GENERAL ABNER DOUBLEDAY'S PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG WITH 7 MAPS, HAND-DRAWN BY THE GENERAL

Provenance: Marshall D. Krolick Collection

Autograph document by Abner Doubleday. N.p., n.d. 6 pages, folio, with 7 hand-drawn maps. 

WITH Vignetted albumen CDV bust-length portrait of General Doubleday in uniform. New York: C.D. Fredericks & Co., n.d. Photographer's imprint and pencil identification to mount verso. 

An unpublished, historic manuscript by Major General Abner Doubleday, offering his firsthand account of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated with seven maps that General Doubleday drew himself to document the unfolding of events. Though the reason for creating this document is not explicitly stated, it may have been an effort to preserve an unfiltered account before the narrative was shaped by those with louder voices or higher rank.

A stark and unsentimental battlefield narrative, General Abner Doubleday’s account of Gettysburg is not only a meticulous record of the battle, but a firsthand indictment of the institutional vanity and petty rivalries that shaped its aftermath.

The manuscript focuses primarily on this first day, with Doubleday providing a clear and thorough account, enhanced by maps that mark troop positions and terrain features. He documents the collapse of the Union line, the retreat through the town of Gettysburg, and the reformation on Cemetery Hill with notable clarity. His summary of the day’s events includes a pointed defense of his tactical choices: “I do not see how I could better the position of the 1st Corps... Neither Genl Meade or anybody else has found any fault with this battle.” The account also hints at the long-standing tension between Doubleday and General Oliver O. Howard. He suggests that Howard’s failure to support his corps contributed to the retreat, and that Howard later misrepresented the facts in official reports. Doubleday writes: “Through the influence of personal spite Genl. M. superseded me as soon as he heard the battle had commenced, but my successor did not arrive until after the battle was won.”

Doubleday’s descriptions of the second and third days are shorter but just as telling. On July 2, he writes that his men helped retake lost Union guns and even captured Confederate artillery, only to be overlooked in Meade’s official report: “Genl. Meade has not mentioned this in his official report or given my men any credit for it.” On the third day, Doubleday describes how his troops helped repel Pickett’s Charge and later found a trove of abandoned Confederate artillery, which he believes could have been captured outright had Meade acted more swiftly: “Meade was informed of this but delayed so long that it finally became too late.”

A compelling and important eyewitness document from one of Gettysburg’s key figures, offering not only a tactical record but a candid view into the inner workings of the Union command.

Abner Doubleday (1819 - 1893) was a career officer shaped by both inheritance and discipline. Military service ran in his family: his paternal grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War, his maternal grandfather served as a mounted courier for George Washington, and his father was a veteran of the War of 1812. Doubleday followed suit, graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1842 and serving in the Mexican-American War, the Seminole Wars, and various coastal commands.

By the outbreak of the Civil War, he had risen to the rank of captain and was second in command at Fort Sumter. When Confederate forces opened fire on 12 April 1861, it was Doubleday who aimed and ordered the first Union shot in reply. Promotions followed. At Second Bull Run, he acted decisively in covering the Union retreat. He was wounded at South Mountain and again at Antietam, where he led troops into the thick of the fighting in the Cornfield and West Woods. Widely regarded as a steady and courageous officer, he rose through the ranks and was appointed Major General of Volunteers in November 1862.

Doubleday saw his finest hour at the Battle of Gettysburg. His division was the second infantry force to reach the field, supporting Brigadier General John Buford’s cavalry. When Major General John F. Reynolds was killed early in the day, command of the I Corps fell to Doubleday. He led 9,500 Union troops against 16,000 Confederate attackers, holding the line with such effectiveness that several Confederate brigades suffered casualty rates as high as 50 percent.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Gettysburg, Little Round Top, Culp's Hill, Pickett's Charge, Devil’s Den] [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs]