DRED SCOTT V. SANDFORD (1857)

Please read this document and answer the following questions.

This is certainly a very serious question, and one that now for the first time has been brought for decision before this court. But it is brought here by those who have a right to bring it, and it is our duty to meet it and decide it.

The question is simply this: Can a negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves, become a member of the political community formed and brought into existence by the constitution of the United States, and as such become entitled to all the rights, and privileges, and immunities, guaranteed by that instrument to the citizen? One of which rights is the privilege of suing in a court of the United States in the cases specified in the constitution.

It will be observed, that the plea applies to that class of persons only whose ancestors were negroes of the African race, and imported into this country, and sold and held as slaves. The only matter in issue before the court, therefore, is, whether the descendants of such slaves, when they shall be emancipated, or who are born of parents who had become free before their birth, are citizens of a State, in the sense in which the word citizen is used in the constitution of the United States.

The situation of this population was altogether unlike that of the Indian race. . . . Indian governments were regarded and treated as foreign governments, as much so as if an ocean had separated the red man from the white; and their freedom has constantly been acknowledged, from the time of the first emigration to the English colonies to the present day, by the different governments which succeeded each other.

The words "people of the United States" and "citizens" are synonymous terms, and mean the same thing. They both describe the political body who, according to our republican institutions, form the sovereignty, and who hold the power and conduct the government through their representatives. They are what we familiarly call the "sovereign people," and every citizen is one of this people, and a constituent member of this sovereignty. The question before us is, whether the class of persons described in the plea in abatement compose a portion of this people, and are constituent members of this sovereignty? We think they are not, and that they are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word "citizen" in the constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States.

It is not the province of the court to decide upon the justice or injustice, the policy or impolicy, of these laws. The decision of that question belonged to the political or law-making power; to those who formed the sovereignty and framed the constitution The duty of the court is, to interpret the instrument they have framed. . . .

. . . we must not confound the rights of citizenship which a State may confer within its own limits, and the rights of citizenship as a member of the Union. It does not by any means follow, because he has all the rights and privileges of a citizen of a state, that he must be a citizen of the United States.

It is true, every person, and every class and description of persons, who were at the time of the adoption of the constitution recognized as citizens in the several states, became also citizens of this new political body; but none other; it was formed by them, and for them and their posterity, but for no one else. . . . .

It becomes necessary, therefore, to determine who were citizens of the several States when the constitution was adopted. . . .

In the opinion of the court, the legislation and histories of the times, and the language used in the declaration of independence, show, that neither the class of persons who had been imported as slaves, nor their descendants, whether they had become free or not, were then acknowledged as a part of the people, nor intended to be included in the general words used in that memorable instrument.

They had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit. He was bought and sold, and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever a profit could be made by it. This opinion was at that time fixed and universal in the civilized portion of the white race. . . .

We give both of these laws in the words used by the respective legislative bodies, because the language in which they are framed, as well as the provisions contained in them, show, too plainly to be misunderstood, the degraded condition of this unhappy race. They were still in force when the revolution began, and are a faithful index to the state of feeling towards the class of persons of whom they speak. . . . They show that a perpetual and impassible barrier was intended to be erected between the white race and the one which they had reduced to slavery, and governed as subjects with absolute and despotic power . . . that intermarriages between white persons and negroes or mulattoes were regarded as unnatural and immoral, and punished as crimes, not only in the parties, but in the person who joined them in marriage. And no distinction in this respect was made between the free negro or mulatto and the slave, but this stigma, of the deepest degradation, was fixed upon the whole race.

. . . But it is too clear for dispute, that the enslaved African race were not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people who framed and adopted this declaration; for if the language, as understood in that day, would embrace them, the conduct of the distinguished men who framed the declaration of independence would have been utterly and flagrantly inconsistent with the principles they asserted; and instead of the sympathy of mankind, to which they so confidently appealed, they would have deserved and received universal rebuke and reprobation.

And upon a full and careful consideration of the subject, the court is of opinion, that, upon the facts stated in the plea in abatement, Dred Scott was not a citizen of Missouri within the meaning of the constitution of the United States, and not entitled as such to sue in its courts and, consequently, that the circuit court had no jurisdiction of the case, and that the judgment on the plea in abatement is erroneous.

In the case before us, we have already decided that the circuit court erred in deciding that it had jurisdiction upon the facts admitted by the pleadings. And it appears that, in the further progress of the case, it acted upon the erroneous principle it had decided on the pleadings, and gave judgment for the defendant, where, upon the facts admitted in the exception, it had no jurisdiction.

