The Photographic History of The Civil War: in ten volumes, Thousands of Scenes Photographed 1861-65, with Text by many Special Authorities, Volume 10: The Armies and the Leaders.
Francis Trevelyan Miller, Ed.

[117]

Chapter 5: losses in the battles of the Civil War, and what they mean

Hilary A. Herbert Late Colonel, Eighth Alabama Infantry, Confederate States Army, and late Secretary of the Navy of the United States

Men of the famous ‘Vermont brigade,’ all from the one state, which suffered more heavily than any other Federal brigade during the war—within a week at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, it lost 1,645 out of 2,100 effective men

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[120]

Statistics of losses in battles do not furnish an unfailing test of courage. Mistakes of officers, unavoidable surprises—these, now and then, occasion losses that soldiers did not knowingly face, and there are sometimes other reasons why the carnage in a particular command in this battle or that does not with accuracy indicate steadfast bravery. Such statistics, however, as all military experts agree, do tell a graphic story, when exceptional instances are not selected.

Colonel Dodge, in his Bird's-eye view of our Civil War, exhibits statistics showing the percentage of losses in the most notable battles fought since 1745, and from them deduces this conclusion, ‘It thus appears that in ability to stand heavy pounding, since Napoleon's Waterloo campaign, the American has shown himself preeminent.’

Colonel Dodge would have been justified in going much further. Waterloo itself, the most famous of the world's battles, does not show such fighting as Americans did at Sharpsburg (Antietam), Gettysburg, or Chickamauga.

In Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War, by Lieutenant-Colonel G. F. R. Henderson, a British military expert, is a complete list of killed and wounded in great battles from 1704 to 1882, inclusive. Since Eylau, 1807, there has been no great battle in which the losses of the victor—the punishment he withstood to gain his victory—equal the twenty-seven per cent. of the Confederates in their victory at Chickamauga.

The Henderson tables give the losses of both sides in each [121]

[122] battle, but indicate the percentage of those suffered by the victors only. These show fighting losses. In losses by a defeated army, those received in retreating cannot be separated from those received in fighting. If, however, a defeated army is not routed, but retires, still in fighting condition, and the foe is so crippled that he cannot make effective pursuit, as was the case at Chickamauga, or if the defeated army does not leave the field at all, until, say, twenty-four hours after the battle, as was the case with the Confederates at Sharpsburg and Gettysburg, the losses on both sides are to be counted as fighting losses, and their percentage is a fair measure of ‘capacity to stand pounding.’

Gaged, then, by this standard, which for large armies in a great battle is absolutely fair, Waterloo is eclipsed by Gettysburg; Gettysburg is eclipsed by Sharpsburg, and Sharpsburg eclipsed by Chickamauga.

Here are some of Colonel Henderson's percentages, which tell the story, the percentage of the Federal losses at Chickamauga being calculated from Henderson's figures. At Waterloo, the victors' loss was twenty per cent. At Gettysburg, the victors lost also twenty per cent. But, at Waterloo, the French army dissolved; at Gettysburg, the Confederates held to their position nearly all the following day, and the majority of the Confederates did not know they had been defeated there until after the war.

At Sharpsburg, their victory cost the Federals not twenty, but twenty-three per cent., and the Confederates held fast to their position all the next day.

At Chickamauga, their victory cost the Confederates twenty-seven per cent., and the Federals, inflicting this loss, retreated; but General Thomas, the ‘Rock of Chickamauga,’ still held fast to prevent pursuit, and Rosecrans' army was ready to fight the next day. At Waterloo, the entire loss in killed and wounded, of the French, was thirty-one per cent. [123]

[124] this loss utterly destroyed the army. The Federals at Chickamauga withstood a loss practically the same-thirty per cent. —and still successfully defied the Confederates to attack them in Chattanooga.

the percentage of loss in battle by an entire army is, of course, obtained by including all present—those participating slightly, or even not at all, as well as those who bore the brunt of the fight.

bearing this in mind, the reader will note to the credit of these troops that the dreadful losses sustained at Sharpsburg by the Fifteenth Massachusetts, Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania, Ninth New York. Twelfth Massachusetts, First Delaware, and other regiments; at Stone's River, December 31, 1862, by the Eighteenth United States Infantry, Twenty-Second Illinois, and other regiments; at Gettysburg, by the Twenty-Fourth Michigan, one hundred and eleventh New York, First Minnesota, one hundred and Twenty-sixth New York, and one hundred and fifty-first Pennsylvania, were all suffered while the Federals were winning victories—suffered fighting, not in retreating.

so, also, the losses at the Wilderness of the Second Vermont, Fourth Vermont, and Ninety-third New York, occurred when the Federals, for the most part, held their ground. And nearly all the astonishing losses of the Confederate regiments were suffered when they were either winning victories or stubbornly holding on to the field of battle.

