CAMP NEAR SHARPSBURG,
MD., October 1, 1862.
I note the canard about General Sickles taking
command of Hooker's corps, which arose from the fact that General Sickles has
been placed in command of Hooker's old division. So, also, I saw a brilliant
account in Forney's "Press" of the battle of Antietam, in which the
writer, confusing Hooker's division with his corps, speaks of the gallantry of
Generals Patterson and Grover in leading the men; whereas Hooker's division was
at Alexandria, when Grover was with it, and Patterson has been for some time in
Philadelphia. But such is history.
When Hooker placed me in command of the corps on the field,
I immediately sought out Ricketts, told him I presumed there was a mistake,
Hooker not knowing that he (Ricketts) outranked me, and I turned over the
command to him, and only resumed it after getting the peremptory order from
McClellan, which I sent you. Ricketts appreciated my course, and said there was
no one he was more willing to serve under than myself, and that he only made
his protest because he considered it a matter of principle. In this I think he
was right, and I should have done the same thing myself, for I do not believe
McClellan had the right to do as he did.
I am very much flattered to hear that Mr. Binney1
and other citizens desired to have me to defend Philadelphia. It was just as
well, however, that they were refused; the service would have been temporary,
and I should have lost the brilliant chances of the two battles. I envied
Reynolds when he left for Harrisburg, and secretly thought the Governor might
have applied for me. Afterwards — indeed, the next day, after South Mountain — I
was grateful beyond measure that I had been overlooked. In reference to George,2
I think he had better accept the appointment in Averill's regiment, and not
wait any longer for Rush.3 In regard to my own staff, I have
received a letter from Mr. Coxe,4 in which he says his last hope is
being elected into one of the Pennsylvania Reserve regiments. This amounts to
nothing, because Seymour and Reynolds have prohibited elections in the
division, and there have been none for some time. In the meantime, I have had
two young men serving temporarily on my staff. One is a Mr. Mason, belonging to
one of the Reserve regiments, and the other Mr. Dehon, of Boston, belonging to
the Twelfth Massachusetts (Fletcher Webster's regiment). They are both very
clever and active.
In regard to Willie, your brother, I will see what can be
done. The trouble is, both Seymour and Reynolds have got into a snarl with the
Governor about elections, the Governor maintaining that he will not appoint
without elections, and they (in orders) prohibiting elections and getting
McClellan to give acting appointments, subject to the approval of the Governor,
which appointments are never submitted to the Governor for his approval. The
consequence is there are a number of officers appointed who have never been
commissioned by the Governor, and who in reality have no commissions. This
makes it very difficult to know what to do, and how to unravel the snarl that
Seymour and Reynolds have got into.
The news has just been brought into camp that the Southern
Confederacy have sent Peace Commissioners to Washington. Alas, I fear, they
have left it too late, and that the day has gone by for any terms to be granted
them except complete submission! Either one extreme or the other will have to
come to pass — the day for compromise, for a brotherly reconciliation, for the
old Union, in reality as well as name, has passed away, and the struggle must
be continued till one side or the other is exhausted and willing to give up.
Peace — oh, what a glorious word, and how sweet and delightful would its
realization be to me! And if such is the case, how desirable for thousands and
thousands of others, who have not gained, as I have by war, distinction and
fame!
__________
1 Horace Binney, of the Philadelphia Bar.
2 George Meade, son of General Meade and compiler
of this work.
3 Richard H. Rush, colonel 6th Pa. Cavalry, known
as "Rush's Lancers."
4 Alexander Brinton Coxe, of Philadelphia.
SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George
Gordon Meade, Vol. 1, p. 315-7
