessed the solid brains. Sickles was Secretary of Lega- tion, and unquestionably the moat trusted adviser of the future President from Penn- sylvania. Nevertheless, it was not until the war to put down the Slaveholders' Rebellion had become a most sorrowful accomplished fact that Sickles showed himself in his true, brilliant colors. He at once rose to the oc- casion and demonstrated that he was antong the ablest of the land. His triumph, indeed, was the greater, because there seemed to be a general conspiracy not to permit bim to manifest his diverse talents. It was a for- tunate thing for him that HE MET WITH DIFFICULTIES, because in completely overcoming them he proved that he was equal not only to them , but to every occasion — and a man who is always equal to the occasion, whether in literature; as a student ; as a politician elected to dis- charge responsible duties ; as a lawyer, capa- ble to grapple with tact, learning and success, the most diflicnlt questions against wealthy corporations and individuals, unscrupulous in their methods as they were wealthy in re- sources; as a soldier and General, inferior to few on record, both in organization and com- mand, hut entirely destitute of professional training and experience ; as an administra- tor firm and sagacious, under circumstances as difficult and trying as have ever occurred in Government, in which so many in Europe have utterly failed ; and as a diplomatist, winning respect for his Government and for himself, and what is more, the regard of the most exalted personages in siluaSons cal- culated to teat the nobility and common- sense of ANY PUBLIC CHAEAOTEE. His behavior on one occasion so won what miglit be termed the aifection of the House of Orleans, that the Couut of Paris in a letter to the author of this sketch used the most flattering language of positive regard for Sickles, who has proved a very Proteus ia his change of characters and services, in all of these displaying wisdom and courage. Such is a raia avu indeed. Very few individuals — even amongthose who might be supposed to have enjoyed the very beat opportunities for knowing — have any idea of the vast trouble encountered by Sickles in raising his Excelsior Brigade, or the fortune he expended in accomplishing his purpose. With- out an iron will, unusual sagacity and un- shrinking determination, it conld not have been carried through. At first blush it may seem like flattery to speak so strongly, but sober second thought will show it cannot be _^iati_for the writer has nothing to gain by it could have GONE SUCCESSFULLY THEOUGH what Sickles did and won all that he achieved. After the work was done and the brigade was organized, it might naturally be supposed that the result would have been accepted with gratitiide; but there were influences at work at Washington so perverted, so narrow, so un- generous, that they could not see that their littleness might ruin the country, or if they did perceive it or could entertain any idea of the magnitude of the danger, their ignorances, their caste prejudices or their selfishness, in- clnding a dread of diminishing their own con- sequence, either blinded them, or seared their consciences, or perverted their judgments. And here it may he proper to observe, although it may seem a digression, that tho country was saved i» spite of its rulers, in spite of its political schools and its professionals, by just such men as Sickles; and it was under the blessing of God that there was ENOUGH AMEKICANISM Still sufficiently potent to leaven the whole mass, to enahle such a man as Sickles eventu- ally to assume his proper place and trample under foot envy, hatred, malice and all un- charit.'ibleness. Sickles is not the only man. Logan was a victim, to a great extent, to the same malign influenL'os, and it was the same spirit thatipro- ventcd the latter from being placed at tho head of tho Army of the Tennessee. It was the same spirit that condoned the crimes of men \vho ought to have received the extreme of punishment. It is the same spiritwhich to- diiy contests the glory of .Sickles at Gettysburg, and c:ists a double and triple vail before their eyes for fear that the brilliancy of that glory, should pierce the obstacles they oppose and make them to see. As before stated, very few know the dilBcul- ties and expense Sickles underwent and over- came in getting up, holding together, and car- ryiu«> to the front, intact, the five New York regiments: 70ib — of which Sickles was first Colonel — 71st, 72d, 73d and 74th. These consti- : tnted the " EXCELSIOK BSIGAEE."* They were brought forward in block at a critical moment — yts, indeed, at a crisis — and I thus wei-e worth more to the country than a j whole division might have been at any future j time. Gen. Sickles, in a very able paper read before the Military Service Institution on Governor's Island, set forth a great many of his experiences j in this connection, and made many valuable suggestions, founded on the same, where- by the ditficulties might be avoided in case Cir- cumstances should ever arise requiring sum-, mary exertions on the part of the Government to defend itself in a cataclysm. There are a great many interesting particu- lars belonging to the period between the rais- ' ing and mustering in of the Excelsior Brigade, the taking it on to Washington at a crisis, and the getting it into the fleld, and the date when its commander had risen triumphant over aU * In looliing over a long correspondence the fol- lowing turned up, wliicii seems worthy of iaser- tion as n note at tliis point: tlow much did it cost you to raise the Excelsior BriKiide? £60.000 out of your own and yourfrtther'a pocltet? Ttiat would be a very iutereMting item, the difliculties you had to overoonie. and trium- pliantly overcame. Talli of MeClcllan's organiz- ing tho Army of the Potomac; it W.1S child's play in comparison to yours. lie liad the unbounded backing and vast wealtli of a Government; offi- cers more experieneed individually and togetiier iliafi himself; the bases were laid and the skeleton (or c(iifi-c5) existed. It was eliiJu's play for him liimself, and he had tlic pattern whieti McDowell had prepared in gcUiHg togcllier the Armj- of Northeastern Virginia. Thcorclically, no abler man lived than McDowell. He could construct the man-machine seientil^cally, and if it had lieen ,a mere mitcritU machine he could liave worked it as well as any living man, but it was in working with hutyian machinery that lie failed, in that lie Could not "ontliuse" men, to use a slang expression, because he was as coUl as a stone, and it requires aometliing hot itself to imparl lieat and life, few never was a truer maxim : " Ueat^is life and coldilL sdenlj!.'