difficult, and that the battle was fiercely maintained at various points. for three days.

There is no doubt that the first aim of General Lee in his movement from Fredericksburg to the valley of Virginia and thence across the Potomac, was to thwart the plan of the Union commander against Richmond, and to draw the Federal army from Virginia. For General Lee states this expressly in his report. But it is certain that the Confederate commander never for a moment supposed that he could take a large army into Pennsylvania and continue there many weeks without fighting a great battle somewhere. This, General Lee hoped to do on ground of his own choice; with deliberate plan, and under circumstances entirely favorable to success.

We are to see how these reasonable expectations were defeated by adverse circumstances; disobedience of orders by his commander of cavalry, and want of concerted action and vigorous onset among his corps commanders at critical moments in the assaults of each of the three days.

But my object is not now to give a history of the battle of Gettysburg, but to relate the movements which came under my own notice, and which may help to throw light on what is now obscure, and I propose, comrades, in what I have to say, to make it principally the relation of a simple narrative of events in which I was an humble actor. I shall not make any effort whatever to throw around the events related, any attractions beyond that grave, and to us always intensified interest, with which the plain facts invest them.

Next to the general results of a battle or of a campaign, and scarcely less important and interesting, has it this day become the occurrences, details and true facts, if I may so speak, mingling with, effecting, and in part producing the final result. In a word, we want to know how and why a battle was lost or won, and why a campaign failed. "Truth and facts," says Carlyle, "are inexorable things, and whether recognized or not, they decide the fate of battles, and mould the destiny of kingdoms and of men."

It is on account of the numerous misrepresentations, errors and omissions which I see contained in reports of commanders, and description of battles in historical works of the late war, which from personal knowledge I know to be in circulation, that I have often expressed a wish that each actor, however humble, in a battle or march, should put in writing what has come under his own notice, a relation of facts, about which there could be no mistake, because actually witnessed. If we had a collection of such data from generals

down to privates, carefully recorded and preserved, how precious and invaluable would they be to the future historian. What would the history of our Revolutionary war have been without the aid of Thatcher's Journal, a plain, unpretending private narrative of events, noted down at the time they occurred. This journal helped to clear up many doubtful points, and to fix indisputably many important facts, in the history of the Revolution.

May 18, 1863.

NARRATIVE.

Left Richmond from Shocco Springs, N. C., to hasten recovery from a wounded leg and a desperate attack of camp erysipelas.

June 18th. Feeling sufficiently restored to return to duty, I wrote to General Lee with the freedom of an old acquaintance, requesting to be placed on service with him in the Army of Northern Virginia. In reply General Lee said in his letter: "I have other and more agreeable service for you. I wish you to take command in the Valley of Virginia and of all the troops now in it, your headquarters at Staunton, and that you should undertake what I have long desired, to brigade all the Marylanders and form them into one corps, and I will have issued what orders you desire to effect this object."

He jocosely concluded his letter by saying in his peculiar and pleasant way, which however regarded as mere badinage by many, always contained some point by hinting at an object to be attained, or suggesting some effort which might be made to promote the sucof a campaign: "you shall have full permission to capture Milroy and all his stores which we very much need at this time."

June 19th. Received orders to take command of the valley and repair to Staunton. On reaching that place the 22nd, on horseback, I found that all the forces in the valley had moved, or were under orders for Maryland. I continued down the valley to overtake General Lee and report to him, which I did the afternoon of the 24th June, near Berryville. As soon as the courtesies of meeting had passed, he said: "You are tired and hungry, if you will step down to the mess you may find some remains of a fine mutton which kind friends have sent us, and after eating come up and we will talk (General Lee had dined, but finished before his staff, as was his custom).

On returning I found him alone by his tent, and said: "Well, General, you have taken away all my troops what am I to do?" He

kindly replied, "Yes; we had no time to wait for you, but you must go with us and help to conquer Pennsylvania." He continued to speak and said: "We have again out-manoeuvred the enemy, who even now don't know where we are or what are our designs. Our whole army will be in Pennsylvania the day after to-morrow, leaving the enemy far behind, and obliged to follow us by forced marches. I hope with these advantages to accomplish some signal result, and to end the war if Providence favours us."

He then alluded to the conduct of our army in Pennsylvania, said he had received letters from many prominent men in the South urging retaliatory acts while in the enemy's country, on property, &c., for ravages and destruction on Southern homes." He said: “What do you think should be our treatment of people in Pennsylvania?" I replied "General, I have never thought a wanton destruction of property of non-combatants in an enemy's country advanced any cause. That our aims were higher than to make war on the defenceless citizens or women and children."

General Lee at once rejoined with that solemnity and grandeur so characteristic of the man. "These are my own views, I cannot hope that heaven will prosper our cause when we are violating its laws. I shall, therefore, carry on the war in Pennsylvania without offending the sanction of a high civilization and of Christianity."