Altogether, the casualties in the greatest of the battles of the Civil War, whether considered in the aggregate or in the tragic light of regimental losses, make up a wonderful record. In Étude sur les caracteres generaux de la guerre d'extreme Orient, par Le Capitaine Brevete F. Cullmann, Paris, 1909, the percentage of Federal losses at Gettysburg is given [125]

[126] as twenty-three, the Confederate loss as thirty-two; the Japanese loss at Mukden as 14.1 and at Lio-Yang as 18.5. these were the bloodiest of the much lauded Japanese victories. This fighting does not compare with that in the American Civil War.

in the great Franco-Prussian War there is but one battle in which the percentage of the victor's loss is at all in the same class in the American Civil War, and that is Vionville, 1870, where the victor's loss was twenty-two, as compared with twenty-seven at Chickamauga. So it may be said fairly that, for a century, the world has seen no such stubborn fighter as the American soldier.

in studying the statistics of the various regiments whose losses are tabulated in this volume, the reader will discover that very many of these were suffered in great battles, the nature of which has been told briefly; and he must remember that neither of the armies suffered at any time any such signal defeat as would account for very heavy losses. The First Manassas (Bull Run) is no exception to this. The Confederates did not follow, and their losses in killed and wounded were heavier than those of the Federals.

what some of the foreign military experts think of us as fighters we may learn by extracts taken from their writings, italicizing at will. The late Lieutenant-Colonel Henderson was professor of military art and history at the staff College of great Britain. He says, in his The science of War:

the War of secession was waged on so vast a scale, employed so large a part of the manhood of both North and South America, aroused to such a degree the sympathies of the entire nation, and, in its brilliant achievements, both by land and sea, bears such splendid testimony to the energy and fortitude of their race, that in the minds of the American people it has roused an interest which shows no sign of abating.

further on in the same essay he states:

now, if there is one thing more than another apparent to the student of the Civil War, it is that the soldiers on both sides were exceedingly well matched in courage and endurance.

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the forces here credited with these ‘brilliant achievements’ in 1861-65 are now thoroughly united, and would stand shoulder to shoulder against a foreign foe. Our population has increased threefold, while our military resources, our capacity to equip and to convey food to armies, to manufacture arms, and to build ships, even in the interior if need be, has increased tenfold. Our rivers still traverse the land, but the art of mining waters, practised with some success by the Confederates, has developed until no foe would think of exploiting these rivers with vessels in advance of troops.

Aye, but the spirit of our people, say the alarmists— we have lost patriotism, become commercialized, money-mad, and have now no militant instinct. To an old Confederate this prattle about our people being ‘commercialized’ is especially amusing. It carries him back to 1860-61. in the hot sectional animosities that brought on the War he had imbibed that same idea about the North—the ‘Yankee’ now worshiped ‘the Almighty Dollar,’ and in his all-absorbing struggle for it had lost the spirit that animated his forefathers at Lexington, Bunker Hill, and Saratoga. When the news of Manassas came, many an ambitious Confederate who was so unfortunate as not to have been there, felt like going into mourning. He was never to have a chance to ‘flesh his maiden sword.’ but the young Confederate was miscalculating. The exasperated North roused itself, after Manassas, like an angry lion pricked by the spear of the hunter, and soon we were to hear its roar.

in reference to inexperienced volunteers, it must be said, as every veteran of the Civil War knows, that it was not always the oldest regiments that were the bravest. In the gallant, though finally unsuccessful, assault that was made by the Federals at Salem Church, May 3, 1863, just where the Confederate line was broken for a time, the official reports show that the one hundred and twenty-first New York was in the [129]

[130] forefront, and its gallant Colonel Upton in his report says this was the regiment's first battle. Its loss, as officially reported, was two hundred and twenty-two killed and wounded.

at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, Franklin with the Federal left broke through Jackson's lines. The Confederates restored their line after heavy losses, and in this counterstroke a North Carolina regiment, fresh from home, drove headlong through the Northern lines and was with difficulty recalled. The apology of one of its privates, when it got back into line, caused a laugh all through the army. ‘if we had a-knowed how to fight like you fellows, we could have done better!’

