Ladies will be on to talk about the Womens Suffrage Movement and the obstacles to the right to vote. Be sure to watch cspans washington journal sunday morning. Join the discussion. War, authorhe civil Paul Bretzger talks about his book observing hancock at gettysburg the generals leadership through eyewitness accounts. Mr. Bretzger argues that general Winfield Scott hancock was one of the most important generals at the battle of gettysburg. The Gettysburg Heritage Center is the host of this 40 minute discussion. Tammy welcome. My name is tammy myers. I am the president here at the getty Gettysburg Heritage Center. We value education, community, and preservation. Based upon our value system, we have developed a museum that is a collaborative effort with the adams county Historical Society, civil war trust, land conservancy of adams county, and center for civil war photography. We officially opened in may 2015, and we count the battle of gettysburg stories from a new perspective, one that focuses on military perspectives and civilian perspectives. We offer additional programming focus to the general consumer. In addition to botox such as today, you can experience our living history programs talks suchnd book as today, you can experience our living history programs every weekend. We are open seven days a week. You can visit us online at gettysburgmuseum. Com. I will introduce our first speaker today. His name is Paul Bretzger. He received the 1987 history award for outstanding senior thesis at Stockton State College in new jersey. He later spent years researching and writing his book, observing hancock at gettysburg the generals leadership through eyewitness accounts. He now teaches in new jersey. His latest article is now available in a newly released july issue of the gettysburg magazine. Without any further introduction, i present to you Paul Bretzger. Paul thank you. Ms. Meyers. Ry much, it is my pleasure to be here. I assume everyone who needs to hear me can hear me well enough now. Have nothing to correct that was very accurate and well said. My book is about hancock at gettysburg, and since we are relatively limited, because i can talk about this forever basically, i can talk about it for 30 hours. We are limited to a little over 30 minutes. I am going to focus on hancock at gettysburg on the first day of battle. First, some very brief background to talk about who is general Winfield Scott hancock. Twins born an identical in 1824 brother hillary at Montgomery Square pennsylvania. Growing ups ended up in norristown, pennsylvania, where they relocated at a very young age. Onwas admitted to west point july 1 of 1840. Out,would be, as it turns 23 years to the day before he rode onto the battlefield at gettysburg as a Major General. It may not have seemed like he would someday become a Major General raced on the fact wasd on the fact that he at the a class of 25 u. S. Military academy. He was well respected and well liked despite mediocre grades. He joined the mexican war after lobbying very hard for it over approximately a year in july 1847. After the mexican war, he met russell in st. Louis and was married in 1850. Gave birthtober, she to their son russell and in 1857 to their daughter ada. Hancock in the civil war, when the civil war broke out, he was not a general then. I believe captain hancock was in los angeles, which was more than just a threehour flight away from the eastern theater. He did not get actively involved in the civil war until the the spring ofaign 1862. Renown,where he won the battle of williamsburg of early in the peninsula campaign. I believe general mcclellan referred to them as hancock the hancock thehim as superb, and the name stuck. Replaced the, he mortally wounded general richardson, commanding a second Core Division at antietam. He took that division into battle in the futile series of charges that took place at fredericksburg that december, 1862. About two months before gettysburg was the battle of chancellorsville, where his out what wasied considered a brilliant rearguard geton, helping the army away to safety at the battle of chancellorsville. Daysjune 10, about 21 before the battle of gettysburg, he becomes commander of the second corps. He is only in command for about three weeks when the battle starts on july 1. Superb . De hancock su i like to break it down into three things. Excuse me, i like to break down into four things, three of which were most important during the first day of engagement. Eye,cal facility, a fast the ability to read a battlefield instantly, which the trench would say, what is literally translated as the coupesf the eye, a doiel. A fast eye. He was a good tactician in that way. Not as important on the first day, but important the next two days was his tenacious discipline. Decisiveiveness, very man. A very confident when he made a decision, when he controversy, he stuck with it. He could it wasnt just a matter of being stubborn. He really believed it. He had confidence in his decisions. This helped him deliver orders very emphatically. He did not hesitate. He did not waffle. He did not mince words. When he made an order, it was clear what the person he was ordering was supposed to do. They tended to do it. This was related to his charisma. Some people called him the most handsome man in the army of the potomac, so surely he was goodlooking to substantial degree. He had great posture. E was six feet two inches he always dressed very cleanly and very well organized. Apparently in combat, he was magnetic. You could recognize them from afar. , andd a booming voice speaking of his voice, he was quite profane in battle. Which seemed to be effective for him. In the social circle, however, he was properly courteous, generous, and genial. He was popular both among his as a combate and commander. July 1. Ngs us to what is going on on july 1 . Well, the confederates are north of