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71]
[There will necessarily be honest differences of opinion among actors in our great struggle as to details of the campaigns and battles of the war; but when those differences are courteously expressed, we never hesitate to publish them, without comment of our own, leaving our readers to sift the evidence and form their own conclusions.]
A brief notice will be made of inaccuracies in the book,
Four years with General Lee, recently published by
Colonel Taylor, the
Adjutant-General of the Army of Northern Virginia.
Page 50. Referring to reinforcements that joined
General Johnston after he had reached the vicinity of
Richmond, May, 1862, says: “He was reinforced by
Huger's division, consisting of three brigades under
Generals Mahone,
Armistead and
Wright.”
One of
Huger's brigades, preceding and including
Seven Pines, was commanded by
General Blanchard.
This brigade may have been subsequently known as
Wright's brigade.
Page 71. Enumerating the Confederate forces engaged at
Sharpsburg, says: “The command of
General Longstreet at that time embraced six brigades under
D. R. Jones, the two under
General Hood and one unattached under
General Evans.
His other three brigades were temporarily detached under
General R. H. Anderson.”
There were six brigades so detached under
Anderson.
His own (
Anderson's) division of three brigades and the three brigades of
Wilcox,
Featherston and
Pryor, that I commanded; these were assigned to
General Anderson the afternoon he marched from near Frederick City for
Harper's Ferry, and subsequently formed a portion of his division.
Page 75.
Crouch's division, Fourth corps, Army of the Potomac, should be
Couch's division.
Page 85. Detailing the operations embracing
Chancellorsville,
Fredericksburg and the
Plank Road, &c.: “Meantime,
Sedgwick had forced
Early out of the heights at
Fredericksburg,” &c., &c. While this is true, the impression made may be a little variant from the truth.
The heights when captured by
Sedgwick were held by
Barksdale's brigade of
McLaws' division; this, however, was at the time under
General Early.
Page 98. Second day's
battle at Gettysburg on the right, and late in the afternoon: “The two divisions of
Longstreet's corps gallantly advanced, forced the enemy back a considerable distance ”