in the work: Der Burgerkrieg in den Nordamerikanischen Staaten, by Major Scheibert, of the German Engineer Corps, the author says:

after the European cavalry had been discredited in the wars of 1854 and 1859, the American mounted troops brought genuine joy to the heart of every true cavalryman, showing by their service and bravery that a better future might yet be in store for the European cavalry. We could not help sympathizing with the rise of the true spirit of knighthood without fear or blame, and with the many gallant deeds which promised better results.

we could multiply indefinitely these extracts, but space forbids. From the preface to the work of Cecil Battine, captain, Fifteenth, the King's, Hussars, entitled: The crisis of the Confederacy, and History of Gettysburg and the Wilderness, the following is taken:

the History of the American Civil War still remains the most important theme for the student and the statesman because it was waged between adversaries of the highest intelligence and courage, who fought by land and sea over an enormous area with every device within the reach of human ingenuity, and who had to create every organization needed for the purpose after the struggle had begun. The admiration which the valor of the Confederate soldiers fighting against superior numbers and resources excited in Europe; the dazzling genius [131]

Major-generals commanding divisions and Corps: Federal generals killed in battle group no. 2

Philip Kearny Chantilly September 1, 1862.	Isaac I. Stevens, Chantilly September 1, 1862.	Israel B. Richardson, Antietam November 3, 1862.
Amiel W. Whipple, Chancellorsville May, 7, 1863.	Hiram G. berry, Chancellorsville May 3, 1863.	Jesse L. Reno, South Mountain September 14, 1862.

   

[132] of some of the Confederate generals, and, in some measure, jealousy at the power of the United States have ranged the sympathies of the world during the war and ever since to a large degree on the side of the vanquished. Justice has hardly been done to the armies which arose time and again from sanguinary repulses, and from disasters more demoralizing than any repulse in the field, because they were caused by political and military incapacity in high places, to redeem which the soldiers freely shed their blood, as it seemed, in vain. if the heroic endurance of the Southern people and the fiery valor of the Southern armies thrill us to-day with wonder and admiration, the stubborn tenacity and courage which succeeded in preserving intact the heritage of the American nation, and which triumphed over foes so formidable, are not less worthy of praise and imitation. the Americans still hold the world's record for hard fighting.

this extract brings to mind that what impressed the Confederate in Lee's Army with most admiration for the Army of the Potomac was, not its brave stand at Malvern Hill following a series of disasters, not its dogged perseverance when attacking an impregnable position at Marye's Heights, not its indomitable spirit at the ‘bloody Angle,’ Spotsylvania, but the fact that no mistakes of its generals or of the authorities at Washington ever caused it to lose heart. Always and everywhere it fought bravely when given a chance. There never was but one Bull Run. Three successive changes were made in its commanders, from Yorktown to the Wilderness, and yet that gallant Army never lost faith in itself, as the following incident illustrates. In the winter of 1863-64, the writer, then an officer in Lee's Army, met between the picket lines near Orange Court House, Virginia, a lieutenant of a New York regiment. During our conversation the lieutenant said, ‘well, we are on the road to Richmond again.’ ‘Yes,’ was the reply; ‘but you will never get there.’ ‘Oh, Yes, we will after a while,’ said the lieutenant, ‘and if you will swap generals with us, we'll be there in three weeks.’ just before we parted, the lieutenant proposed, ‘here's my toast: May the best man win!’ and we drank it heartily. [133]

[134]

Major G. W. Redway, referring to the volunteers of the Army of the Potomac, 1864, writes as follows:

the American volunteer who had survived such battles as Bull Run, Shiloh, Antietam, and the Seven Days fighting around Richmond, was probably such a soldier as the world had never seen before. he needed no instruction as to his duty in the field, and, in fact, often exercised the functions of instructor both to officers and men less experienced than himself.

the impressions Federal and Confederate soldiers made on foreign critics were not lost on themselves. They were testing each other's courage, endurance, and patriotism, and coming to understand the situation as well. Four-fifths of the Confederates had never owned a slave. It was not slavery —both armies were fighting for the preservation of the same free institutions, for what each believed to be his Constitutional rights.

the first step toward reunion was being taken when picket shooting was stopped; and the armies of Northern Virginia and of the Potomac went far beyond that, when encamped on opposite banks of the Rappahannock, near Fredericksburg, during the winter and spring of 1862-63. they chatted, traded tobacco for sugar and coffee, and frequently visited each other across the narrow stream. A Confederate officer riding along the bank visiting his outposts was often saluted by a picket across the river, within easy gunshot. Similar compliments passed between pickets in gray and officers in blue. These soldiers were testifying their respect for each other, with little idea, on the part of the Confederates, that they would ever again be fellow countrymen.