gettysburg. Concentrating,of we would prefer them to concentrate around cash town. Is not a is not diagram of a historical actuality. It is for the confederates. It is not for the union army. Plan. Was meades this was the plan he intended tentatively to use. To the south and southeast were baltimore and washington, which were the two main points that meade, commanding the army of the potomac was supposed to cover, and probably not long after midnight on july 1, the wee hours of july 1, he and his staff up with this plan to organize the army around pipe creek and await attack from lee. That is the tentative plan when hancock rides up to tiny town with his corps, about 12 miles south of gettysburg and meets meade in the late morning. Meade tells them about the pipe creek plan. They discuss various matters and adjourn. I believe that the time they did corps had beent engaged in some way outside of gettysburg. They do know minutes after their meeting finishes, meade gets word that general reynolds, amending the first corps, which has begun an engagement with the army of northern virginia, he learns that commander reynolds has been either killed or taken perform. Le to hancock, goes to hancocks tent and tells him, i want you to go to the field at gettysburg and take command. Corps under general howard was also there. Howard by rank assumed command when reynolds was killed. So he is leading the 11th c orps. There is also the first corps and your first cavalry outside cavalryeaufords outside of gettysburg. De sends hancock to take command. There is a regularity there. Tocock is junior in rank general howard, not by much. I believe they became Major Generals on the same day, which makes them equal. But i believe howard became a Brigadier General before hancock, making him hancocks senior. Picture, thisis hancockows the two men, gettysburg. T im not saying this illustration intends to illustrate them at tonnytown. It is just a nice image of the two meeting. Here is a diagram that intends to be accurate for july 1. We have the confederates attempting to concentrate west of gettysburg. We have the union scattered not very far from gettysburg. What happens is, by the end of the day, only the first corps, which is already fighting, and the 11th corps would reach the battlefield that day to take part in the battle. Roughly the entire Confederate Army, or almost the entire Confederate Army gets there first. As confederates get there someone say the firstus with the mostus. Outflankght they general barlow, and on the left they gain a very thorough victory, pushing all the union units from the first and 11th corps back into town, a very small town not much more than 3000 inhabitants. Now you are talking about 20,000 retreating troops into town and out through south of town, coming up cemetary hill. While hancockcurs is en route to gettysburg. The first order hancock made at gettysburg, he finds wagons on n and gettysburg road, and he orders them south, to get out of the way in case retreat is needed. He is acting like a commander of the field even before he gets there. I have put some circles around the main players here in this what it mayation of have looked like at the Evergreen Cemetery gate when hancock arrives. He is there appearing to give , ands to general doubleday there is general howard who seems to be soaking, sulking, unhappy about something. Nobody is sure what happened when hancock arrived on the field. He was supposed to tell howard that he was taking command, and one assumes he did so. Various ere are there is a spectrum of opinions. It is a controversy, the hancockhoward controversy. There is a spectrum of versions as to what happens when these two men met. Howard who was in command and hancock who came to take over. On the one hand you have hancocks version of events, which is he simply rode up, found howard, told him he was taking command of the field, and howard acquiesced. On the other extreme, you might is thatthe howard camp, hancock said meade sent me here to take command, and howard said , no, you cannot take command. I am your senior in rank. In between is the idea, also pushed by some people, that they knew how important it was to cooperate, and they split command one way or the other, one version being one guy take the right side of the Baltimore Pike and the other guy take the left side. Here is some flavor of what we are talking about. Beenor who claims to have the only one to have witnessed the initial conversation between hancock and howard when hancock howard, he says that when hancock told him i am here to take command, he said no. Hancock offered to show him the orders, and howard said simply, general hancock, i do not doubt your work, but you can give word, but you can give no orders while i am here. Later, hancock himself in a later publication, said simply that howard replied when asked if he wanted to read the orders from meade, replied that he did not want to read the orders but acquiesced in my assumption of command. Go and argue about this for the rest of their lives. Ideason who gives you an of the middle ground version is brother charles loward, who was on genera oliver otis howards staff. He is one of several people who says they split command, saying howard replied now was no time for talking and would be glad of hancocks cooperation and suggested that he locate the andps south of the pike, that howard would attend to the north side. There is your three versions. Hancock assumes command is one. Howard stem of stubbornly maintains command is another, and they split command is the third. Abner doubleday later wrote several books, and in one of the books he wrote we have a copy of hancocks writing in the margins of doubledays book, where it acceptward refused to hancocks authority. He writes, no scene occurred. You see how these two different goingns or three are not to relent. We do know that howard wrote