The plaintiff was a negro slave, belonging to Dr. Emerson, who was a surgeon in the army of the United States. In the year 1834, he took the plaintiff from the State of Missouri to the military post at Rock Island, in the State of Illinois, and held him there as a slave until the month of April or May, 1836. At the time last mentioned, said Dr. Emerson removed the plaintiff from said military post at Rock Island to the military post at Fort Snelling, situate on the west bank of the Mississippi river, in the territory known as upper Louisiana . . . situate north of the latitude of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north, and north of the State of Missouri. . . .

In considering this part of the controversy, two questions arise: 1. Was he, together with his family, free in Missouri by reason of the stay in the territory of the United States herein before mentioned? And 2. If they were not, is Scott himself free by reason of his removal to Rock Island, in the State of Illinois, as stated in the above admissions?

. . . Thus the rights of property are united with the rights of person, and placed on the same ground by the fifth amendment to the constitution, which provides that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, and property, without due process of law. And an act of congress which deprives a citizen of the United States of his liberty or property, merely because he came himself or brought his property into a particular territory of the United States, and who had committed no offense against the laws, could hardly be dignified with the name of due process of law.

. . . And if the constitution recognizes the right of property of the master in a slave, and makes no distinction between that description of property and other property owned by a citizen, no tribunal, acting under the authority of the United States, whether it be legislative, executive, or judicial, has a right to draw such a distinction, or deny to it the benefit of the provisions and guarantees which have been provided for the protection of private property against the encroachments of the government.

Upon these considerations, it is the opinion of the court that the act of congress which prohibited a citizen from holding and owning property of this kind in the territory of the United States north of the line therein mentioned, is not warranted by the constitution, and is therefore void; and that neither Dred Scott himself, nor any of his family, were made free by being carried into this territory. . . .

[From Dred Scott v. Sandford (19 Havard 393).]

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

Observation

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2. For what audience was the document written?

Expression

3. What do you find interesting or important about this document?

4. Is there a particular phrase or section that you find particularly meaningful or surprising?

Connection

5. What does this document tell you about life in this culture at the time it was written?

The escalating crisis drew a country lawyer back into the political fray. Abraham Lincoln was practicing rather than making law when the decade opened, but as acts he considered dangerous were passed, he was drawn out of the courtroom and onto convention floors and speakers' platforms. Lincoln, as a Whig, had served in the Illinois legislature and then for one term in Congress. He was still a Whig in 1854 when he again entered the public arena to oppose Stephen Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Act. In 1856, however, Lincoln left the weakened Whigs to help found the Republican Party of Illinois and thus aided in the establishment of the greater, national party. Lincoln then campaigned vigorously for Republican policies and candidates. The party rewarded him at the Republican state convention in Springfield on 16 June 1858 when it endorsed him for the Senate seat held by Douglas. Lincoln accepted the endorsement with the following speech.

Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Convention.

If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.

We are now far into the fifth year, since a policy was initiated, with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation.

Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only, not ceased, but has constantly augmented.

In my opinion, it will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand."

I believe this government cannot endure, per-manently half slave and half free.

I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided.

It will become all one thing, or all the other.

Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new—North as well as South.

Have we no tendency to the latter condition?

Let any one who doubts, carefully contemplate that now almost complete legal combination—piece of machinery so to speak—compounded of the Nebraska doctrine, and the Dred Scott decision. Let him consider not only what work the machinery is adapted to do, and how well adapted; but also, let him study the history of its construction, and trace, if he can, or rather fail, if he can, to trace the evidences of design, and concert of action, among its chief bosses, from the beginning.

The new year of 1854 found slavery excluded from more than half the States by State Constitutions, and from most of the national territory by Congressional prohibition.

Four days later, commenced the struggle, which ended in repealing that Congressional prohibition.

This opened all the national territory to slavery; and was the first point gained.

But, so far, Congress only, had acted; and an indorsement by the people, real or apparent, was indispensable, to save the point already gained, and give chance for more.

This necessity had not been overlooked; but had been provided for, as well as might be, in the notable argument of "squatter sovereignty," otherwise called "sacred right of self government," which latter phrase, though expressive of the only rightful basis of any government, was so perverted in this attempted use of it as to amount to just this: That if any one man, choose to enslave another, no third man shall be allowed to object.

That argument was incorporated into the Nebraska bill itself, in the language which follows: "It being the true intent and meaning of this act not to legislate slavery into any Territory or state, nor to exclude it therefrom; but to leave the people thereof perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of the United States."