eventually both generals, Hooker and Lee, issued orders strictly forbidding all intercommunication. Just after these orders, an incident occurred which the writer long ago gave to the newspapers in the hope, which proved vain, that he might hear from the Union soldier. A Confederate officer [135]

[136] rode suddenly out of the woods on to his picket-post at Scott's dam, just above Banks' Ford. A Federal soldier was nearing the south bank of the river, newspaper in hand. The soldier reluctantly came ashore, insisting that he should be allowed to return; the Confederate pickets had promised it. ‘Yes,’ was the reply, ‘but they violated orders, and you violated orders on your side when you came over, and I happen to know it. Orders must be obeyed. You are my prisoner.’ the soldier, who was a big, manly fellow, stood straight as an arrow, looked the officer in the face, and with tears in his eyes, said: ‘Colonel, shoot me, if you want to, but for God's sake don't take me prisoner. I have been in the army only six weeks. I have never been in battle, and if I am taken prisoner under these circumstances, I will never get over it—it will always be believed that I deserted.’

the officer hesitated for a moment, and then said, ‘give me that paper and go, and tell your people you are the last man that will ever come over here and get back.’ such an incident at the outset of the war would have been inconceivable.

it was in this spirit of kindly regard for each other that the war between the two armies went on, from Fredericksburg to Appomattox. It manifested itself with increasing tenderness after every bloody battle. It inspired Grant when he said to Lee, ‘your men will need their horses to make a crop.’ it animated Grant's soldiers when they gave no cheer at the surrender, and when they divided their rations with the men who, in tears, laid down their arms. It did not die when the Confederates accepted the results of the war.

time has only hallowed the memory of the glorious manhood displayed in those days by the men of both armies. The soldiers, had their sentiments prevailed, would soon have bound up the wounds of war, as they did those received in battle. But politicians, for a time, interfered. [137]

[138]

of untold benefit have been the meeting of the Philadelphia brigade and Pickett's men at Gettysburg, the visits of Massachusetts soldiers to Richmond, and of Virginia Confederates to Boston, and many similar occasions. These, coupled with the strewing of flowers, in 1867, by Southern women at Columbus, Mississippi, on the graves of Union soldiers, which brought from a Northern man that beautiful poem, The Blue and the Gray, and a thousand similar incidents, have resulted in those acts that passed in Congress by unanimous votes, one providing for a Confederate section in Arlington Cemetery, the other looking to the care of the Confederate dead at Arlington and around the Federal prisons in the North.

Presidents Cleveland, McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft have each and all, by deeds and words, had their full share in the work of perfect reunion. And all over the land there are monuments to the dead of the Civil War, bearing inscriptions that will outlast the marble and bronze upon which they are written. Such is the legend on the monument built by the State of Pennsylvania to its dead at Vicksburg, ‘here brothers fought for their principles, here heroes died to save their country, and a united people will forever cherish the precious legacy of their noble manhood.’

another such is on a monument erected by the State of New Jersey, and the survivors of the Twenty-third New Jersey volunteers at Salem Church, Virginia. On one side is an appropriate inscription to their own dead; on the other, a bronze tablet bearing this magnanimous tribute, ‘to the brave Alabama boys who were our opponents on this field and whose memory we honor, this tablet is dedicated.’ that is a tribute, not by a Government, but directly by the men who fought to the men who fought them. It is truly noble. [139]

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Casualties in great European battles

Compiled from Henderson's

Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War

list of killed and wounded (excluding prisoners) the victorious side is given first in each case