^ , , - Ij " — 1 id saw bis ability ao- ' Itli to renowu tbrovvu I's military capacity, an Ttnanifested by liiaable rebel doDiain tbo iirsb sred itself. Tbis was 'his embarrassments. I knowledged, and tb6 open to him. In speaking of Sictl excellent proof of it wi reconnaissance into thi opportunity wbicb ol styled at tbo time 1 SICKLES'S KAID TO SilFFOED COUKT-HOUSE. I In Marcb and April,lt86'3. Hooker's Division J — afterward Second qb " White Diamond," of I the Third Corps— lay i» camp aroaiid Liver- pool Point, on the lower Potomac, some 50 | miles south of Washiofton, opposite Shipping Point, where the riveWs widest. On the souib j side the rebels had stroSg batteries and coiisid- | orable force. Very larm storehouses for rations 1 and forage had been effiablisbed at Liverpool ! Point because the I'iij^r at this bend was too 1 broad for the rebel gudi, except those of extra- ordinary caliber, one at which had been burst in firing. f" As may be goneralMs^membered, when Joe Johnston slipped outTIf McClellan's bands at llanassas, in Marcb, &883, the enemy could not be found. Mcdelfca searched in vain for him on his front, Finally he se»t down to Hooker, who was postd on the left flank of the Army of the Potfinac, as stated above, at Liverpool Point, Lo sea i^ something could be done to get some ferffStwortby inionnation. Hooker turned over tUe duty to Sickles. In itself tbis was a complinent. About the 1st of ApSl Sickles selected 1,000 men — 200 from each ofpis five regiments — who, in light marching ordap— i. e., witli nothing but arms and ammunition: itnd cooked rations i'or two days, transporte ' nnd escorted by the navy, crossed from Lfyerpool Point to Sliip- ping Point, on the ' irgiiiia side, to test the force and positions " t tlie rebels by posi- \ tively " feeling of ■ t'em." Siekles's force I landed at Shipping ] rint, which had been ! evacuated by the re^is, leaving "Quaker' _^ittle after day — and Excelsiors commenced into tho interior bnmolcsted. They had f^jpcout^ in evei'y direc- iistHntc of Potomac fc^jl nf StaQbrd Court- ling Point, when tiiey gimentof rebel cavalry, \ in consequence of in- ^ negroes, who had been be report that Siekles's guns in position- by T or 8 a. m. tt their audacious adi toward Fredcricksbai proceeded — sending^ tion — to within Creek, and within a : house, 20 miles from) raninto the videtsofj thrown out to meet ' formation furnished sent forward to spreivl command was THE ADVlNCE OUAED of the Army of the Patomac. As tho General command i ng knew tbjB the success of his move- ment depended on his preventing the rebels '-from' obtaining a correct estimate of his force, he ordered an imme^tate advance at double- quick. Now was the spectj subversion of milita airy charging infal cavalry, drawn up ijj to chargo and stamps fell back in conl'usi^ Uorth Carolina infatj .tillcry to defend th Creek. These, in tut doned their positid streamed back throd icle seen of a complete rules. Instead of cav- infantry charged i line of battle and ready the latter. Tho horse upon two regiments of posted with some ar- 'lige across Potomac }ecame alarmed, aban- and horso and foot Staiford Court-house upon Fredericksburg^where Beauregard bad '■ iiiformationarisnt tl the river to conim which he expected tho Potomac and cov pushed by the enem or heard of th.o gnni the river some eight, naval commander, J| for Sickles to mar Shipping Point, wh find Siekles's force. General says : I at once decided (n' took in the inlvnnce, th poet 1 miyht seek H;i!' and cross-roads. My while Itook tlieniore*i tiijie in looking for \^\ buck to my place of at' — at daylight on the innrclied -10 miles in douljle my numbers gaining full Juform»ti< bersaod disposition By this time tho numerical strength thus audaciously vej Virginia. The thereupon organized sent them out on the hope of catcbii): h is retreat to the P( erred, from the ra General would retBiij that by which he his troops to rem hill, where he had- when he retired BY THE S) not the one which take — while the rebr circuitous roads. Tl pursued, hovering tions, but did not erable strength un: within six miles of left Stafford Court- evening, and reach mac — where the n re-embarkatiou — to The next mornini and secure the ca] number, the rebel! stragglers. ' On th: (then known as coj into plav, and pro' 1,500 yards. This cies of artillery Wi When the Excelsioi it along by hand, b iincnt they impresi ncss, and got it al iceably, as it proved; the Excelsiors bu. my, nnSsent scouts to ate with the gunboats, "low on his flank down im if outnumbered and Nothing could he seen They dropped down ten miles — as far as the aw. believed it pos.siblo ■and then returned to ho supposed he would a private letter the mas.sed his troops, all that they had in destroyed. Thus tin seized and occupiec Sickles .advanced tcr! Conrt-house, beyond the I'obel cavalry enci luac) Creek. Here S| threw out his pickets to protect the village THE SUPl .in the rebel cavalry' ^Tork city a clock tal kdouing, in their haste, |Sir camps, whicl. Sickles j >idge (tetede-pont) was j {(Without resistance, and I overlooking Stafford thich lay the camps of lutered this side of Poto- iles halted, bivouacked, etached a provost-guard iid fed his troops on |es captuked There was in Now :n from Stafford Court- jbousc, and brought li»ck by cue of the Excel- ^r Brigade. li, Bf^hile the Excelsii^-were enjoying the halt Kt\yohoursSickle%«n3Kathjringall needed * return by the same road I kin;; the enemy would sns- fi'tjm pursuit in rlctouiH "Mess wns a poo^l one, for "ct route the enemy wasted ver.vwheve. and eo \ pot ..rkation — siiii)pinjf t'oint illowint^ niorninp. having hoULS, defeated a force of ipported by artillery, nnd ' f the position and duui- .e enemy. Is had learned tho true the column which had red on the sacred soil of General comiuancliug ree Hying columns and .many different roads in loil "nipping " Sickles on imac. Foi'tunately these i!