Then opened the roar of loose declamation in favor of "Squatter Sovereignty," and "Sacred right of self government."

* * *

Before the then next Presidential election, the law case came to, and was argued in the Supreme Court of the United States; but the decision of it was deferred until after the election. Still, before the election, Senator Trumbull, on the floor of the Senate, requests the leading advocate of the Nebraska bill to state his opinion whether the people of a territory can constitutionally exclude slavery from their limits; and the latter answers, "That is a question for the Supreme Court."

The election came. Mr. Buchanan was elected, and the indorsement, such as it was, secured. That was the second point gained. The indorsement, however, fell short of a clear popular majority by nearly four hundred thousand votes, and so, perhaps, was not overwhelmingly reliable and satisfactory.

The outgoing President, in his last annual message, as impressively as possible echoed back upon the people the weight and authority of the indorsement.

The Supreme Court met again; did not announce their decision, but ordered a re-argument.

The Presidential inauguration came, and still no decision of the court; but the incoming President, in his inaugural address, fervently exhorted the people to abide by the forthcoming decision, whatever it might be.

Then, in a few days, came the decision.

The reputed author of the Nebraska bill finds an early occasion to make a speech at this capitol indorsing the Dred Scott Decision, and vehemently denouncing all opposition to it.

The new President, too, seizes the early occasion of the Silliman letter to indorse and strongly construe that decision, and to express his astonishment that any different view had ever been entertained.

At length a squabble springs up between the President and the author of the Nebraska bill, on the mere question of fact, whether the Lecompton constitution was or was not, in any just sense, made by the people of Kansas; and in that squabble the latter declares that all he wants is a fair vote for the people, and that he cares not whether slavery be voted down or voted up. I do not understand his declaration that he cares not whether slavery be voted down or voted up, to be intended by him other than as an apt definition of the policy he would impress upon the public mind—the principle for which he declares he has suffered much, and is ready to suffer to the end.

And well may he cling to that principle. . . . That principle, is the only shred left of his original Nebraska doctrine. Under the Dred Scott decision, "squatter sovereignty" squatted out of existence, . . . His late joint struggle with the Republicans, against the Lecompton Constitution, involves nothing of the original Nebraska doctrine. That struggle was made on a point, the right of a people to make their own constitution, upon which he and the Republicans have never differed.

The several points of the Dred Scott decision, in connection with Senator Douglas' "care not" policy, constitute the piece of machinery, in its present state of advancement. This was the third point gained.

The working points of that machinery are:

First, that no negro slave, imported as such from Africa, and no descendant of such slave can ever be a citizen of any State, in the sense of that term as used in the Constitution of the United States.

This point is made in order to deprive the negro, in every possible event, of the benefit of this provision of the United States Constitution, which declares that—

"The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States."

Secondly, that "subject to the Constitution of the United States," neither Congress nor a Territorial Legislature can exclude slavery from any United States territory.

This point is made in order that individual men may fill up the territories with slaves, without danger of losing them as property, and thus to enhance the chances of permanency to the institution through all the future.

Thirdly, that whether the holding a negro in actual slavery in a free State, makes him free, as against the holder, the United States courts will not decide, but will leave to be decided by the courts of any slave State the negro may be forced into by the master.

* * *

This shows exactly where we now are; and partially also, whither we are tending.

* * *

It should not be overlooked that, by the Nebraska bill, the people of a State as well as Territory, were to be left "perfectly free" "subject only to the Constitution."

While the opinion of the Court, by Chief Justice Taney, in the Dred Scott case, and the separate opinions of all the concurring Judges, expressly declare that the Constitution of the United States neither permits Congress nor a Territorial legislature to exclude slavery from any United States territory, they all omit to declare whether or not the same Constitution permits a state, or the people of a State, to exclude it.

Possibly, this was a mere omission; but who can be quite sure, . . .

The nearest approach to the point of declaring the power of a State over slavery, is made by Judge Nelson. He approaches it more than once, using the precise idea, and almost the language too, of the Nebraska act. On one occasion his exact language is, "except in cases where the power is restrained by the Constitution of the United States, the law of the State is supreme over the subject of slavery within its jurisdiction."

In what cases the power of the states is so restrained by the U.S. Constitution, is left an open question, precisely as the same question, as to the restraint on the power of the territories was left open in the Nebraska act. Put that and that together, and we have another nice little niche, which we may, ere long, see filled with another Supreme Court decision, declaring that the Constitution of the United States does not permit a state to exclude slavery from its limits.