Battle	Number of troops	killed and wounded	Total	Total Percentage	Percentage of victor
Blenheim, 1704	Allies, 56,000	11,000	31,000	26	19
	French, 60,000	20,000
Oudenarde, 1708	Allies, 85,000	10,000	20,000	11	11
	French, 85,000	10,000
Malplaquet, 1709	Allies, 100,000	14,000	34,000	17	14
	French, 100,000	20,000
Prague, 1757	Prussians, 64,000	12,000	22,000	17	18
	Austrians, 60,000	10,000
Zorndorf, 1758	Prussians, 32,760	12,000	32,000	38	37
	Russians, 52,000	20,000
Kunnersdorf, 1759	Allies, 70,000	14,000	31,000	27	20
	Prussians, 43,000	17,000
Torgau, 1760	Prussians, 46,000	12,000	24,000	22	26
	Austrians, 60,000	12,000
Austerlitz, 1805	French, 65,000	9,000	25,000	16	13
	Allies, 83,000	16,000
Eylau, 1807	French, 70,000	20,000	42,000	33	28
	Russians, 63,500	22,000
Heilsberg, 1807	Russians, 84,000	10,000	22,000	13	11
	French, 85,000	12,000
Friedland, 1807	French, 75,000	10,000	34,000	23	13
	Russians, 67,000	24,000
Aspern, 1809	Austrians, 75,000	20,000	45,000	26	26
	French, 95,000	25,000
Wagram, 1809	French, 220,000	22,000	44,000.	11	10
	Austrians, 150,000	22,000
Borodino, 1812	French, 125,000	30,000	75,000	28	24
	Russians, 138,000	45,000
Bautzen, 1813	French, 190,000	12,000	24,000	8	6
	Allies, 110,000	12,000
Leipsic, 1813	Allies, 290,000	42,000	92,000	20	14
	French, 150,000	50,000
Ligny, 1815	French, 73,000	12,000	24,000	15	16
	Prussians, 86,000	12,000
Waterloo, 1815	Allies, 100,000	20,000	42,000	24	20
	French, 70,000	22,000
Solferino, 1859	Allies, 135,000	16,500	31,500	10	11
	Austrians, 160,000	15,000
Koniggratz, 1866	Prussians, 211,000	8,894	26,894	6	4
	Austrians, 206,000	18,000
Vionville, 1870	Germans, 70,000	15,800	32,800	19	22
	French, 98,000	17,000
Gravelotte, 1870	Germans, 200,000	20,000	30,000	9	10
	French, 120,000	10,000
Plevna, September 11, 1877	Turks, 35,000	16,000	19,000	16	8
	Russians, 80,000	3,000

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Tabular statement of losses in both the Union and Confederate armies in the principal battles of the Civil War, 1861-1865, compiled from official reports by Marcus J. Wright, chief of the division of Confederate records, U. S. War Department

	Union Army				Confederate Army
	Killed	Wounded	Missing	Total	Killed	Wounded	Missing	Total
Bull Run, Va., July 21, 1861	481	1,011	1,216	2,708	387	1,582	12	1,981
Wilson's Creek, Mo., Aug. 10, 1861	223	721	291	1,235	257	900	27	1,184
Fort Donelson, Tenn., Feb. 12-16, 1862	500	2,108	224	2,832	2,000		14,623	16,623
Pea Ridge, Ark., Mar. 7, 1862	203	980	201	1,384	600		200	800
Shiloh, Tenn., Apr. 6-7, 1862	1,754	8,408	2,885	13,047	1,723	8,012	959	10,694
Williamsburg, Va., May 4-5, 1862	456	1,410	373	2,249	1,570		133	1,703
Fair Oaks, Va., May 31,–June 1, 1862	790	3,594	647	5,031	980	4,749	405	6,134
Mechanicsville, Va., June 26, 1862	49	207	105	361	1,484
Gaines' Mill, Va., June 27, 1862	894	3,107	2,836	6,837	8,751
Peach Orchard, Savage Station, Va., June 29, 1862 White Oak Swamp, Glendale, Va., June 30, 1862 Malvern Hill, Va., July 1, 1862	724	4,245	3,067	8,036	8,602		875	9,477
Seven Days, Va., June 25–July 1, 1862	1,734	8,062	6,075	15,849	3,478	16,261	875	20,614
Cedar Mountain, Va., Aug. 9, 1862	314	1,445	594	2,353	231	1,107		1,338
Manassas and Chantilly, Va., Aug, 27–Sept. 2, 1862	1,724	8,372	5,958	16,054	1,481	7,627	89	9,197
Richmond, Ky., Aug. 29-30, 1862	206	844	4,303	5,353	78	372	1	451
South Mountain, Md., Sept. 14, 1862	325	1,403	85	1,813	325	1,560	800	2,685
Antietam, or Sharpsburg, Md., Sept. 16-17, 1862	2,108	9,549	753	12,390	2,700	9,024	1,800	13,524
Corinth, Miss., Oct. 3-4, 1862	355	1,841	324	2,520	473	1,997	1,763	4,233
Perryville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1862	845	2,851	515	4,211	510	2,635	251	3,396
Prairie Grove, Ark., Dec. 7, 1862	175	813	263	1,251	164	817	336	1,317
Fredericksburg, Va., Dec. 13, 1862	1,284	9,600	1,769	12,653	595	4,061	653	5,309
Stone's River, or Murfreesboro, Tenn., Dec. 31, 1862, and Jan. 2, 1863	1,677	7,543	3,686	12,906	1,294	7,945	2,476	11,715
Arkansas Post, Ark., Jan. 11, 1863	134	898	29	1,061	28	81	4,791	4,900
Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg, Va., May 1-4, 1863	1,575	9,594	5,676	16,792	1,665	9,081	2,018	12,764

