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“I believe a little more marching, perhaps a little more fighting, would have given us the coveted position, and that in such an event the battle of Gettysburg would have had another name, and possibly another result — who knows?”
Colonel Allan says:
The Confederates would probably have been successful-first, had Ewell and Hill pushed Howard's broken troops over the top of Cemetery Hill on the first day.He then assigns four other conditions that would have given us success. Colonel Taylor, in his memorandum, makes the same point as to Ewell's conduct, but it is more fully set forth in the paper from the Philadelphia Times, as follows:
General Lee witnessed the flight of the Federals through Gettysburg and up the hills beyond. He then directed me to go to General Ewell and say to him that from the position he occupied he could see the enemy retreating over those hills, without organization, and in great confusion; that it was only necessary to press ‘those people’ in order to secure possession of the heights, and that, if possible, he wished him to do this. In obedience to these instructions, I proceeded immediately to General Ewell and delivered the order of General Lee; and after receiving from him some message for the Commanding-General in regard to the prisoners captured, returned to the latter and reported that his order had been delivered. Generell Ewell did not express any objection or indicate the existence of any impediment to the execution of the order conveyed to him, but left the impression upon my mind that it would be executed. In the exercise of that discretion, however, which General Lee was accustomed to accord his lieutenants, and probably because of an undue regard for his admonition, given early in the day, not to precipitate a general engagement, General Ewell deemed it unwise to make the pursuit. The troops were not moved forward, and the enemy proceeded to occupy and fortify the position which it was designed that General Ewell should seize. Major-General Edward Johnson, whose division reached the field after the engagement and formed on the left of Early, in a conversation had with me since the war about this circumstance, in which I sought an explanation of our inaction at the time, assured me that there was no hindrance to his moving forward, but that, after getting his command in line of battle, and before it became seriously engaged or had advanced any great distance, for some unexplained reason he had orders to halt. This was after General Lee's message was delivered to General Ewell.The language quoted from all three of the officers named conveys a very serious imputation upon General Ewell--if not by
