Historicus

In the book I'm read on George Meade, it talks briefly about Historicus. A little background is needed on Historicus before I head off in the direction I want to go. Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, when Meade sent off his Official Report, he wasn't very flattering to General Daniel Sickles for moving his men 3/4 mile ahead of the position he was supposed to be in. Shortly after, a letter to the editor appeared in the Herald making sure that the world knew what kind of a hero Dan Sickles was and that Gen. Meade was the bad guy. This letter was signed "Historicus". The letter was really very insulting to General Meade and truly made General Sickles the "Hero of Gettysburg". But the question remained: Who was Historicus? Who wrote this letter. Now, I would love to put it in this blog, but the letter is really long....so instead, here is the link to the letter: www.civilwarhome.com/historicusarticle.htm

Who was Historicus??? The question that has plagued historians for 145 years. Just who was he and why was he writing the things that he did? Whether you like Dan Sickles or not, there is just no way that he can be made the "Hero". But someone had to have written that article and who was it? Well lets narrow down the choices.

In the Freeman Cleaves book that I am reading, it comes right out and says that John Bachelder was Historicus. John Bachelder was the "official" historian of the Gettysburg battlefield. He was responsible for establishing just where the lines that the men took were and the placement of the monuments. He had many, many first hand accounts of the battle from the participants. He was also on the staff of Dan Sickles. Hmmmm....was it him?

But both Generals Meade and Halleck believe that Historicus was Dan Sickles himself. Who else would try to promote Dan Sickles as a hero, but Dan Sickles himself? He did go to Washington to recuperate after his wounding and was able to speak to President Lincoln about what he felt Meade did wrong (and boy did he talk). But would he have written this letter?

There is also the possibility that Dan Butterfield wrote it. Now, Butterfield was Meade's Chief of Staff (only through default) but he was pretty tight with Dan Sickles.

There are others that have been mentioned over the years that might be Historicus. No one knows (despite what Mr. Cleaves states) for sure who he was....but whoever it was, it was someone with a vendetta against Meade and a love for Sickles. Gen. Meade was highly upset about this letter....and he had a right to be....but history has proven that despite what Historicus wrote, Gen. Meade did a good job at Gettysburg considering that he had only been in power for a few days prior to the battle. It was a Northern victory....one that was long overdue....and General Meade can take credit for it....despite what Historicus wrote.

But the question still remains: Who was Historicus?????