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[144] Continued from page 142

	Union Army				CONFEDERATE Army
	Killed	Wounded	Missing	Total	Killed	Wounded	Missing	Total
Champion's Hill, Miss., May 16, 1863	410	1,844	187	2,441	381	1,769	1,670	3,851
Assault on Vicksburg, Miss., May 22, 1863	502	2,550	147	3,199	Full reports not available
Port Hudson, La., May 27, 1863	293	1,545	157	1,995		235
Port Hudson, La., June 14, 1863	203	1,401	188	1,792	22	25		47
Gettysburg, Pa., July 1-3, 1863	3,155	14,529	5,365	23,049	3,903	18,735	5,425	28,063
Fort Wagner, S. C., July 18, 1863	246	880	389	1,515	36	133	5	174
Chickamauga, Ga., Sept. 19-20, 1863	1,657	9,756	4,757	16,170	2,312	14,674	1,468	18,484
Chattanooga, Tenn., Nov. 23-25, 1863	753	4,722	349	5,824	361	2,160	4,146	6,667
Mine Run, Va., Nov. 27–Dec. 1, 1863	173	1,099	381	1,653	110	570	65	745
Pleasant Hill, La., Apr. 9, 1864	150	844	375	1,369		987	4,720	5,707
Wilderness, Va., May 5-7, 1864	2,246	12,137	3,383	17,666	Reports of losses not complete
Spotsylvania, Va., May 10, 1864	753	3,347		4,100	Reports incomplete
Spotsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864		6,020	800	6,820	Records of losses not shown
Drewry's Bluff, Va., May 12-16, 1864	390	2,380	1,390	4,160	Reports incomplete
Cold Harbor, Va., June 1-3, 1864	12,000				Reports incomplete
Petersburg, Va., June 15-30, 1864	2,013	9,935	4,621	16,569	Estimated loss in Hill's Corps and Field and Kershaw's divisions, 2,970
Atlanta Campaign, Ga., May, 1864 (including Buzzard's Roost, Snake Creek Gap and New Hope Church）	1,058		1,240	2,298	Killed and wounded, 9,187
Assault on Kenesaw Mt., Ga., June 27, 1864	1,999		52	2,051	270		172	342
Tupelo, Miss., July 13-15, 1864	77	559	38	674	210	1,116		1,326
Atlanta, Ga., July 22, 1864 (Hood's attack)	430	1,599	1,733	3,722	2,890	2,890	851	3,741
Jonesboro, Ga., Aug. 31, 1864	179			1,640
Jonesboro, Ga., Sept. 1, 1864	233	946	105	1,274	No full return of losses
Winchester, Va., Sept. 19, 1864	697	3,983	338	5,018	276	1,827	1,818	3,921
Chaffin's Farm and Forts Harrison and Gilmer, Va., Sept. 29-30, 1864	383	2,299	645	3,327	No full report of losses
Cedar Creek, Va., Oct. 19, 1864	644	3,430	1,591	5,665	320	1,540	1,050	2,910
Franklin, Tenn., Nov. 30, 1864	189	1,033	1,104	2,336	1,750	3800	702	6,252
Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 15-16, 1864	387	2,562	112	3,061	No report of killed and wounded
Bentonville, N. C., Mar. 19, 1865	139	794	170	1,103	195	1,313	610	2,118
Appomattox, Va., Mar. 29–Apr. 9, 1865	1,316	7,750	1,714	10,780	No report of losses
Petersburg, Va., Apr. 2, 1865	625	3,189	326	4,140	No report of losses

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[146]

