Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 6.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[100] no orders to cover McLaws' flank, did protect it, and struck the enemy simultaneously with Barksdale's, or, for the reason assigned, their attack preceded that of Barksdale. It will be seen that in my reply to General Longstreet, written before the letter of General Humphreys was received by me, I gave the time at which the battle began, and the hour when it terminated,--the same as General Humphreys represents it; and as it commenced about 6 o'clock and terminated “about sunset or a little after sunset,” it was not a three hours fight, as General Longstreet would have it believed,--at least not for Barksdale's and Wofford's brigades, or in truth for any part of McLaws' division.

As to the second charge, that of uncovering McLaws' flank, I denied it positively, and stated, on the contrary, that my own right was uncovered when my brigade was ordered to retire. There was no more obligation on my part, from orders given, to guard McLaws' flank, than for him to guide mine — the protection given was such as mutual safety and the desire to defeat the enemy would prompt. The following letter from the colonels of my two right regiments will explain what and whose flank was first uncovered. They are at present representatives in Congress from the State of Alabama, and the letter is published by their permission:

Washington, D. C., February 28, 1878.

General — We, the undersigned colonels and commanding each a regiment in your brigade at the battle of Gettysburg, have read your reply to General Longstreet, published in the Weekly Times of November 24th, 1877, and know it to be correct in giving the manner and time of the advance, striking the enemy and following him down the descent beyond the Emmettsburg road, in the battle fought late in the afternoon of July 2d, 1863. We further concur with you in stating that our right flank was uncovered at the time the brigade was withdrawn.

Respectfully,

W. H. Forney, H. A. Herbert. General C. M. Wilcox.

Colonel Forney, subsequently a Brigadier-General, commanded the Tenth Alabama regiment, was wounded near the extreme point reached by the brigade and left on the field. Colonel Herbert, a Lieutenant-Colonel at the time, commanded the Eighth Alabama regiment.

In his supplementary¹ article General Longstreet uses the following