a day,to meade later in the referring to the order to replace him, the above will disgrace me. Howard is clearly upset about something. He is upset about being replaced in command, but he does not admit to it. Another version by howard, his official report published at the end of august that year, he says said actually hancock general meade had sent him on hearing the state of affairs that he had given him his instructions while under the impression that he was my senior. This is a new version of what happened. Replace mentent to in command, but he was mistaken. He thought hancock was my senior. Hancock in his initial report, i arrived at gettysburg and assumed command. Bit of the backandforth, the courtroom argument if you will. Publishes anrd magazinen the atlantic said generalancock meade has sent me to represent him on the field. There is no talk according to howard about replacing him in command. That thatt strike me hancock without troops was doing more than directing matters is a temporary chief of staff for meade. Hancock seizes on this. He thinks as he publishes an article a few months later in 1876, hey, december thinks he has caught howard in an inconsistency. He says that this proves general howard contradicts himself. When i arrived on the field he knew that general meade 70 to supersede him. In his article, it did not strike him that hancock without troops was doing more than directing matters as a temporary chief of staff. If he stands by his report, he falls by his article. If he stands by his article, he falls by his report. I think the facts are pretty well on hancocks side. He makes a good point here. Im going to explain why i dont think what transpired between them was particularly important. Here is what i mean. Hancock has this commanding presence. Hancock has a reputation. People know about him. People respect him. People want to follow his orders. It was hancock was animated, is magnetic in his appearing to the fleeing soldiers. Become warrant soon to the savior of Little Round Top says, i think hancocks personal appearance there did a great deal toward restoring order. 147 new york the says, hancock almost let us to doubt whether there was cause for retreat at all. And,nt whittier of whose knoll . , that slipped my mind. Knoll, his battery, i shall never forget the inspiration of his commanding, controlling presence and the fresh courage he imparted. Whittier commanding stephens battery. Lers manor in action was simply the result of hancocks manner and action. Of thegetting the sense obedience of the fleeing soldiers who stopped fleeing and took positions. Carl shirts, a Division Commander in the 11th corps, second in command to howard, says his mere presence was reinforcement, and everyone on the field. Her for his being there. This is the second in command saying that. And everyone on the field felt stronger for his being there. This is the second in talks abot the magnificent form of hancock. William switten of the New York Times said he had magnetism. This quality he possesses in a high degree and his appearance soon restored order at a seemingly hopeless confusion. Ok, so there are a lot of people i can go on, but i wont. Hancock beingout in control. People responded to hancock. He stops the retreat, he turns it into retrenchment. Flight into fight and they start to settle the soldiers down into commanding positions on Cemetery Hill. Amversely, howard now i not accusing him of being a bad guy. He gave his arm in the peninsula campaign. He is courageous, he is well trained, he is thoughtful, he is a good guy, but he does not have the command presence, apparently, that hancock had. That is not a severe criticism, because not a lot of people did. Ok . But Charles Morgan reports, general howard himself was apparently despond it and his brother could not restrain his mortification at the behavior of the corps. Halsted, the guy who claims to be the only person who have witnessed has witnessed their first meeting, says howard was near the cemetery gate and he looked the picture of despair. Swinton now from the times. Howard was inefficient officer, but rather of a negative nature. And referring to the confusion, says, he had not been able to quell the confusion on Cemetery Hill. This is what i think is really damning. General buford, division, calvary Division Commander who you could say started the battle of gettysburg. Who was there from the opening shots in the morning west of town, by 3 20 p. M. In the afternoon rights a note writes a note to his boss, offered pleasanton Alfred Pleasanton and says Jenna Reynolds was killed this morning. There seems to be no directing person. I think that is critical. There seems to be no directing person. We need help now. He is saying, we are getting into the Late Afternoon and he does not sense anybody is in command, even though officially howard was in command of the field upon hearing that reynolds was killed. Alright . I think that is particularly damning coming from buford. Debateelieve that the over what was said, or who said what to whom, is essentially mute, because people were responding to hancock. They were not responding to howard. I do not know if he was despondent, that could be severe. But anyway, hancocks disposition. Hancock is the guy who populated pope hill. Howard had been there all day, but hancock when he shows up he sees we have to worry about more than just Cemetery Hill where the soldiers are coming, we have to worry about the right flank. And he sends a division of the to culpstwo hill. And number three, he takes the battery. Name,i forgot his stephens battery of the fifth he places them on stephens knoll. That is an important disposition, because the east side of east Cemetery Hill is very steep. It is a good thing, because it makes it tougher for the enemy to climb. But it makes it impossible for the artillery to cover it. Artillery on the