«ulation that tho Union a diflercnt route from anced. Sickles suffered ^jesting on iho side of a :d them at sundown, TEST KOUTE — was supposed iio would followed on the longest rebel cavalry c.iutiously on the adjacent cleva- 'W themselves in consll- tiie Unionists arrivea river. The Excelsiors ouse about du.sk in the the bank of tho Poto- was lying, to cover tho ,Td daylight. bile waiting to embark 'cd horses, about 40 in ,de slight attacks upon locasion a Catling gun ill guns) w;is brought effective, at a riinge oi tho first time this spo- sed 'against any enemy. t laiidetl, they dragged soQVi tiring of this ex[ier- hoi'ses. impntvi.sed har- expeditiou-*ly, and serv- In tho fjceof the enemy, a .raft to furry over the Captured animals, anrt'lh tho eonvse of tho d.'iy arrived at Liverpool [-"oint. One of Hie iiorsis, shortly after the brigade arrived before "Voik- town, bolted straight INTO THE enemy's LINE, as if to seek the original owner, and in return, as if to equalize matters, another quadruped, a dog, came over into tho Excelsior camp. The most curious fact in connection with the whole expedition— shov;iiig how com- pletely tlie rebels had been surprised, and how resultive it might liave been made had it been adequately supported— only ono man was wuuuded in the Excelsior column. A number of saddles were emptied among the rebel cav- alry, stores to a considerable amount were cap- tured, used or destroyed, and McDowell's ad- vance on Fiedericksbiirg and the occupation of that city were doubtless based on the informa- tion received on his trip from Liverpool Point to Washington in company with Oeu. Sickles. This trip occurred sliortly after the recoutiois- sauce, Sickles having been relieved from his command immediately on his return from the ably-conducted aud adventurous raid herein described. For this reconnoissance Sickles never re- ceived a word of aekuovvledginent from any- body besides Hooker. If a West Poiuter or a Regular officer had done the same service, the trumpets of Headquarters would have BLOWN THKMSEI.VF.S IIOAKSE in sounding of "tbis brilliant, daring, etc., achievement." While claiming that this article is entirely my own and orrgiual, it may be alleged that in letter or spirit some of tho incidents told by tho same pen have apiieared elsewhere. That is true. The writer has been presenting to the public phases of tho life of Sickles throughout the last 20-odd years, and is perfectly acquaint- ed with all the details of his illustrious Career, and hits in hand all except a period of some months, including Fredericksburg. Tlie de- tails of that time were confided to another for revision and never returned — reported lost. Nevertheless, as a novelist who has recently and rapidly won a reinarkahlo position in his line, on being accused of plagiarism, after sev- eral, nay many, savage attacks, published a re- idy in which the following paraj^raph seems too truthful and pertiuout not lo be remembered : The.-ie charges of plagiarism are easy to make and diflicult to disprove. It is quite impossible for anyhody to write anything that does not in some Wiiy touch on ground which ha.-i already been trod- den by others. The huniaii mind is limited and unchangeable ; it never thinks a new thought. The most that it can hope to do is to present au old one in a new aspect. It would be an extremely agreeable task to go .into a detailed account of all the service rendered by Sickles during the year's 1862 and 18G3, but it would occupy too much space, how- ever greatly his actions deserve such notice. From tho first time he undertook any duty, as narrated, on the " Raid or advance to Staf- ford Court-house," down to his le»ving the Army of the Potomac, very severely wounded at Gettysburg, UIS DEEDS Wr.RE I^ESPLENDENT. In regard to the excellent services of Sickles at Fredericksburg, first, very little is generally known, where there was so much that should have been known. Atoue time the writer was in possession of a most circumstantial narra- tive containing tho most interesting details in connection with the performances of Sickles and the Third Corps. These were loaned and lost, or rather never restored. Under sympathetic aud just superiors he re- ceived unexceptional commendations, as in his first battle in the Peninsula — Seven Pines, or Fair Oaks — at the hands of the honest Heiut- zelman. To hear Sickles tell the story of this, i his first appearance on the field of battle, mod- I estly but clearly, carries with it the assurance 'i that he know what he was about at the time, and recalls every circumstance after tho lapse of 25 years. It was the opinion of all three Generals, intimates of the writer — Heintzel- man. Hooker and Sickles — aud the fourth, his cousin, Phil Kearny, that if the Third Corps .j had not been withheld and recalled by McClel- lan, tho left wing of the loyal army would have ljriumphaj3tly«occupied the rebel Ca The datf.