Description:

Gen. Abner Doubleday writes out his aide's desperate telegram during Gettysburg, his finest performance in the Civil War; "July 1st Gettysburg. General Sickles. General Doubleday (First Corps) says for God's sake come up with all speed. They are pressing us hard ..."

Autograph Letter Signed "Abner Doubleday / Bvt Maj Genl U.S.A," 1 page, 5" x 8". Mendham, N.J., February 10, 1885. To E.C. Brown, New York City. On the integral leaf, Doubleday has penned a copy of a dispatch sent to General Daniel Sickles at Gettysburg, indicating it is a true copy, in effect, of another Autograph Letter Signed "Abner Doubleday / Bvt Maj Genl U.S.A." with "General Doubleday" in the text. Fine condition.

On the integral leaf, Doubleday has penned "July 1st Gettysburg. General Sickles. General Doubleday (First Corps) says for God's sake come up with all speed. They are pressing us hard. (signed) H.T. Lee Lt & A.D.C. Sent by a staff officer to General Sickles at Emmetsburg. A true copy. Abner Doubleday Bvt Maj Genl. U.S.A."

"To Mr. E.C. Brown / Artist / Nos 39 and 41 Park Place / New York City." In full, "I am glad to hear that you intend to illustrate the Scribner Series. It will give much more interest and value to its volumes. I hardly know what to give you in relation to that period of the war but I enclose a copy of a dispatch sent July 1st 1863 when the battle was at its height. Yours Truly Abner Doubleday / Bvt Maj Genl U.S.A (over)"

At the start of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, Doubleday's division was the second infantry division on the field to reinforce the cavalry division of Brigadier General John Buford. When his corps commander, Major Genera John F. Reynolds was killed very early in the fighting, Doubleday found himself in command of the corps at 10:50 am. His men fought well in the morning, putting up a stout resistance, but as overwhelming Confederate forces massed against them, their line eventually broke and they retreated back through the town of Gettysburg to the relative safety of Cemetery Hill south of town. It was Doubleday's finest performance during the war, five hours leading 9,500 men against ten Confederate brigades that numbered more than 16,000.

Seven of those brigades sustained casualties that ranged from 35 to 50 percent, indicating the ferocity of the Union defense. On Cemetery Hill, however, the I Corps could muster only a third of its men as effective for duty, and the corps was essentially destroyed as a combat force for the rest of the battle; it would be decommissioned in March 1864, its surviving units consolidated into other corps.

On July 2, 1863, Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade replaced Doubleday with Major General John Newton, a more junior officer from another corps. The ostensible reason was a false report by XI Corps commander Major General Oliver O. Howard that Doubleday's corps broke first, causing the entire Union line to collapse, but Meade also had a long history of disdain for Doubleday's combat effectiveness, dating back to South Mountain. Doubleday was humiliated by this snub and held a lasting grudge against Meade, but he returned to division command and fought well for the remainder of the battle. He was wounded in the neck on the second day of Gettysburg and received a brevet promotion to colonel in the regular army for his service. He formally requested reinstatement as I Corps commander, but Meade refused, and Doubleday left Gettysburg on July 7, 1863, for Washington.

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