[33] army in motion and delayed Stuart's crossing of the Potomac; and if that made the Gettysburg campaign ‘the Illiad of the South,’ it must have been because of the absence of Stuart's cavalry and lack of information; but Mosby elsewhere repeatedly denies that it was the absence of the cavalry that caused the failure at Gettysburg. He goes so far as to say (on page 180): ‘It would have been far better if the orders had been less rigid and Stuart been given discretion to operate independently of the main army.’ Furthermore he claims that Hill and Heth should bear the blame because they precipitated the battle by an unexpected collision with the enemy. This might have been avoided if they had been informed of the movements of the Federal army, of which they were ignorant because the cavalry was absent. There is nothing in either order to Stuart, or in General Lee's letter to General Ewell, of June 22nd, that justifies Col. Mosby's inference that Stuart was ‘to move to Pennsylvania and join Ewell on the Susquehanna,’ or to justify his statement on page 180:
Lee had informed Stuart that he would find Ewell on the Susquehanna. Stuart obeyed orders, and on the morning of the 28th, moved in that direction.The reason why General Stuart availed of the discretion allowed him to cross the Potomac east of the Blue Ridge will, I think, be found in Col. Mosby's Book (pages 76, 77, 78, 79), where he says:
I pointed out to Stuart the opportunity to strike a damaging blow, and suggested to him to cross the Bull Run Mountains and pass through the middle of Hooker's army into Maryland. * * * * He could pass the Bull Run Mountains early in the morning and cross the Potomac early in the evening. * * * * When I got back from my trip inside Hooker's lines with my drove of mules, Stuart told me that General Lee was anxious to know if Hooker's army was moving to cross the Potomac. He did not ask me to go, but I volunteered to return and find out for him. With two men I recrossed the mountain on the path where I had been bushwhacked the day before; and on