-sbfms-«hen,Ms joliime-^s*? (nicbt of Jnue ], lbij2. Hooker's Division, which included Sicltlcs's Excelsior Eriaade, continued to distinguish it- Iself in spito of McClellan's chronic blundering 'throughout the operations on the Peninsula in ; the Summer of 1HB2, especially AT MALVERN HILL. The same broad claim for honor is made in favor of the same troops in the I'ope campaign, lone of the most tiyiug in every respect to ■which the Union troojis wore subjected. Tho Third Corps was literally foimht and wrought to pieces, so utterly depleted tliat it could not take part in the Antietam campaign, but was loft, as" it were, in tho hospitals to recuperate and make new blood through rest and recruils. Though not with McGlellan, it was not supine nor idle, since to it was conlided the protection of the most important lino and vital point. With Hooker's promotion to tho Army of tho Potomac, Sickles w;is placed at the head of the 'rhird Corps, a proud distinction indeed for an individual who only a little more than a year previous held no military position at all. In the battle which rendered the ensuing cam- : paign so memorable, the Third Corps SUKPASSED ITSELF, and its leader won the praise of all, so much so that his ambition might have .justly plumed itself for a higher II ight. because aiter the failure of Hooker there was a great question who should succeed him, and among those named as fit, Sickles stood very high.' The writer was intimate with men — unfortunately several among the lamented dead — who knew all that was going on in tho White House by the " back stairs," so to speak, by which channel the most influence is often exerted and the direct truth most'Often known. At one time Sickles had a fair show, hut it would appear that, as in the case of Kearny, he did not obtain. At Chancellorsville tlio Third Corps, under Sickles as its leader — pre-eminently a repre- sentative man, " bone of their bone .and Hesh of their flesh" — surpassed itself. It cannot be questioned that Sickles appreciated far better than did. any other tho moveme]it of Jackson, and could have AKRESTED OB CRIPPLED IT had he heen permitted. Tliere he was forced to lose the first opportunity which might have given a totally different course and result to the whole battle. In the second place, the question of who did stop the "walkover" of Jackson's army — for ' it was an army in its strength, since he had nearly half of all Lee's lorces — has given rise I to so much bitter controversy that there is no use of reviving it here. Those who werepres- [ eut and o ught to Itave known th e f.ict— and of I ' whom so many are dead — claim the honor for [ Sickles of the inspiraiion which exorcised so' happy an effect. i In the third pl.ace, it was bis night attack ' , wliieh in a great measure re-eGtablished tho j connection of the Union line towards the Union ! i right. It is utterly impossible, however, in such a sketch as this to go into the det;iils. arguments and proofs which have emjdoycd so many pens and filled" pa.ges, so many as to ' amount to volumes. In the fourth place: On Sunday, May 3, ISfiS, Sickles undoubtedly held at Hazel Grove, or Fairview Cemetery, the key-point of the field. , His fighting there .jnstitied the application to this "salient" point of tho Union line the epithet of "death angle," although this term was particularly assigned to a similar position at-Spottsylvania in the s;irao montli of the ensuing year, 1364. Hazel Giovo deserves it, however, nut only for the losses suf- fered by the Third Corps under Sickles, but for the fearful punishment inflicted in return upon tho rebels. A distinguistted corps cornmandor, who at first seemed relurtaut to do full justice to the Third Corps, spoke out in regard to this ,1 terrible contest and said th.at pretty much all the real fighting done at Cliancelloi'sviile proper on the great battle-day — Sunday — was done by the Third Corps. Had Sickles been supported promptly, as he shouhl have been, and had the tens of thousands who la.y idle (ro- operated at the right timo. this battle wouia he elected to serve to the extent of his ability not he counted among the misfortunes of the against what might be considered his own con- Army of the Potomac, but among its successes, victions and those of his Iriends, and grandly If anyone is desirous of investigating this by the country and those la authority then and statement, let him take a detailed map of the afterward, and by all who can rise superior to battlefield and observe the locations of the prejudice and recogniza magnificent service — troops, especially of the Fifth and First Corps, and consult a time-table of occurrences the consideration of which is equally important; also the official statement of the Union losses and the losses of the rebel divisions OPPOSED TO SICKLES. It is pretty conclusive as to what the First Corps did, as its list of casualties sums up 292, and that of the Fifth Corps U99. Both of these were posted so that they could have struck in flank fatally the masses which were hurled successively upon tho Third Corps, which lost 4.039. According to their own olficial tables the casualties of Jackson's Corps or wing footed up nearly if not over 7.000. It is a very painful thing to probe deep into old wounds and discover the original causes which it was stated to tlie writer have produced such sad effects. It was related that the injus- tice manifested by Meade toward Sickles was not due to anything which occurred on tho 2d of July at Geltyibnrg, but to what had taken place 7iearly two months previous at tl\e criti- cal moment of tlie withdrawal from Chancol- lorsville, of which Meade had charge, when Sickles felt th:it he had been uncovered by Meade by the premature withdrawal of iiis pickets by Meade without notice to Sickles, and so reported to Hooker; and the latter spoke sharply to Meade in consequence, so much so that it is said Meade remarked that he never dreamed he would live to be reprimanded by a superior, a Regular, on tlie COMPLAINT OP A VOLUNTEEK.