Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 20.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

Rosecrans, in his report of September 10, 1863, the last made before the battle, has 63,143 effectives, after deducting all detachments which were absent. (Official Records, Vol. XXX, p. 169.)

In order to get absolutely correct statistics of Bragg's army in this battle, the writer has gone through the regimental, brigade and division reports made at the time, and they show that Bragg had effectives of all arms, 53,124. Summarized, it is as follows: Federals 63,143; Confederates, 53,124; Federal excess, 10,019.

The losses were, Federals killed, 1,656; wounded, 9,749; captured, 4,774; total, 16,179. Confederates killed, 2,389; wounded, 13,412; captured, 2,003; total, 17,804.

The abstract of returns for Rosecrans' army on September 20, the day after the great battle of the 19th, is as follows: Present for duty, 67,877; present equipped, 60,867.

If Rosecrans had 60,867 equipped for duty on the morning of the 20th, after the great losses of the day before, it is not possible that he had more than 63,143 at the beginning of the fight?

At 5.40 P. M. on the 22d General Rosecrans telegraphed to Mr. Lincoln from Chattanooga that ‘we are about 30,000 brave and determined men.’

Rosecrans' army had occupied Chattanooga several weeks before the battle of Chickamauga, and was just as much in possession of Chattanooga before the battle of Chickamauga as after that event. In his congratulatory address to his army, after they had been driven back on Chattanooga after two days of bloody battle, he says: ‘When the day closed you held the field, from which you withdrew in the face of overpowering numbers to occupy the point for which you set out—Chattanooga.’

Had Napoleon, when reaching Paris after the disastrous rout of Waterloo, issued to the survivors of the Old Guard an address congratulating them on the fact that they occupied ‘the point for which they set out—Paris,’ would not the world have considered it an unpardonable satire on their heroism?

The scene now shifts to Virginia. General McClellan with the best organized army seen since the days of Napoleon, advances on Richmond. He advances till the spires and towers of the capital city are in full view of his beleaguering army. The front of every division and corps is girdled with abattis and breastworks. Chickahominy is an entrenched camp from Mechanicsville to Malvern Hill. The authorities at Washington urged McClellan on, but he would