And this may especially be expected if the doctrine of "care not whether slavery be voted down or voted up," shall gain upon the public mind sufficiently to give promise that such a decision can be maintained when made.

Such a decision is all that slavery now lacks of being alike lawful in all the States.

Welcome or unwelcome, such decision is probably coming, and will soon be upon us, unless the power of the present political dynasty shall be met and overthrown.

We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free; and we shall awake to the reality, instead, that the Supreme Court has made Illinois a slave State.

To meet and overthrow the power of that dynasty, is the work now before all those who would prevent that consummation.

* * *[From Abraham Lincoln, Speeches and Writings, 1832–1858 (New York: The Library of America, 1989), pp. 426–32.]

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.

Observation

1. What type of document is this? (Ex. Newspaper, telegram, map, letter, memorandum, congressional record)

2. For what audience was the document written?

Expression

3. What do you find interesting or important about this document?

4. Is there a particular phrase or section that you find particularly meaningful or surprising?

Connection

5. What does this document tell you about life in this culture at the time it was written?

Chapter 15 The War Of The Union

Chapter Study Outline

• 
  I. The end of the interim period
  
  • 
    A. Lincoln travels to Washington, D.C.
    
  • 
    B. The inauguration
    

• 
  1. Lincoln reiterates policy positions
  
• 
  C. Presidential appointments
  
• 
  D. The conflict begins
  
  • 
    1. Resupply of Fort Sumter
    
  • 
    2. The South’s violent response
    
  • 
    3. Lincoln’s initial steps of war
    

• 
  a. Call for 75,000 militiamen
  
• 
  b. Blockade of southern ports
  
• 
  4. Anderson’s surrender
  
• 
  5. Reflections on the causes of the war
  
• 
  E. Secession of the Upper South
  
  • 
    1. Departure of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina
    
  • 
    2. Eventual creation of West Virginia
    
• 
  F. Other slave states remain in the Union
  
  • 
    1. Suspension of habeas corpus to hold Maryland
    
  • 
    2. Divided Kentucky
    
  • 
    3. The battle for Missouri
    
• 
  G. Choosing sides in the South
  
  • 
    1. Lee’s decision to join the Confederacy
    
  • 
    2. Pro-Union sentiment in the South
    
• 
  II. Balance of force
  
  • 
    A. The North’s advantages
    
    • 
      1. Population
      
    • 
      2. Industry
      
    • 
      3. Transportation
      
  • 
    B. The South’s advantages
    
    • 
      1. Defensive position
      
    • 
      2. Strong military leaders
      
  • 
    C. Sea power, an important advantage for the North
    
• 
  III. The war’s early course
  
  • 
    A. First Battle of Bull Run
    
    • 
      1. Basis for confrontation
      
    • 
      2. U.S. Army retreat
      
    • 
      3. Impact of battle
      
  • 
    B. After Bull Run
    
    • 
      1. Northern strategies
      
      • 
        a. Scott’s three-pronged “anaconda“ strategy
        

• 
  (1) Defend Washington and pressure Richmond
  
• 
  (2) Naval blockade
  
• 
  (3) Invade main southern water routes
  
• 
  2. Southern strategies
  
  • 
    a. Fight to a stalemate
    
  • 
    b. Seek foreign material and diplomatic support
    
    • 
      (1) Mixed record of success in seeking foreign support
      
• 
  IV. Effort to build armies
  
  • 
    A. Initial Union recruits
    
  • 
    B. Confederate army recruitment
    
    • 
      1. Adoption of conscription
      
    • 
      2. Loopholes in Confederate conscription
      
  • 
    C. Union conscription
    
    • 
      1. Exemptions
      
    • 
      2. New York City draft riots
      
  • 
    D. Blacks in the South
    
    • 
      1. Increasing numbers move to support Union as war drags on
      
      • 
        a. Running away
        
      • 
        b. Sabotage
        
      • 
        c. Joining the Union army
        
• 
  V. The West in the Civil War
  
  • 
    A. Continued western settlement
    
  • 
    B. The Kansas-Missouri border troubles
    
  • 
    C. Indians take sides
    
  • 
    D. Actions in the West
    
    • 
      1. Grant’s move against Forts Donelson and Henry
      
    • 
      2. Battle of Shiloh
      
• 
  VI. The eastern theater
  
  • 
    A. McClellan’s peninsular campaign
    
    • 
      1. McClellan’s character
      
    • 
      2. McClellan’s advance on Richmond
      
    • 
      3. Jackson’s Shenandoah campaign
      
    • 
      4. Lee’s attack on McClellan
      
    • 
      5. Appointment of Halleck as general-in-chief
      
  • 
    B. Second Battle of Bull Run
    
  • 
    C. Slaves in the war
    
    • 
      1. Dilemma of what to do with fugitive slaves who wanted to join Union forces
      
