GDG- Buford's departure on July 2

[Laurence Schiller]

Tom - a question - do you, or anyone out there, think that  
Butterfield's hostility to Meade (He was Hooker's guy after all)  
contributed to a less than stellar performance by him at Gettysburg?

Best,

Laurie Schiller

On Jul 21, 2007, at 1:46 PM, Tom Ryan wrote:

> Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>
>
> Having finished reading Eric Wittenberg's article "The Truth About the
> Withdrawal of Brig. Gen. John Buford's Cavalry, July 2, 1863" in  
> the latest
> issue of Gettysburg Magazine, I congratulate Eric for some fine  
> sleuthing
> and a well-argued commentary on the responsibility for the untimely
> withdrawal of Buford's two brigades from Gettysburg on July 2.
>
> To Eric's conclusion that the ultimate responsibility must lie with  
> Meade,
> but the basic blunder was committed by Pleasonton, I would add that  
> chief of
> staff Butterfield should shoulder some of the blame as well.  It is  
> duty of
> the COS to know the whereabouts of the various units of the army, and
> Butterfield should have been aware that both Gregg and Kilpatrick's
> divisions had still not reached the battlefield at the time that Meade
> issued orders through Butterfield to send Buford's brigades to  
> Taneytown and
> Westminster.
>
> Butterfield should have raised the red flag prior to Meade  
> approving this
> move, since Meade evidently understood that there were cavalry units
> available to replace Buford on the left.
>
> While not letting Butterfield off the hook, Pleasonton must bear  
> the primary
> burden for this seeming total lack of awareness of the  
> vulnerability he was
> creating by sending his only cavalry resources away from the  
> battlefield
> that had already been engaged in fighting.
>
> Given Pleasonton's performance since the beginning of the campaign,  
> hwoever,
> this should not have been surprising.  Mistakes and blunders  
> prevailed at:
>
> Brandy Station for not ensuring that his entire force got across  
> the river
> in the early morning, and not forcing the exposure of the ANV infantry
> sufficiently to report its presence to General Hooker.
>
> The Blue Ridge when Pleasonton did not follow Hooker's orders to  
> scout all
> the way to the mountains, and, therefore, missed spotting Ewell's  
> corps
> marching to the Valley on June 10-12.
>
> The Loudoun Valley when Pleasonton chose to fight battles rather  
> than follow
> Hooker's orders to search out the location of Lee's army in the  
> Valley.
>
> In Northern Virginia when Pleasonton failed to follow orders from
> headquarters to investigate an attack against Hancock's flank by  
> reportedly
> some 6,000 Rebel cavalry (the beginning of Stuart's ride).
>
> In Maryland when Pleasonton failed to give credence to citizen  
> reports that
> Rebel cavalry had arrived in Westminster.  Pleasonton insisted that  
> the
> citizens had misidentified Union cav for Confederates.  This was  
> when Stuart
> had arrived in Westminster with three brigades.
>
> Also, the AoP cavalry's performance during the pursuit of Lee  
> following the
> Battle of Gettysburg was less than stellar.  But I think that  
> situation
> awaits a more indepth study to assess who, if anyone, was actually  
> managing
> the cavalry during this period.  Meade and Pleasonton may have to  
> share the
> blame during this time period.
>
> Tom
>
>                     
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Dr. Laurence Dana Schiller
lds307 at northwestern.edu

Maitre d'Armes
Head Fencing Coach                       Department of History
Northwestern University
Commissioner, Midwest Fencing Conference
Midwest VP, US Fencing Coaches' Association
Vice-Chair USFA Illinois Division
Lds307 at northwestern.edu
847-491-4654
FAX 847-467-1406
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