Summary of Union troops furnished by the several States and Territories

States and Territories	White Troops	Sailors and Marines	Colored Troops	Indian Nations	Aggregate	Total Deaths, All Causes
Alabama	2,578				2,578	345
Arkansas	8,289				8,289	1,713
California	15,725				15,725	573
Colorado	4,903				4,903	323
Connecticut	51,937	2,163	1,784		55,864	5,354
Dakota	206				206	6
Delaware	11,236	94	954		12,284	882
District of Columbia	11,912	1,353	3,269		16,534	290
Florida	1,290				1,990	215
Georgia						15
Illinois	255,057	2,224	1,811		259,092	34,834
Indiana	193,748	1,078	1,537		196,363	26,672
Iowa	75,797	5	440		76,242	13,001
Kansas	18,069		2,080		20,149	2,630
Kentucky	51,743	314	23,703		75,760	10,774
Louisiana	5,224				5,224	945
Maine	64,973	5,030	104		70,107	9,398
Maryland	33,995	3,925	8,718		46,638	2,982
Massachusetts	122,781	19,983	2,966		146,730	13,942
Michigan	85,479	498	1,387		87,364	14,753
Minnesota	23,913	3	104		24,020	2,584
Mississippi	545				545	78
Missouri	100,616	151	8,344		109,111	13,885
Nebraska	3,157				3,157	239
Nevada	1,080				1,080	33
New Hampshire	32,930	882	125		33,937	4,882
New Jersey	67,500	8,129	1,185		76,814	5,754
New Mexico	6,561				6,561	277
New York	409,561	35,164	4,125		448,850	46,534
North Carolina	3,156				3,156	360
Ohio	304,814	3,274	5,092		313,180	35,475
Oregon	1,810				1,810	45
Pennsylvania	315,017	14,307	8,612		337,936	33,183
Rhode Island	19,521	1,878	1,837		23,236	1,321
Tennessee	31,092				31,092	8,777
Texas	1,965				1,965	151
Vermont	32,549	619	120		33,288	5,224
Virginia						42
Washington Territory	964	133			964	22
West Virginia	31,872		196		32,068	4,017
Wisconsin	91,029		165		91,327	12,301
Indian Nations				3,530	3,530	1,018
Regular Army						5,798
Colored Troops			199,337		99,337	236,847
Veteran Volunteers						106
U. S. Volunteers3						243
U. S. Sharpshooters and Engineers						552
Veteran Reserves						1,672
Generals and Staffs						239
Miscellaneous—Bands, etc						232
	2,494,592	101,207	178,975	3,530	2,778,304	359,528

[147]

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[148]

Deaths from all causes in Union armies

Cause	Officers	Enlisted Men	Total
Killed and died of wounds	6,365	103,705	110,070
Died of disease	2,712	197,008	199,720
In prison	83	24,873	24,866
Accidents	142	3,972	4,114
Drowning	106	4,838	4,944
Sunstroke	5	308	313
Murdered	37	483	520
Killed after capture	14	90	104
Suicide	26	365	391
Military execution		267	267
Executed by enemy	4	60	64
Causes unclassified	62	1,972	2,034
Cause not stated	28	12,093	12,121
Totals	9,584	349,944	359,528

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Deaths in Confederate armies

A tabulation of Confederate losses as compiled from the muster-rolls on file in the Bureau of Confederate Archives. (In the report for 1865-66, made by General James B. Fry, United States Provost Marshal-General.) These returns are incomplete, and nearly all the Alabama rolls are missing. Still the figures show that at least 74,524 Confederate soldiers were killed or died of wounds, and that 59,297 died of disease.

STATE	KILLED			DIED of WOUNDS			DIED of disease
	Officers	Enlisted Men	Total	Officers	Enlisted Men	Total	Officers	Enlisted Men	Total
Virginia	266	5,062	5,328	200	2,319	2,519	168	6,779	6,947
North Carolina	677	13,845	14,522	330	4,821	5,151	541	20,061	20,602
South Carolina	360	8,827	9,187	257	3,478	3,735	79	4,681	4,760
Georgia	172	5,381	5,553	140	1,579	1,719	107	3,595	3,702
Florida	47	746	793	16	490	506	17	1,030	1,047
Alabama	14	538	552	9	181	190	8	716	724
Mississippi	122	5,685	5,807	75	2,576	2,651	103	6,704	6,807
Louisiana	70	2,548	2,618	42	826	868	32	3,027	3,059
Texas	28	1,320	1,348	13	1,228	1,241	10	1,250	1,260
Arkansas	104	2,061	2,165	27	888	915	74	3,708	3,782
Tennessee	99	2,016	2,115	49	825	874	72	3,353	3,425
Regular C. S. Army	35	972	1,007	27	441	468	25	1,015	1,040
Border States	92	1,867	1,959	61	672	733	58	2,084	2,142
Totals	2,086	50,868	52,954	1,246	20,324	21,570	1,294	58,003	59,297

