Michael W.
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2015
- Location
- The Hoosier State
Hey folks, I'm doing a survey among the forum members asking your opinion about who had final command authority in the late afternoon hours at Gettysburg on 1 July. This is for a research paper I'm just starting on. To do a brief summary for those who are not familiar with the incident that occurred: On the first day of fighting, after Major-General Reynolds was killed, overall command authority fell to Major-General Oliver O. Howard, commanding the 11th Corps. He would remain in command throughout the day, until the arrival of Major-General Winfield S. Hancock, who arrived on the field somewhere between 4 and 4:30 pm. Hancock had written orders in hand by the commanding general, George Meade, to take command of all forces on the field until the eventual arrival of Major-General Henry Slocum, commanding the 12th Corps.
The problem with this order was that Howard outranked Hancock, and military protocol was that the highest ranking officer on the field had final authority. Hancock knew this, and foreseeing trouble, said as much to Meade. General Meade was not concerned by this, and gave Hancock his full support. It did become an issue, though only a minor one, but years after the war Hancock and Howard would each argue that they were in overall command from the late afternoon hours until 7 pm, when Slocum finally arrived. This situation created a direct command conflict, military protocol, which was on Howard's side, verses Hancock, who was directly ordered to take command. So what do you think, who was right? I would appreciate if @Eric Wittenberg would weigh in on this one...
The problem with this order was that Howard outranked Hancock, and military protocol was that the highest ranking officer on the field had final authority. Hancock knew this, and foreseeing trouble, said as much to Meade. General Meade was not concerned by this, and gave Hancock his full support. It did become an issue, though only a minor one, but years after the war Hancock and Howard would each argue that they were in overall command from the late afternoon hours until 7 pm, when Slocum finally arrived. This situation created a direct command conflict, military protocol, which was on Howard's side, verses Hancock, who was directly ordered to take command. So what do you think, who was right? I would appreciate if @Eric Wittenberg would weigh in on this one...