    • 
      2. Lincoln edges toward emancipation
      
  • 
    D. Lee’s invasion at Antietam
    
    • 
      1. McClellan acquires Lee’s battle plans
      
    • 
      2. The war’s bloodiest day
      
    • 
      3. McClellan replaced by Burnside
      
  • 
    E. Battle of Fredericksburg
    
  • 
    F. Assessment of the war at the end of 1862
    
• 
  VII. Emancipation
  
  • 
    A. Emancipation Proclamation
    
    • 
      1. Exemptions in some Confederate areas
      
    • 
      2. Reactions to Emancipation
      
  • 
    B. Blacks in the military
    
    • 
      1. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment
      
    • 
      2. Overall black contribution to Union cause
      
  • 
    C. The Thirteenth Amendment
    
• 
  VIII. The war behind the lines
  
  • 
    A. Women and the war
    
    • 
      1. Traditional restraints on women loosened
      
      • 
        a. Nurses
        
      • 
        b. Other new roles for women
        
    • 
      2. War’s toll on families
      
  • 
    B. The war and religion
    
    • 
      1. Importance of religion to both sides
      
    • 
      2. Clergymen as war advocates
      
    • 
      3. Chaplains and camp revivals
      
    • 
      4. Increasing religious responsibilities for laypeople at home
      
    • 
      5. African American faith and the war
      
    • 
      6. Overall significance of religion in American life
      
• 
  IX. Government during the war
  
  • 
    A. Power shift to the North politically
    
    • 
      1. Measures passed by Congress
      
    • 
      2. Long-term significance for national economy and federal government
      
  • 
    B. Financing the war
    
    • 
      1. Methods used in the North
      
      • 
        a. Increased tariff and excise taxes
        
      • 
        b. Income tax
        
      • 
        c. Issuance of greenbacks
        
      • 
        d. Bonds
        
      • 
        e. Some earn quick fortunes
        
    • 
      2. Confederate finances
      
      • 
        a. Direct taxes on property
        
        • 
          (1) Collection was ineffective
          
      • 
        b. Additional taxes after 1863
        
      • 
        c. Bond issues and paper money
        
      • 
        d. Rampant inflation
        
• 
  X. Union politics
  
  • 
    A. Pressure of the Radicals
    
  • 
    B. Actions of the Democrats
    
  • 
    C. Suspension of habeas corpus
    
    • 
      1. Constitutional issues
      
    • 
      2. Arrests
      
    • 
      3. Vallandigham case
      
  • 
    D. 1864 election
    
    • 
      1. Democratic campaign
      
    • 
      2. Lincoln and the Republican campaign
      
      • 
        a. National Union ticket
        
  • 
    E. Election results
    
• 
  XI. Confederate politics
  
  • 
    A. Challenges in the Confederacy
    
  • 
    B. Problems of states’ rights and governance in the Confederacy
    
  • 
    C. Davis’s leadership shortcomings
    
• 
  XII. Wearing down the Confederacy
  
  • 
    A. Appointment of Joseph E. Hooker to lead the North
    
  • 
    B. Confederate victory at Chancellorsville
    
  • 
    C. Grant’s successful assault on Vicksburg
    
  • 
    D. Lee again moves north
    
    • 
      1. Lee’s objectives
      
    • 
      2. Convergence at Gettysburg
      
    • 
      3. Pickett’s climactic attack
      
    • 
      4. Lee’s retreat
      
    • 
      5. The Gettysburg Address
      
  • 
    E. Union victory at Chattanooga
    
• 
  XIII. Defeat of the Confederacy
  
  • 
    A. Grant pursues Lee
    
    • 
      1. The Wilderness campaign
      
    • 
      2. Grant’s strategy
      
    • 
      3. Siege of Petersburg
      
  • 
    B. Sherman’s march through the South
    
    • 
      1. Sherman’s pursuit of Johnston
      
    • 
      2. Davis replaces Johnston with John B. Hood
      
    • 
      3. Armies move in opposite directions
      
    • 
      4. Hood’s army destroyed at Franklin and Nashville
      
    • 
      5. Sherman’s destruction of Georgia
      
    • 
      6. Sherman moves into South Carolina
      
    • 
      7. Davis rejects calls for surrender within the Confederacy
      
  • 
    C. Lincoln’s second inaugural address
    
  • 
    D. Lee’s effort to escape the Petersburg siege
    
  • 
    E. Surrender at Appomattox
    
  • 
    F. Other Confederate forces surrender
    
  • 
    G. The Civil War as the first modern war
    
  • 
    H. Why the North won
    

1. What events led to the firing of the first shots of the Civil War?

2. What were the major strategies of the Civil War?

3. How did the war affect the home front in both the North and the South?

4. What were the reasons for the Emancipation Proclamation?

5. How did most enslaved people become free in the United States?

MAJOR GENERAL GEORGE MEADE'S ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, OCTOBER 1, 1863

Please read this document and answer the following questions.

