some six miles, and the enemy was between Meade and
the river. The Potomac, swelled by the recent rain, was boiling and
swift and deep, a magnificent place to have drowned all the Rebel crew.
I have not the least doubt but that Gen. Meade would have liked to drown
them all, if he could, but they were unwilling to be drowned, and would
fight first. To drive them into the river then, they must be routed.
Gen. Meade, I believe, favored an attack upon the enemy at that time,
and he summoned his corps commanders to a council upon the subject. The
1st corps was represented by William Hayes, the 3d by French, the 5th by
Sykes, the 6th by Sedgwick, the 11th by Howard, the 12th by Slocum, and
the Cavalry by Pleasanton. Of the eight generals there, Wadsworth,
Howard and Pleasanton were in favor of immediate attack, and five,
Hayes, French, Sykes, Sedgwick and Slocum were not in favor of attack
until better information was obtained of the position and situation of
the enemy. Of the _pros_ Wadsworth only temporarily represented the 1st
corps in the brief absence of Newton, who, had a battle occurred, would
have commanded. Pleasanton, with his horses, would have been a spectator
only, and Howard, with the _brilliant 11th corps_, would have been
trusted nowhere but a safe distance from the enemy--not by Gen. Howard's
fault, however, for he is a good and brave man. Such was the position of
those who felt sanguinarily inclined. Of the _cons_ were all of the
fighting generals of the fighting corps, save the 1st. This, then, was
the feeling of these generals--all who would have had no responsibility
or part in all probability, _hankered_ for a fight--those who would have
had both part and responsibility, did not. The attack was not made. At
daylight on the morning of the 14th, strong reconnoissances from the
12th, 2d and 5th corps were the means of discovering that between the
enemy, except a thousand or fifteen hundred of his rear guard, who fell
into our hands, and the Army of the Potomac, rolled the rapid, unbridged
river. The Rebel General, Pettigrew, was here killed. The enemy had
constructed bridges, had crossed during all the preceding night, but so
close were our cavalry and infantry upon him in the morning, that the
bridges were destroyed before his rear guard had all crossed.

Among the considerations influencing these generals against the
propriety of attack at that time, were probably the following: The army
was wearied and wo