Carson. 1 ^^ [Dec. 5, 



distinguished officers he strongly disapproved of the order by which the 

 army was withdrawn from its advanced position and compelled to fight a 

 defensive instead of an offensive battle.* Many years after, in comment- 

 ing on this battle, Gen. Humphreys said : "The Army of the Potomac 

 did not fight at Chancellorsville. The Eleventh Corps, badly posted, was 

 permitted to be surprised by overwhelming numbers, and routed. The 

 Third Corps, aided by artillery, posted by Pleasonton, threw itself into 

 the breach, arrested the forward movement of the enemy, and the ne.xt 

 morning was allowed to sustain the attack of Lee's whole force for several 

 hours, losing in killed and wounded a large part of its numbers. It was 

 of course obliged to fall back upon the other portion of the army, the 

 First, Second, Fifth and Twelfth Corps, in position near by, just in rear 

 of Chancellorsville. Only parts of some of these corps were partially 

 engaged in covering the withdrawal of the Third Corps. Sedgwick 

 advancing from Fredericksburg, with the Sixth Corps and one Division 

 of the Second Corps, was attacked by Lee, and forced back over the 

 Rappahannock. Lee, in this operation, had 60,000 men, Longstreet's 

 Corps being absent ;" Hooker not less than 90,000 men. It is not surprising, 

 then, that the Army of Northern Virginia should have made a false esti- 

 mate of its prowess, or at least of that of the Army of the Potomac, "f 



Shortly after the battle of Chancellorsville, Gen. Meade, in a private 

 letter, dated May 19, 1863, wrote as follows : "I have lost nearly a divis- 

 ion by the expiration of service of the two years and nine months men, so 

 that I have had to break up Humphreys' Division, and he is going to take 

 command of the division recently commanded by Gen. Berry in Sickles' 

 Corps. I am very sorry to lose Humphreys. He is a most valuable offi- 

 cer, besides being an associate of the most agreeable kind." 



The intimate relations between the two friends was, however, soon to 

 be reestablished. A gentleman, whose knowledge is undoubted, writes : 

 "The fact stands that when Gen. Meade was placed in command of the 

 Army of the Potomac, the first man he thought of, and whom he called to 

 his assistance was Gen. Humphreys. The reason why he was not his 

 Chief of Stati'at Gettysburg was solely due to Humphreys' own desire to 

 command his division in the coming engagement. He thought that 

 at that particular crisis he could render greater assistance in the position 

 he then lield. In addition to this he always had a great partiality for 

 couimanding troops, especially in a fight. "J 



At Gettysburg, where Humphreys commanded the Second Division of 

 the Third Corps — a division which had always been a fiivorite— he 

 displayed not only coolness and valor, but consummate skill in handling 



*Repoi-t on tho Conduct of the War. 1SG.5, Vol. I, pp. G1-6j. 



t Address ol'Maj. Gen. A. A. Humphreys on the Military Services of the late 

 Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, at the Meade Memorial Meeting- of the citi- 

 zens of Philadelphia, Nov. IS, 1872. ^Washington, D. C, 1872. 



J better ot Col. Geor;je Meade to the writer. Testimony of Gen. Humphreys 

 before the Coaimitteo on the Conduct of War. Report ou the Conduct of the 

 War, ises, Vol. i, p. a^iS. 



