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Some literary facts connected Therewith.
A question of great interest.
Discussed in the Light of some late Revelations—
General Early's Theory—Many writers passed in Review—a myth.
At what hour on the morning of July 2, 1863, did
General Longstreet's troops present themselves, in readiness for battle, on the
Seminary Ridge in front of
Gettysburg?
Strange to relate, it has required a period of thirty-three years to question, and yet this question bears upon the point that is most essential, perhaps, in the entire discussion of
Longstreet's part in that great struggle.
The chief facts in the case are as follows:
So long as
General R. E. Lee remained alive, no utterance in public fell from any Confederate officer's lips concerning the loss of the field of
Gettysburg.
On January 11, 1872, at the Washington and Lee University,
General J. A. Early felt impelled to make reply to
William Swinton's published criticism of
General Lee's management of the battle.
Swinton's strictures were based upon alleged private statements by
Longstreet.
Early's reply involved the charge that
Longstreet himself was responsible for the repulse of the Confederate army at
Gettysburg.
In support of this charge,
Early referred to a conference held by
Lee,
Ewell,
Rodes and
Early, late in the afternoon of July 1, 1863, and declared that
Lee left that conference ‘for the purpose of ordering up
Longstreet's corps in time to begin the attack at dawn next morning.
That corps was not in readiness to make the attack until 4 o'clock in the afternoon of the next day.’
（
Southern Historical Society Papers, December, 1877, page 284.)
Early's statements were repeated in the
Southern Magazinie, September-October, 1872. One year after
Early's address— January 19, 1873—
Dr. William N. Pendleton substantiated the charge against
Longstreet by reciting
Lee's personal statement, made in the