* It is only known to a very few tiiat Sickles was injured at Chancellorsville by the fragment of a shell on his sword-belt plate, which struck him about the pit of the stomach and caused him so much distress that he was obliijed to a.sk for sick leave and return to New York, and put himself in the hands of physicians, and rest. The origin of the casualty was the ex- plosion of a caisson so near Sickles that he was reported dead, and the horse he was riding died afterwards in consequence. The Genenil still feels the effects of tho cohcu3.siuo. iS'iicn Hooker was moving northward, and expected soon to come in collision with Leo, he wrote a very pressing letter to Sickles, and asUed him to hasten hack and resume the command of his- Tliird Corps. Against the earnest protest of his physician, (the celebrated Dr. Sayre,) who said ho would not be responsible for the couse- quences if Sickles obeyed this call, the General, althfiugli suffering greatly, lost no time in responding to tho summons of his friend and commander. The very day that ho joined Hooker the lat- ter's supersedure by Meade took place. Friends of Sickles, including officers in the Regular service, then and there advised him not to CONTINUE WITH THE ARMY ; that he might expect injustice; that he could not hope for generous judgment; that he knew " the Meade temper," and that Meade was anything but friendly to him. " What is more," they urged, "you have the best excuse for not exposing yourself and your reputation. You are suffering from a severe injury toa vital organ. Take advico of friends, and do not run any such risks as threaten." While these arguments were being urged upon Sickles, Hooker sent for him. He said: " I hear that your, friends advise you to give up the command of your corps. l" have noth- ing to say to combat their reasons, hut I ask you as a favor to me to remain ; that my snc- cessor may not allege that I did or caused the slightest embarrassment to him, which might appear to be the case if you did not continue at tho head of your corps. Sick or well, continue to command it as you always have done, and' if victory crowns the flag, I shall be happy to think that you were there to assist iu INSURING THE TRIUMPH." Sickles obeyed the voice of duty, as well as that of his old commaudor, and well was he rew_ai:ded in two senses— very cruelly by liim a non-professional corps commander who could grasp the situation and do his duty with gal- lantry, decision and ability. And here let it be remarked that it is not the attribute of every man at the head of troops to inspire them with the highest en- thusiastic devotion and confidence, tut such was undoubtedly the case with Sickles. His soldiers loved him, followed him, obeyed him, looking up to him with tho same feeling that justified Henry of Navarre when he told his followers that if his headquarters flag was stricken down it was still floating in the white plumes of his helmet, and that they would he in tho path of duty and of victory IP THEY FOLLOWED THAT. Or, to quote the thrilling linos of Macaulay, in his magnificent Ballad of Ivry : And if my standard-bearer fall, as fall full well he may. For never saw I promise yet of such a bloody fray, PreFS where ye see my white plnmo shine, amidst the ranks of war, And be your Oriflamme to-day the Helmet of Navarre. Furthermore, to show the perfect self posses- sion of Sickles under the most trying circum- stances, when ho was struck by tlie missile which cs»used the loss of his leg, such was his presence of mind and calmness under the terrible effects of the shock, that he disen- gaged one of the straps attached to his saddle, buckled it tightly around his limb, as a tourni- quet, stopped the exhausting hemorriiage. and tlius saved his life. Had the same thought occurred to Albert .Sidney Johnston, with a much slighter wound, he would not have per- ished with every promise of victory in his eye. *^fuch in the three preceding paragraphs is de- nied by a friend of IMeade. This ihe writer cannot settle, as the facts are nut liis, witli no respontjiiMlity except for the opinions founded on statements fur- nished. \To be continued.^ rrr- "^ _______ II. GETTYBBUEG. T haa been wisely said that DO man, however capable, can presume to write upon a battle, who ha3 not been upon the battlefield ; and not only npon the stage of action and accurately surveyed it with the eye, but has been all over that battlefield while it was in the identical condition in which the conflict raged upon it, while as yet Nature had not laired the damages and changes produced by E—ftn — which repairs nature does with almost conceivable rapidity — but also before labor, Ith various implements, has not yet changed jOie whole aspect through cultivation or through |gKed. It is said that some of the most noted jinttlcfields of the world present their grander ifcatures, which are recognizable after the lapse iof centuries, but it is very questionable if such iininor peculiarities long continue to exist ; flQch as the bottom brushwood which concealed :the ambuscade of Mago, whence the Cartha- ginian light horse I FELL LIKE A THUNDEEBOLT iDpon the flank and rear of the Komans at the Trebia, or the Holt or Grove of trees whence is- sued the Numidian cavalry whose lances ter- minated the career of Marcellus, ever ready for Cittle. Temporary defensive works rapidly elt away under the effects of Summer rain Rnd Winter frost, and time gradually, but in- iTitably, levels all. Battles often depend on idents of ground, which escape any but the ;utest observation, just as the broken Devil's ridge arrested the march of Russia's greatest [General. Suwarrow, or the sunken road which, according to certain historians, engulfed the sfaarging cuirassiers of Napoleon at Waterloo. Fortunately the everlasting hills display the PUnion position at Gettysburg ; the holders '%bich survived the glacial period, and the ■Bound Tops thrown up in the Plutonian. Btill, many lessor features or landmarks which in 1863 were most important objects, such as woods, have disappeared. Even if the Hama- dryads could influence tho howling course of cannon-balls and whistling career of the mus- ketry, their silent prayers and unseen