of July, the two most powerful armies of the North and of the South, and on which the subsequent fate of the war seemed to depend, were marching on the same point. To fill the ranks of the Confederate army every nerve had been strained: Richmond had been almost denuded of its defenders, and the country between it and Washington laid open to the incursions of even small bodies of roving cavalry. Not only was this known to the Southern President and to General Lee, but owing to an accidental circumstance the weakness of the defenders of the Confederacy became revealed to the Federal Government. Whilst reconnoitring the passes of South Mountain, Captain Dahlgren had captured an orderly carrying an important despatch from President Davis* to General Lee, in which the former stated his disapproval of the advance into Pennsylvania, throwing the responsibility of it entirely on Lee, and informing him that he could expect no reinforcements, as Richmond was almost stripped of troops; also that no assistance could be furnished by Beauregard from South Carolina, as his hands were full, and he could not spare a man. As an instance of the want of troops in and around Richmond, President Davis regretted to inform General Lee that his nephew, who was lying wounded in a house not far from Richmond, had been captured by a detachment of Federal cavalry. This important despatch fell into the hands of Captain Dahlgren, and was at once forwarded to the Federal Government. It sufficiently proved that if the maintenance of the Northern cause in a great measure depended on the success of Meade's army, and its power to repel the invaders, so was also the fate of the Confederacy in The despatch was written by General S. Cooper, Adjutant General at Richmond. Virginia thrown upon the event of the approaching battle, and that, could the army under Lee be defeated and crushed, no barrier would remain between the victorious troops and Richmond. Unknown to the Generals commanding, the two armies on which such important events hinged were on June 30th within but a short distance of each other. At Fayetteville, a village between Chambersburg and Gettysburg, but on the western side of South Mountain, were the corps of Longstreet, and one division of A. P. Hill; on the other side of the ridge, at Cashtown, were the remaining two divisions of A. P. Hill, and marching from Carlisle and York was the corps of Ewell. Gettysburg, another small town where the roads from Chambersburg and York meet, had been fixed by Lee as the point of junction of the three corps. Of Meade's army, on the same day, the left, consisting of three corps d'armée under General Reynolds, was at Emmetsburg, a village on the direct road between Frederick City and Gettysburg, about ten miles from the latter town; and the right was at Manchester. The front of the left wing was covered by Buford's cavalry, which had already passed through Gettysburg and encountered the Confederate pickets on the Fayetteville Road, near the village of Cashtown. On receiving intelligence of the vicinity of the enemy, General Meade ordered Reynolds to occupy Gettysburg, which he accordingly did, entering the place on the morning of the 1st July with the 1st corps, but finding Buford engaged on the Cashtown Road, he pushed forward through the town, and deployed his troops on either side of the road, ordering up the 11th corps under Howard in support. This corps, smarting under the reproaches heaped on it for its panic at Chancellorsville, and under a brave and distinguished general, hurried forward on hearing of the anticipated engagement, and finding the Emmetsburg Road blocked with the train of the 1st corps, took advantage of a bye-lane, and entered Gettysburg by the road from Taneytown. On the same day-the 1st of July-the two leading divisions of A. P. Hill's corps continued the advance towards Gettysburg, his third division crossed the South Mountain, and Longstreet's corps, following the same road, commenced the ascent of the western slopes. At 10 A.M. Heth's division (A. P. Hill's corps) became engaged with the advance of Reynolds' corps, and drove in the pickets. Reynolds in person rode forward to superintend the dispositions of his troops, but met his death almost immediately, pierced by a rifle bullet from the Confederate line of skirmishers. By his fall the command devolved on Doubleday, who brought into action his own, Robinson's and Wadsworth's divisions; but Heth's division had now been joined by Pender, who formed up on the right, and the Confederate line steadily advanced. The battle raged with great fury; the Federals fought well-so well as to draw from the enemy a favourable comparison with their behaviour on other fields. The railway cutting was stubbornly held, and the open fields on either side became the scene of hard fighting. Eagerly was the 11th corps expected, and about 1 P.M., Howard, riding in advance of the troops, arrived on the field and took command; his men followed shortly afterwards, and passing through Gettysburg, formed up on the right of the 1st corps. But, at the same time, marching rapidly towards the direction from whence the sound of the firing was heard, |