GDG- Re: why not blame a well led Union Army

[James Cameron]

<<I can't pass up the opportunity to mention that the first person to
"publicize" Meade's work at Gettysburg was Dan Sickles, and he did a pretty
good job of discrediting what Meade had done.    In light of your
observations about Meade's relationship with the press, what motive would
any reporter or writer of the time have to look beyond the common
perspective?>>

Tim,

` Not sure what you mean.  Are you saying that Sickles' comments about Meade
precluded independent thinking on the part of the entire press at the time?
And how does that relate to Meade's treatment by historians?

Regards, Tom Ryan  >>

The Press was also by no means monolithic, and, I'm not sure in any case the 
extent to which Meade's problems extended beyond the correspondents with the 
army.  Or, the extent to which Sickles' spin on the battle actually was the 
common perspective.  That said, some motivation could have come simply from 
the fact many CW newspapers were highly partisan, politically.  How much 
play a paper might give to Sickles and his take on the battle could depend 
on whether a paper was known as a Republican or a Democratic paper, or pro- 
or anti- Administration.

Jim Cameron