tears have had no effect to stay the ax of the less merciful, but MOEE PEACEFUL WOODCHOPPEE. Therefore, to thoroughly understand the move- ments aud manuvers of Gettysburg, the field must bo as it was on the firdt three days of July, 18G3. It has also been observed that more ink has been poured out on the subject of Waterloo than the blood-drench it received on the 18th of June, 1815, notwithstanding some 40,000 dead and wounded flooded it with the red tides of life on that day. Although the casualties on both sides at Gettysburg nearly approached if they did not equal or exceed the sacrifices at Waterloo, still almost as much— although not too ranch — ink has flowed in connection with the story of the different phases of the conflicts. Truth," says the axiom, "lies at the bottom f the well," and in the case in point, the well, ke that of Jacob at Sychem, or that of Saladin .the, citadel at Cairo, is very deep. Again, West Point and the l^ngineers, the Regular Army and tho " red tape," seem very unwilling to concede that the field was decided and the battle was won, and the North and the Nation were saved BY A VOLUNTEER GENEEAL, without professional training, and a corps which was volunteer throughout — more so, perhaps, than any other corps which main- tained the honor of the Union — "a peculi.ir people," who held and hold together, and defy injustice and misrepresentation as no other corps ever did. And yet — "bless the old Third Corps, as we understand it" — such was and is the absolute truth, Tho second day, of which Sickles was the hero, was the battle-day of Gettysburg. Gen. A.A.Humphreys, than whom no better nor braver soldier or General ever lived, always said it was the ))attlo-day ; and if he was not a judge in such a case, theu no one is competent' to sit in judgment upon any such occurrence. If the truth should be told, or is to be mani- fested, the battle of the first dJ^ was a fight to gain time for coucontration. \ This was just about a concise^xpression of Warren's opinion, aud even Grant, Who helped to break Warren's heart, admits that his capac- ity to conceive a military opinion WAS MOST EXCELLENT. The fif,'ht of Ziethen's Corps before Ligny, June i 15, 1815, when Napoleon crossed the Sambrc, retarding tho French advance and enabling Bluchor to settle himself in his position to ac- cept battle on the 16th, was an elegant example of the same class of battles to which that of' the 1st of July, 1863, belongs. Eeynolds pressed forward gallantly and died nobly, and Doubleday took his place and did all that a man under the circumstauces could do; but if any one man was entitled to supreme credit it was John Buford with his cavalry. Gen. Wolseley, regarded in England as a Gen- eral of first class, has demonstrated his own inconsiderate partiality or incapacity of judg- ment, by elevating Leo to the seventh heaven ef perfection, the zenith of MANHOOD AND SOLDIEESHIP, and the rebel General Dick Taylor has sunk him to the lowest depth by his expression im- plying that at Gettysburg he had something like a stroke of idiocy. The fact is t hat Lee was n ot a groat GencraUn i the grand sense of the word. He was the favor- J itechildof circumstauces, by which hecould not! fail almost without his own volition, to profit to! a certain extent, and, as has been said of Moltke, he can hardly be correctly judged, because he was hardly ever pitted against a General of ability. It was Lee'a supreme good fortune always to have as his opponent some one who either threw away his best cards or played into hia hand. After his success of July 1, he absolutely threw away his opportunity. He fell completely short in "push." On the second day be showed en- tire want of comprehensiveness and of under- standing how to handle a large army ; and on the third day ho seemed to have LOST HIS SELF-POSSESSION or Bang-froid, or rather, to avoid misconcep- tion, his judgment. On the first day tlie game was in his hand ; on the second he failed to do much that might have made it so, aud on the third he sacrificed his befft troops aud the cause wliich had entrusted its fiuest army to his leading. In fact, he had the honesty to ad- mit that the error was his own. I havo already said that to be competent to proveacorrcct judgment of a battle, it is neces- sary to know the battlefield. Not one man in i a thousand— unless he is a thorough soldfer, I who has a good idea of the Tactics of the Throe j Arms combined, and is a soldier, too, devoid of prejudice— who has visited the field of Get- I tysburg, comprehends it in its full entirety, or the point on which the glory or the mistake of Sickles depends. They hear of and look at Cemetery Eidge and do not perceive, or do not allow themselves to acknowledge, that at a cer- tain point of the Union lino it ceases to be a ridge, and thence, until it commences to rise to the Hound Tops, if not an actual depression, it is virtually so from its relative position as re- gards more elevated ground to the front and to the left flauk ; it is almost what micht be stvled a "kettle bottom," commanded on the rim by woods aud elevations, and in it, troops must be constantly subjected to a plunging fire from these environments. THE tJNION "fish-hook" LINE was open to two perils; first, of being " punched" at the curve of the hook and half way up the shauk, and of being turned to the left. To "split" an enemy asunder was Na- poleon's general idea, or attack him, as at Dresden, on both wings. Lee tried the second' plau on the second day, and the first plan on the third day. On the second day the attack i on both wings failed, for several reasons; one for want of simultaneity, but mainly through 'the decision, individually, of Sickles, as to his as- sumption of position — abandoning the "kettle- bottom" aud advancing to commanding ground ; subordinately, in mass, through the self-sacri- ficing heroism of the Third Corps. No position in the world is more easy to be turned than that