GDG- Cavalry (again): Buford's withdrawal

[Alan D. Brunelle]

I'm working my way through "The Cavalry at Gettysburg" by Edward G. 
Longacre, and I'm at the section covering Buford's actions on the 2nd 
day. My (previous) understanding concerning Buford's leaving the field 
of battle on 2 July (based upon more general studies) seemed to indicate:

    * Buford's troops were beaten up and tired from almost a month of
      fighting, marching, and the battle on 1 July
    * He was ordered to go to the railhead supply base at Westminster by
      Pleasonton for refit, and Meade was fully aware of this
    * There was some assumption that Pleasonton would replace Buford
      with some other cavalry, which wasn't done.

So I've always assumed that the major blame was upon Pleasonton, with 
perhaps some mild censure on Meade for not being specific and/or not 
checking on things. (Mitigated by the sheer magnitude of managing the 
on-going battle: after the quotes below, Longacre states: "In the midst 
of a growing battle, Meade faced a mob of concern, Buford's replacement 
being only one." [pg 206])

I gather from Longacre that it might not be that simple, from page 205:

"The morning's fighting, sharp though it was, cost Devin fewer than a 
half dozen casualties. Given its five percent loss rate of the day 
before, Buford's division remained in good shape, especially since 
Merritt's brigade, now moving toward Emmitsburg from Mechanicstown, 
Maryland, had not been engaged. Still, Buford worried about the strength 
of his command, which he could not recruit [adb: perhaps he meant 
resupply?] without the wagons traveling with Merritt. Early that morning 
he had requested of Pleasonton (now encamped about a half mile below 
Meade's headquarters along the Taneytown road) to be allowed to go to 
the rear for an extensive refit. The petition was curious, since 
Buford's was the only disposable cavalry on the battlefield."

Longacre than goes on to say: "Just as curiously, Pleasonton assented." 
and "Buford's decision to leave Gettysburg was questioned by his own 
troops." and then "Pleasonton deserves as much blame as Buford for the 
withdrawal."

Rather than placing most of the blame on Pleasonton, is it perhaps 
fairer to assign a hefty share on Buford's shoulders for leaving the 
left flank unmasked of cavalry? [I'd think that Pleasonton also had 
quite a lot on his mind with his troops spread out over southern PA and 
northern MD?]

Alan