Headquarters, Army of the Potomac

October 1, 1863

GENERAL: I have the honor to submit herewith a report of the operations of this army during the month of July last, including the details of the battle of Gettysburg, delayed by the failure to receive until now the reports of several corps and division commanders. Who were severely wounded in battle.

On June 28, I received the orders of the President of the United States placing me in command of the Army of the Potomac. The situation of affairs at that time was briefly as follows:

The Confederate army, commanded by General R.E. Lee, estimated at over 100,000 strong, of all arms, had crossed the Potomac River and advanced up the Cumberland Valley, Reliable intelligence, placed his advance (Ewell's corps) on the Susquehanna, at Harrisburg and Columbia . . . my own army, of which the most recent return showed an aggregate of a little over 100,000 was situated in and around Frederick, Md., extending from Harpers's Ferry to the mouth of the Monocacy, and from Middletown to Frederick.

June 28 was spent in ascertaining the position and strength of the different corps of the army, but principally in bringing up the cavalry, which had been covering the rear of the army in its passage over the Potomac. . . .

On the 30th . . . General Buford having reported from Gettysburg the appearance of the enemy on the Cashtown road in some force, General Reynolds was directed to occupy Gettysburg.

On reaching that place on July 1, General Reynolds found Buford's cavalry warmly engaged with the enemy . . . Major-General Reynolds immediately moved around the town of Gettysburg, and advanced upon the Cashtown road, and without a moment's hesitation deployed his advanced division and attacked his enemy. . . .

Up to this time the battle had been with the forces of the enemy debouching from the mountains on the Cashtown road, known the be Hill's corps. In the early part of the action, success was on our side . Wadsworth's division, of the First Corps, having driven the enemy back some distance, capturing numerous prisoners, among them General Archer, of the Confederate army. The arrival of re-enforcements for the enemy on the Cashtown road, and the junction of Ewell's corps, coming on the York and Harrisburg roads, which occurred between 1 and 2 P.M., enabled the enemy to bring vastly superior forces against both the First and Eleventh Corps, outflanking our line of battle, and pressing it so severely that about 4 p.m. Major-General Howard deemed it prudent to withdraw these two corps to the Cemetery Ridge, on the south side of the town, which operation was successfully accomplished; not, however, without considerable loss in prisoners, arising from the confusion incident to portions of both corps passing through the town, and the men getting confused in the streets.

About the time of this withdrawal, Major-General Hancock arrived, whom I had dispatched to represent me on the field, on hearing of the death of General Reynolds. In conjunction with Major-General Howard, General Hancock proceeded to post the troops on Cemetery Ridge, and to repel an attack that the enemy made on our right flank. This attack was not, however, very vigorous, and the enemy, seeing the strength of the position occupied, seemed to be satisfied with the success he had accomplished, desisting from any further attack this day.

About 7 P.M . . . [b]eing satisfied from the reports received from the field that it was the intention of the enemy to support with his whole army the attack already made, and the reports from Major Generals Hancock and Howard on the character of the position being favorable, I determined to give battle at this point; and, early in the evening of the 1st, issued orders to all the corps to concentrate at Gettysburg, directing all trains to be sent to the rear, at Westminster.

At 10 P.M. of the 1st, I broke up my headquarters, which until then had been at Taneytown, and proceeded to the field, arriving there at 1 A.M. of the 2d. So soon as it was light, I proceeded to inspect the position occupied, and to make arrangements for posting the several corps as they should reach the ground.

By 7 A.M. the Second and Fifth Corps, with the rest of the Third, had reached the ground, and were posted as follows: The Eleventh Corps retained its position on the Cemetery Ridge, just opposite the town; the First Corps was posted on the right of the Eleventh, on an elevated knoll connecting with a ridge extending to the south and east, on which the Twelfth Corps was placed, the right of the Twelfth Corps resting on a small stream at a point where it crossed the Baltimore pike, and which formed, on the right flank of the Twelfth, something of an obstacle. The Cemetery Ridge extended in a westerly and southerly direction, gradually diminishing in elevation until it came to a very prominent ridge called Round Top, running east and west. The Second and Third Corps were directed to occupy the continuation of the Cemetery Ridge on the left of the Eleventh Corps. The Fifth Corps, pending the arrival of the Sixth, was held in reserve.