crest cannot shoot down. So hancock puts the artillery next to it, or beside east Cemetery Hill, what will become known as stephens knoll. That is major disposition number three. His fourth disposition occurs when the 12th shows up in the fourth of theory of eries division. This is getting late. This is about one hour or so perhaps after hancock had arrived. Rps he sends the 12 co down to the northern slope, or the northern foot of Little Round Top. Which i think was impressive, because the battle had occurred north and west of town. And they were populating these strong positions on cemetery ridge, Cemetery Hill, and cul ps hill, but hancock has the tactical facility to think we have to do something about Little Round Top. It is an elevated piece of ground. Secondly, it will help alleviate the threat of lee trying to turn or flank the union must. Lef t. Effectively, what hancock does out the framework for what will become known as the unions fishhook line. If they are going to fight and gettysburg, they will be filling positions that hancock has laid out. The famous fishhook will develop from hancocks dispositions. He is effectively the architect of the fish hook line. Ok. I do not have too much more time, but i want to say a few more things. Um, oh. Course his first order was to take command of the field. Secondly, however, he was to report to meade on what was going on. He wanted hancock to help him make a decision on whether to abandon the plan and send everybody to gettysburg, or to stick with the pike plan and withdraw from gettysburg. He sends to messengers at different times. First Charles Morgan, then second, with a written message, major mitchell. He sends both of them down to meade, telling him the state of affairs at gettysburg. He does not take a stand. He does not say, yes, we should fight here. But he does not say the opposite , like it is no good. He says we are in a place that cannot will be taken. And i think we will be alright until night. He also says, we can retire. We can fight here, as the ground seems not unfavorable for good troops. This is what he says to meade. Versions has two himself of what was going on. He reports to the joint committee on the conduct of the war. Not 2016, i do not know where that came from. 1863, excuse me. He says, excuse me, that was 1864. Um, i received the report from hancock. Which caused me to determine to fight a battle at that point. That is what he says on march 5, 1864. Sorry about the incorrect piece. A week later, on march 11, he testified to the committee, i therefore do not wait for general hancock. It is possible he was feeling pressure from the terrible trio andutterfield, sickles, hooker, who were accusing him of being not just an aggressive unaggressive, but of being cowardly. So he says in his second testimony, i sent people before i got word from hancock. Areay, those again these the two men at gettysburg. And that essentially concludes my presentation on hancock on the first day of battle. Two points. First, he was in command regardless of what transpired between howard and hancock. He disposed, distributed the troops in a very deft way. I should say finally of course, that he also communicated with meade about this situation. So i will leave it at that. I think he was a very important guy, and on the first day, clearly. Thank you very much. [applause] mr. Bretzger if anybody has any questions, i will be glad to take them. I do not know if we need a microphone. Anybody have any questions . Can you talk about why it was so important to howard that he would be in command . Mr. Bretzger i can, i think. Good question. The question was, why would it be so important to general howard that he be thought of, at least, as in command . He was having reputation problems, especially after chancellorsville. He had some reputation problems i think since bull run. But he had a terrible showing at chancellorsville. Stonewall jacksons famous flank howards corps, the 11th, in the woods. Stonewall jackson snuck around and attacked roughly at dusk and sent howards men really. Reeling. It was a stampede and i think it was sometimes people come down hard on howard, but i think it was a stampede. And so howard was still reeling from this and he did not want then it to be known that he was superseded in command by a junior. Ok . So i think he had this, i suppose, he had this on his mind when it came to, when it came to talking about who was in command at gettysburg. You know, reputation was everything in this era, especially to these guys. So he did not want he wanted to find a way, something to counteract the fact that he had failed so badly at chancellorsville. Good question. Thank you. Any other questions . Ok. Well, i hope you have enjoyed it and i thank you all very much. [applause] sundays at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on oral history, a series of six interviews with photojournalist. A conversation with Frank Johnston this sunday about his photos and his career. Outhen they brought oswald he was within three feet of me when they, win jack ruby, who left from behind leapt from behind me and went between bob jackson and i, and fired the gun. We were thrown to the floor because there mustve been about 100 policemen there that sunday morning. Announcer was in the interviews at 7 00 on American History tv on sundays on cspan3. Politics isall local, but in New Hampshire that phrase rings true. American history tv visits the New Hampshires Historical Society to take a look at the long history with politics of this state. [chatter] [indiscernible] this was the site of the first primary and on the eve of the elections there were quite a few undecided voters. People in New Hampshire take politics seriously. They study it. They spend a lot of time meeting with candidates, reading about candidates, interviewing candidates. And it is politics at all levels. New hampshire