of Gettysburg, and that is what Longstrcet aud Hood wanted to do, and what many acute military minds think they st.irted to do. The possession of the Round Tops, like, in a lesser degree, that of Powers Uill — the latter in case PICKETT HAD EEOKEN THROUGH^ were vital as regarded the successful holding of tho Union lines. Still the Round Tops were not key-points, if Lee had turned our left, got in among our multitudinous trains, and planted himself, as master, across the communi- cation of the Army of tho Potomac with Wash- ington. On the other band, the line assumed by Sickles, with its apex at the Peach Orchard, with his left resting on the Little Round Top, or rather the Granite Spur, aud with his right in echelon, with its right flank not in air, be- cause it was protected by the batteries of the Union left and right center; that lino assumed by Sickles was tlie very one to stop a turning movement — and he had to stop it and did, be- cause our left, where the trains were parked, had been left entirely unprotected. A certain class of critics who think they can or are absolutely able to write or talk fluently, or who consider themselves professionals, or who wear stars, may argue until PEN AND TONGUE AND 8TAES wear out, but they cannot prove that an officer who is a judge of position and has the courage to hold it to the uttermost is in the wrong. That is just the "long and short" of the case of Sickles, and one may talk around it, and jump over it, and dive under it, bat the solid fact remains unalterable.* There is another case in point, which, al- though the example is again taken from the sea, yet it is most apposite. When Bonaparte was awaiting the arrival of his fleets to make possible the crossing of the channel for the in- vasion of England, Sir Robert Calder, with inferior forces, met on the 22d of July, 1805, * An interesting anecdote suggests itself as perti- nent to this occasion, to show that an otTioer sliould suboidinate every personal consideration to the interests of Ins country. In the reiRn of Queen Anne, Cnpt. Hardy, whose ship was stationed off Lagos Bay, happened to re- ceive certain intelligence of the arrival of the Span- ish galleons, under the protection of seventeen men- of-war, in the harbor of Vigo ; upon which, wiihout any warrant for so doing, he set sail, and made such expedition that he came up with and gave the in- telligence to Sir George Rooke, who was then Com- mander-in-Chief In tho Mediterranean. In conse- quence of this information the Admiral made tlie best of his way to Vigo, whore he took or dcatjoyed The datfi shows when this voliiine wa,? takjem . TalUl I J-Jt ii W W LJM!j,llllte all the galleona and the ships-of-wnr. Sir George was sensible of the importance of the advice he had received ; but after the fight was over and the vie- tory obtained, he ordered Capt. Hardv on board and with astern countenance said: ""You have' done, sir, a very important piece of service; you have added to the lienor and riches of your coun- try by your diligence; but don't you kiiow that you are liable to bo shot for quitting your station?" He la unworthy to bear a commission under u- , . ,.- ■ ■•"" Her Majesty "replied Capt. Hardy, "who holds hi« '"^ energy and vitality, that within 16 days life as anythlne when the glory and Interest of his *"or tho amputation, Sickles paid his resoecta ""o^ Hfir'^V""-'',™ '" ''*"'.'''' "■" ™ Person to the President, and within «,... On this intrepid answer the Admiral dispatched ' weeks him home with the news of tho victory and a rccoliimcndation to the Queen, who oonforrod upon him th? honor of Knighthood, and afterwards made him a Rtjat-Admirai " ^» ■>(»•>« tersnot how many deciaim against it; fact is fact, right i3 right, and truth is truth, although asserting it justifies the proverb that "he who drinks of the fountain of truth often falls a vic- tim to the very satisfying of his thirst." With his mutilation at the Peach Orchard Sickles's militaiy career in the field termi- nated. Not necessarily so, because such was '>: the combined fleet of Francejand Spain, steer- ing northward to the rendezvous. He accepted the unequal battle, which most men would have avoided, arrested the enemy, and drove them into Vigo and Ferrol. In fact, he frustrated their move, as did Sickles that of the rebels against the Union left on the momentous 2d of . July at Gettysburg. Alison styles Sir Kobert Calder's success " the most momentous action ever fought by the navy of England." It 1 traversed all Napoleon's plans; ended them. 1 Nevertheless Sir Robert was blamed, almost I disgraced, for not having done more. But 't when the truth became known the abused j chieftain was glorified for his decisive action. jf Thereupon Alison exclaims: "History would I indeed be useless if the justice of posterity did not often reverse its iniquitous decrees." This article is one written to assist in reversing the iniquitous judgment of some upon the com- mander of the Third Corps at Gettysburg. When Wallenstein took command of the im- perial army he said bloody, pitched battles enough had been fought, and he would show the world another method of making war. So he selected a position and defied Gustavus Adolphus, who broke his bones against it, and was there worsted for the first time. There, at Alte Feste, the great Swede sacrificed in vaiu his best troops, as did Longstreet, and was worsted. Ke utterly failed in what ha set out to do, as did the rebels on the afternoon of July S. It was the same with Napoleon, who shat- tered his leit against Chateau Goumont at Waterloo. It is a very great pity that someone at headquarters did not order the construction of DEFENSIVE FIELD WORKS, with the salient of a bastion at the solid stone Eose house, which, was so solid that a 12-pound shot was squashed against its wall like an orange thrown against a rock. No doubt im- provised earthworks and traverses to protect against im enfilading fire would have been most desii;ibluj but_th.ejneelect to construct any "flefenses was assuredly not the fault oiTiicHes.' He did not know until the rebel artillery opened that he was to be allowed to stay there, and there are plenty of instances when officers and troops formed salients and were not por- Bisteutly abused for it; and although some- times tbey suffered for it, at other times they won great success.