While these dispositions were being made, the enemy was massing his troops on an exterior ridge, distant from the line occupied by us from 1 mile to 1 1/2 miles.

During the heavy assault upon our extreme left, portions of the Twelfth Corps were sent as re-enforcements. During their absence, the line on the extreme right was held by a very much reduced force. This was taken advantage of by the enemy, who, during the absence of Geary's division of the Twelfth Corps, advanced and occupied a part of his line.

With this exception, the quiet of the lines remained undisturbed till 1 P.M. on the 3d, when the enemy opened from over one hundred and twenty-five guns, playing upon our center and left. This cannonade continued for over two hours, when our guns, in obedience to my orders, failing to make any reply, the enemy ceased firing, and soon his masses of infantry became visible, forming for an assault on our left and left center. He assault was made with great firmness, directed principally against the point occupied by the Second Corps, and was repelled with equal firmness by the troops of that corps. . . . This terminated the battle, the enemy retiring to his lines, leaving the field strewn with his dead and wounded, and numerous prisoners in our hands.

On the morning of the 4th, reconnaissances developed that the enemy had drawn back his left flank, but maintained his position in front of our left, apparently assuming a new line parallel to the mountains.

On the morning of the 5th, it was ascertained the enemy was in full retreat by the Fairfield and Cashtown roads. . . .

July 5 and 6 were employed in succoring the wounded and burying the dead. . . . I determined to follow the enemy a flank movement, and, accordingly, leaving McIntosh's brigade of cavalry and Neill's brigade of infantry to continue harassing the enemy, put the army in motion for Middletown, Md.

The result of the campaign may be briefly stated in the defeat of the enemy at Gettysburg, his compulsory evacuation of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and withdrawal from the upper valley of the Shenandoah, and in the capture of 3 guns, 41 standards, and 13,621 prisoners; 24,978 small-arms were collected on the battle-field.

Our own losses were very sever, amounting, as will be seen by the accompanying return, to 2,834 killed, 13,709 . . . wounded, and 6,643 missing; in all, 23,286. . . .

It is impossible in a report of this nature to enumerate all the instances of gallantry and good conduct which distinguished such a hard-fought field as Gettysburg. . . . I will only add my tribute to the heroic bravery of the whole army, officers and men, which under the blessing of Divine Providence, enabled a crowning victory to be obtained, which I feel confident the country will never cease to bear in grateful remembrance.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

Gen. G. Meade,

Major-General, Commanding

Brig. Gen. Lorenzo Thomas,

Adjutant-General, U.S. Army, Washington D.C.

[From The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, vol. 1, part I (Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1889), pp. 305, 307–9, 324–25.]

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HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA

July 31, 1863

GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following outline of the recent operations of this army, for the information of the Department:

The position occupied by the enemy opposite Fredericksburg being one in which he could not be attacked to advantage, it was determined to draw him from it. The execution of this purpose embraced the relief of the Shenandoah Valley from the troops that had occupied the lower part of it during the winter and spring, and, if practicable, the transfer of the scene of hostilities north of the Potomac. It was thought that the corresponding movements on the part of the enemy to which those contemplated by us would probably give rise, might offer a fair opportunity to strike a blow at the army then commanded by General Hooker, and that in any event that army would be compelled to leave Virginia, and, possibly, to draw to its support troops designed to operate against other parts of the country. In this way, it was supposed that the enemy's plan of campaign for the summer would be broken up, and part of the season of active operations be consumed in the formation of new combinations, and the preparations that they would require. . . . Actuated by these and other important considerations that may hereafter be presented, the movement began on June 3. . . .

Preparations were . . . made to advance upon Harrisburg; but on the night of the 28th, information was received from a scout that the Federal Army, having crossed the Potomac, was advancing northward, and that the head of the column had reached the South Mountain. As our communications with the Potomac were thus menaced, it was resolved to prevent his farther progress in that direction by concentrating our army on the east side of the mountains. Accordingly, Longstreet and Hill were directed to proceed from Chambersburg to Gettysburg, to which point General Ewell was also instructed to march from Carlisle.

