Letters to the Editor — April 2020

Originally published April 2020 · p. 2

To The Editor: Regarding the article entitled Stuart shields retreat from Gettysburg by Carl Sell Jr. which I found both enjoyable and enlightening, I would like to clarify or expand on a few items discussed in the article. West Virginia was a state at the time of the retreat from Gettysburg rather than later as implied in the article; Gen. John Bell Hood’s Division attacked the left flank of the Union army on July 2, not just Little Round Top; Gen. Stuart captured a Union signal party operating at a station on Jack’s Mountain just west of Fairfield, Penn.; and Gen. Robert E. Lee was not on hand to assist Gen. John Imboden establish a defensive position at Williamsport, Md. Otherwise, I thought the article provided an interesting perspective regarding Jeb Stuart’s cavalry and its adventures in screening Lee’s forces from the pursuing Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George G. Meade following the battle at

Gettysburg. For anyone who would like to read more about Lee’s retreat from Gettysburg, I recommend my award-winning book, recently released from Savas Beatie, titled “Lee is Trapped and Must Be Taken”: Eleven Fateful Days after Gettysburg, July 4-14, 1863. Thomas J. Ryan Bethany Beach, DE