* Shortly after this battle our troops needed no orders to throw up defenses ; they did it in- stinctively. Some sharp critic may say, " Why did not Sickles see to this himself?" It may be very smart to ask the question, but it is the smartness of ignorance. Sickles did not know that he was going to be allowed to hold any position to a certainty until the opening of the rebel artillery upon him settled the question. The graduates of all schools so hold together against ousiders — Monks of the Cross and Monks of the Flag — that it is very doubtful whether, if the light of the sun was turned on the correctness or error of the judgment of Sickles, those who take the view that he was wrong could not or would not see the contrary. One man, who really does know an immense deal about Gettysburg, never could find ANY EXCUSE FOK SICKLES until it was policy to perceive that he — Sickles — was right, and until three words from Grant served as an eye-opener. The writer saw the same as he does now at the moment he first visited the ground. Some of our ablest soldiers have since combatted the opinion, but it mat- HOBSEBACK. He might have taken the field again with honor to himself and his corps, which idolized him, had he not been prevented by those bane- ful influences which have deprived so many countries and armies of the services of their wisest and bravest at moments of vital impor- tance to the result. That he did not lead his State of !srew TofBjf dtfrsed this, sayinc." in the United States'; THAN Dj He did not hold warm friendship, fi in the wool, but. polled the avowal not like the story o: grew by repetition. Generals they were-, the third was an who was too here is not an abler man^ SICKLES." I i^ect of his praise ini ie was a, Democrat, dyed ! vledge and truth com- ese commendations are Seven Crows," which n the case of the two ken to the writer, and al to an intimate friend HE WAS ON light, if there had shadow upon thei , The news of big ' in the Fall of 1863 than all the selves on having si brigade, division aili corps again was no fault of his nor of hisToving i *^^ P?""** °l-^i°Ti^- soldiers.f ■> Eun, into which he: Witness his reception at Fairfax Station by '""'"'■ ' ■"""'' his old troops on his visit to them in the field. The "reception" which Sickles experienced from his old divisions (three fused into two), "the Third Corps, as we understand it," ought to have consoled him, in a great measure, for his failure to recover his command of the Third Corps. It was a parallel to the "adieus "when he was torn with equal injustice from the Ei- I light; ivia that of cynic^T^o add a single beam of ■" any chance to throw a ival at Fairfax Station i| no sooner made known which, prided them- ved nnder him as their •corps commander, from fcceeding the first Bull rew the first gleam of sickening disasters on *The writer has examined this question of "sali- ents" with great care, and has noted a large num- ber of examples of such dispositions of troops sometimes beneficial, sometimes successful some- times decisive. Salient formations have been adopted by Generals, considered the ablest, to accommodate tlieir lines to the natural or artificial accidents of the fluid. The angle at tho Peach Or- chard at Gettysburg was not more " salient " than the formation of the same General at Hazel Grove at Cbancellorsville. The difference, however, was in the eyes which looked upon and the hearts that judged the two cases, and in the subordinate ob- servers, "small by degrees and beautifully less" who accepted the judgments and endeavored to impose them upon the country, and thus by con- demning; Sickles, condemn the practice of elevating volunteer officers to high commauds. tit is a very curious and instructive considera- tion recalling how often the Jealousy of a Oom- mander-in-Chiefhas succeeded in drlviufffrom his army a subordinate who, if listened to, would have saved corps and country. Charles of Lorraine in a vain endeavor to save his reputation, drove out from the Austrian army a General, Nadasti, who would have saved Austria in the decisive, or rather most important battle of the Seven Yeans' War, Leuthen. Asimilar jealousy and abuse of power subordinated the lightning energies of Laudon to a Ounotator Daun and paralyzed bis genius. The ruin of Na- dasti's career hinged on a question, that of Leuthen similar to that involving the Judgment of Sickles at Geltyeburg ; ^nd yet so it has been throughout the history of war. celsior Brigade, in the Spring of 18C2, when the cries of bis troops only grew silent with the dissipation of the smoke of the steamer which bore him away — onlyceased long after the ves- sel itself had disappeared from sight. This in- cident has often been dwelt upon ; it STIREED THE HEARTS OF MEN deemed insensible to emotion, and lingered as a touching and remarkable event in their memories. Years afterward, Gen. McDowell alluded to this occurrence, and spoke with astonishment of the testimony which it had presented of the ex- traordinary hold possessed by Sickles upon the affections and trust of his troops. He said the incident occurred td his mind again and again as one of the most astpuishing that he had ever witnessed. " That, iione," said he, " was suffi- cient to prove that Sickles was au uncommon man." This w.is the' more striking as coming from McDowell, who was not given to senti- ment.* Another Eegulir, k Major-General, very calm in his judgment and careful in itS ex- pression, said, "Sickles is the smartest man in the Peininsula; fromjhat of the sadder slaugh Iter at the first Fred*i