The Maine bugle ... campaign; 1-5 Jan. 1894-Oct. 1898 - Maine.gov

Major j/all's reI'Iew of ai.die. 267
siipjjort his corrected impressions. What then is the basis
of his article? what tlie premises by which he readies liis
strange conchisions? Why, Confederate statements made from
recollection nearly a quarter of a century after the incidents to
which they relate were enacted.
Now it seems to me that if Cai)t. Bliss had designed and
desired to write accurate and reliable history he would ha\'e
given, at least, equal space and equal prominence to official
Union reports of that action with Confederate statements made
from memory so many years aftervvard, and then, if he found
a[)parent differences or disagreements, he would have tried to
harmonize them, and if unable to do so to have stated the
points of difference or disagreements clearly, as he is evidently
able to do, and let his readers decide the (juestions of fact.
And yet I am unwilling to believe that so brave and accom-
[ilished an officer as Ca[)t. I^liss is reputed to have been would
willfully or designedly write and publish an article, that reflects
so much discredit upon the honor and integrity of the officers
who wrote the reports of that action on the Union side without
some honorable and worthy motive, but I confess I am unable
to divine his purpose, unless it be to provoke discussion whereby
all the facts and incidents of that important action may be laid
bare in tne interest of truth and impartial history. I will
assume, for the purposes of this article, that I have guessed his
purpose and that it is as I have indicated.
Now he has put in his side of the case and rested, I will l)egin
by calling a few witnesses. I will call Gen. I). McM. Gregg,
who commanded the Second Cavalry Division on the day in
question. Gen. Gregg says in his re[)ort of that action, " Mov-
ing to the front I found the Second Brigade engaged with a
superior force. The necessity for re-enforcements being appar-
ent, the First Maine Regiment was ordered to report to Gen.
Kilpatrick. This regiment moved to the front, charged the
enemy at the critical moment, and in connection with the regi-
ments of the Second l^rigade which had been charging the
cnem}' and receiving his charges, drove the cncviy from the field