A few days after was issued that humane order, one of the noblest records of the war, the recollection of which should cause the cheeks of Northern generals and people to kindle with shame, when in contrast with their orders and their conduct in the South-before and after the day at Gettysburg-I was never so much impressed with the exalted moral worth and true greatness of Robert E. Lee, as when I heard him utter with serene earnestness the words I have quoted, and beheld the noble expression of magnanimity and justice which beamed from his countenance.

General Lee did not finally conquer by arms in the just cause which he espoused; but his more glorious victories in favour of mercy and justice, over mad ambition, lust, rapine and wrong, lift his character to a sublimer height than any ever attained by a military chieftain. Already the verdict of the world has pronounced him the hero of humanity.

Yes comrades, "He was not only famous, but of that good fame, without which Glory's but a tavern song."

CHAMBERSBURG, June 27th, 1863.

"The commanding general has observed with marked satisfaction the conduct of the troops on the march, and confidently anticipates results commensurate with the high spirit they have manifested. No troops could have displayed greater fortitude, or better performed the arduous duties of the past ten days. Their conduct in other respects has, with few exceptions, been in keeping with their character as soldiers, and entitles them to approbation and praise. There have, however, been instances of forgetfulness on the part of some, that they have in keeping the yet unsullied reputation of the army, and that the duties exacted of us by civilization and Christianity, are not less obligatory in the country of the enemy than in our own. The commanding general considers that no greater disgrace could befall the army, and through it our whole people, than the perpetration of the barbarous outrages upon the innocent and defenceless, and the wanton destruction of private property that have marked the course of the enemy in our own country. Such proceedings not only disgrace the perpetrators and all connected with them, but are subversive of the discipline and efficiency of the army, and destructive of the ends of our present movements.

"It must be remembered that we make war only upon armed men, and that we cannot take vengeance for the wrongs our people have suffered, without lowering ourselves in the eyes of all whose abhorrence has been excited by the atrocities of our enemy, and offending against Him to whom vengeance belongeth, and without whose favor and support, our efforts must all prove in vain.

"The commanding general, therefore, earnestly exhorts the troops to abstain with most scrupulous care from unnecessary or wanton injury to private property; and he enjoins upon all officers to arrest and bring to summary punishment all who shall, in any way, offend against the orders of this subject.

R. E. LEE, General."

June 26th. General Lee entered Maryland. I met him in Hagerstown and suggested sending at once a brigade to Baltimore to take that city, rouse Maryland, and thus embarrass the enemy. He so far considered the plan as to write to General A. P. Hill, the only corps commander near, to ask if he could spare a brigade for that purpose, who told me he had sent a reply to General Lee, that it would reduce his force too much, so it was not done.

June 27th. In the afternoon I met General Lee again at his tent

pitched near the road, for a night halt. He called me to where he was seated, and unfolding a map of Pennsylvania, asked me about the topography of the country east of the South Mountain in Adams county and around Gettysburg. He said with a smile," as a civil engineer you may know more about it than any of us." After my description of the country and saying that "almost every square mile contained good positions for battle or skillful manoeuvering," he remarked (and I think I repeat his words nearly verbatim) "Our army is in good spirits, not over fatigued, and can be concentrated on any one point in twenty-four hours or less. I have not yet heard that the enemy have crossed the Potomac, and am waiting to hear from General Stuart. When they hear where we are they will make forced marches to interpose their forces between us and Baltimore and Philadelphia. They will come up, probably through Frederick; broken down with hunger and hard marching, strung out on a long line and much demoralized, when they come into Pennsylvania. I shall throw an overwhelming force on their advance, crush it, follow up the success, drive one corps back on another, and by successive repulses and surprises before they can concentrate; create a panic and virtually destroy the army."

When asked my opinion, I said the plan ought to be successful, as I never knew our men to be in finer spirits in any campaign. He said: "That is, I hear, the general impression."

At the conclusion of our interview, he laid his hand on the map, over Gettysburg, and said hereabout we shall probably meet the enemy and fight a great battle, and if God gives us the victory, the war will be over and we shall achieve the recognition of our independence. He concluded by saying General Ewell's forces are by this time in Harrisburg; if not, go and join him, and help to take the place.

June 28th, Sunday.-Reached Carlisle. General Early had been sent to York, but no force against Harrisburg. Told General Ewell it could easily be taken, and I thought General Lee expected it. I volunteered to capture the place with one brigade, and it was arranged we should start before day Tuesday morning. That night, Tuesday, General Ewell received by courier from General Lee a despatch that the enemy had crossed the Potomac-26th and 27th— with an order to cross at once the South Mountain, "and march to Cashtown or Gettysburg, according to circumstances.” These were

the words.

Tuesday, June 30th.-Ewell started from Carlisle with Rodes'