The leading division of Hill met the enemy in advance of Gettysburg on the morning of July 1. Driving back these troops to within a short distance of the town, he there encountered a larger force, with which two of his divisions became engaged, Ewell, coming up with two of his divisions by the Heidlersburg road, joined in the engagement. The enemy was driven through Gettysburg with heavy loss, including about 5,000 prisoners and several pieces of artillery. He retired to a high range of hills south and east of the town. The attack was not pressed that afternoon, the enemy's force being unknown, and it being considered advisable to await the arrival of the rest of our troops. Orders were sent back to hasten their march, and, in the meantime, every effort was made to ascertain the numbers and position of the enemy, and find the most favorable point of attack. It had not been intended to fight a general battle at such a distance from our base, unless attacked by the enemy, but, finding ourselves unexpectedly confronted by the Federal Army, it became a matter of difficulty to withdraw through the mountains with our large trains. At the same time, the country was unfavorable for collecting supplies while in the presence of the enemy's main body, as he was enabled to restrain our foraging parties by occupying the passes of the mountains with regular and local troops. A battle thus became in a measure, unavoidable. Encouraged by the successful issue of the engagement of the first day, and in view of the valuable results that would ensue from the defeat of the army of General Meade, it was thought advisable to renew the attack. . . .

The preparations for attack were not completed until the afternoon of the 2d. The enemy held a high and commanding ridge, along which he had massed a large amount of artillery. . . In front of General Longstreet the enemy held a position from which, if he could be driven, it was thought our artillery could be used to advantage in assailing the more elevated ground beyond, and thus enable us to reach the crest of the ridge. That officer was directed to endeavor to carry this position, while General Ewell attacked directly the high ground on the enemy's right, which had already been partially fortified. After a severe struggle, Longstreet succeeded in getting possession of and holding the desired ground. Ewell also carried some of the strong positions which he assailed and the result was such as to lead to the belief that he would ultimately be able to dislodge the enemy. The battle ceased at dark.

These partial successes determined me to continue the assault next day. Pickett, with three of his brigades, joined Longstreet for the following morning, and our batteries were moved forward to the positions gained by him the day before. The general plan of attack was unchanged excepting that one division and two brigades of Hill's corps were ordered to support Longstreet.

The enemy, in the meantime, had strengthened his lines with earthworks. The morning was occupied in necessary preparations and the battle recommenced in the afternoon of the 3d, and raged with great violence until sunset. Our troops succeeded in entering the advanced works of the enemy, and getting possession of some of his batteries, but our artillery having nearly expended its ammunition, the attacking columns became exposed to the heavy fire of the numerous batteries near the summit of the ridge, and, after a most determined and gallant struggle were compelled to relinquish their advantage, and fall back to their original positions with severe loss.

The conduct of the troops was all that I could desire or expect, and they deserve success so far as it can be deserved by heroic valor and fortitude. More may have been required of them than they were able to perform, but my admiration of their noble qualities and confidence in their ability to cope successfully with the enemy has suffered no abatement from the issue of this protracted and sanguinary conflict.

Owing to the strength of the enemy's position, and the reduction of our ammunition, a renewal of the engagement could not be hazarded, and the difficulty of procuring supplies rendered it impossible to continue longer where we were. Such of the wounded as were in condition to be removed, and part of the arms collected on the field, were ordered to Williamsport.

The army remained in Gettysburg during the 4th, and at night began to retire by the road to Fairfield, carrying with it about 4,000 prisoners. Nearly 2,000 had previously been paroled, but the enemy's numerous wounded that had fallen into our hands after the first and second day's engagements were left behind.

The highest praise is due to both officers and men for their conduct during the campaign. The privations and hardships of the march and camp were cheerfully encountered, and borne with a fortitude unsurpassed by our ancestors in their struggle for independence, while their courage in battle entitles them to rank with the soldiers of any army and of any time. Their forbearance and discipline under strong provocation to retaliate for the cruelty of the enemy to our own citizens, is not their least claim to the respect and admiration of their countrymen and of the world.

I forward returns of our loss in killed, wounded, and missing. Many of the latter were killed or wounded in the several assaults at Gettysburg, and necessarily left in the hands of the enemy. I cannot speak of these brave men as their merits and exploits deserve. Some of them are appropriately mentioned in the accompanying reports, and the memory of all will be gratefully and affectionately cherished by the people in whose defense they fell. There were captured at Gettysburg nearly 7,000 prisoners, of whom about 1,500 were paroled, and the remainder brought to Virginia. Seven pieces of artillery were also secured.

Respectfully submitted.

R.E. Lee

[From The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, vol. 27, part I (Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1889), pp. 114–19.]

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