GDG- Who would it be?

[Tom Ryan]

A thought-provoking question, Bernadette, and an easy one to answer for me.
Having a special interest in the intelligence aspect of the war in general
and the Gettysburg Campaign in particular, I would like to talk to Col.
George Sharpe, chief of the Army of the Potomac intelligence staff known as
the Bureau of Military Information.  I would want to know how closely he
worked with General Meade during the Gettysburg battle and the pursuit of
Lee's army following the battle.  Specifically, I would want to know why
Meade did not know, or did not accept, the actual strength of the Army of
Northern Virginia based on the analysis and reports of the BMI.  For some
unknown reason Meade insisted that the ANV had some 30,000 more troops than
they actually had.
BMI data, primarily based on prisoner interrogations during the battle, was
much more realistic and  quite accurate.  Meade's inflated view of the size
of Lee's army caused him to be overly cautious regarding going on the
offensive at Gettysburg, and later at Williamsport, Maryland.

The other person I would want to speak with is Confederate Secretary of
State Judah P.
Benjamin who in addition to his regular duties was in charge of Confederate
Secret Service activities.  After the fall of Richmond, Benjamin burned all
of the Secret Service records, then fled the country to England.  I would
ask him about the involvement of the Confederate government in the attempt
to capture and/or assassinate President Lincoln.  There is considerable
circumstantial evidence that Richmond authorities had targeted the
president, but the smoking gun has never been found.  Benjamin was the one
man who knew all of the details of these covert operations, but never spoke
or wrote about them after the war.

Happy New Year,

Tom Ryan