.
of Oct. 1, 1905, justly finds place in the
.
Sir,—I have just read the late
General Sorrel's charming ‘Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer,’ and desire to correct an error in regard to myself, into which the writer has inadvertently fallen.
On page 107 the impression is made on the reader that I was on duty as
General D. H. Hill's adjutant general in 1862, near
Frederick, Maryland, at the time when it is alleged that
General Hill or an officer of his staff lost an important order from
General Lee, which fell into
McClellan's hands.
I was not with
General D. H. Hill at that period of the campaign.
I had been wounded, as his official report shows, in a skirmish immediately after his division crossed the
Potomac, had been sent back to
Leesburg, and was unable to rejoin him untill about three hours before the army began to move from the field of
Sharpsburg to recross the
Potomac.
But, while I have pen in hand, let me say a word on a more important subject.
I cannot refrain from expressing my regret that this interesting book—deserving and destined to be widely read—conveys an inadequate estimate of the great military virtues of
General D. H. Hill.
It seems to me that the gallant
Sorrel might have judged more generously the commander of a victorious division at
Seven Pines, the stout fighter of the seven days before
Richmond, the heroic leader of the rear guard at
South Mountain, the stubborn soldier who stood at bay at
Sharpsburg.
But history will some day give an impartial verdict on these matters.
In that final judgment
Hill's just fame will perhaps not suffer from his faults of manner or asperities of speech.
I am very respectfully, your obedient servant,