Colonel W. F. Fox, the authority on Civil War Statistics, states: ‘If the Confederate rolls could have been completed, and then revised—as has been done with the rolls of the Union regiments — the number of killed, as shown above (74,524), would be largely increased. As it is, the extent of such increase must remain a matter of conjecture. The Union rolls were examined at the same time, and a similar tabulation of the number killed appears, also, in General Fry's report. But this latter number was increased 15,000 by a subsequent revision based upon the papers known as ‘final statements’ and upon newly-acquired information received through affidavits filed at the Pension Bureau.’ [149]

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[150]

Tabular statement of organizations in the Union service

	REGIMENTS	BATTALIONS	COMPANIES	BATTERIES
Cavalry	272	45	78
Heavy artillery	61	8	36
Light artillery		9		432
Engineers	13	1	7
Sharpshooters	4	3	35
Infantry	2,144	60	351
Totals	2,494	126	507	432

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Summary of organizations in the Confederate army

Any attempt to present in statistical form the strength of the Confederate armies is manifestly impossible, as was explained by General Marcus J. Wright in his introductory chapter in Volume I of the Photographic History. The same conditions also render futile any accurate comparison of the troops furnished to the Confederate armies by the various states of the South. Nevertheless, by tabulating the various organizations and bearing in mind the limitations of the method as well as the original data, a slight basis is afforded to gain some idea of the relative numbers contributed by the different States. Furthermore, the numbers of the organizations when summarized are of interest in comparison with those given above.

No complete official roll of regiments and other organizations in the Confederate army is to be found either in the archives of the United States War Department or published in the War Records, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to give either an accurate list or the total number. Various lists have been compiled by private individuals, but none of these show absolute accuracy, and all differ among themselves. A list prepared by Colonel Henry Stone, a member of the Military Historical Society of Massachusetts, was made the basis of the following table by Colonel Thomas L. Livermore, which is published in his volume Numbers and losses in the Civil War. This list General Wright states is as accurate as can be found.

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Table made by Colonel Livermore from Colonel Stone's list

	INFANTRY				CAVALRY				ARTILLERY
	Regiments	Legions	Battalions	Companies	Regiments	Legions	Battalions	Companies	Regiments	Battalions	Companies
Alabama	55		18	4	6		18	10		2	17
Arkansas	42		14	2	4		5	4		2	16
Florida	9		1	16	2		3	6		1	15
Georgia	67	3	14	9	7		21
Kentucky	9				11		1
Louisiana	33		22		3		13	8	5	3	19
Mississippi	53		21		5	1	4			1	9
Missouri	30				7
North Carolina	74	1	12	4	6		12	2	2		9
South Carolina	53	3	14	8	7		7	13	3	3	25
Tennessee	78		24		10		11	17		1	35
Texas	35	1	4	14	33		8	15	2		24
Virginia	99	1	19	5	16		40	26	4	12	58
Confederate or Prov.
Army	5
Total	642	9	163	62	137	1	143	101	16	25	227

[151]

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[152]

Regimental casualties in the Union Army

In any discussion of the total or relative casualties suffered by a military organization in a war, or in any particular engagement, it must be borne in mind that the entire subject is one around which many questions center. The general consideration has been discussed by Colonel Hilary A. Herbert in the preceding chapter. It now remains to give the readers of the Photographic History some few exact statistics of the losses suffered in both great armies.

In the official records there are summarized with considerable completeness the enlistments and casualties for the various regiments and other organizations of the Union army. The reports for the most part are complete and comprehensive, admitting of full discussion, yet often there is great difficulty in reducing the vast amount of material to a common denominator for purposes of comparison. The problem is to consider the various elements in their relations one to another. Thus, it is possible to take those regiments where the number killed or died of wounds during the entire period of service stood at a maximum in comparison with other organizations. Furthermore, it is possible to consider such casualties relatively, depending upon the strength of the organization, and this latter method gives a clear indication of the efficiency of the regiment during its entire period of service. Large total losses mean that the regiment was at the fore-front of the fighting in many battles and not necessarily unduly exposed at one particular action.

Such is the list to be found on page 154, compiled from the authoritative work of LieutenantColonel William F. Fox, U. S. V.—Regimental losses in the Civil War. It is, indeed, a record of valor; the fifty regiments here listed are entitled to places of high honor on the scroll of history. It is, all things considered, the most useful basis of making a comparison of the services of the different regiments, and it is one which unfortunately cannot be made for the regiments comprising the Confederate army, on account of the absence of suitable rosters and reports.

Now, if we should consider the maximum percentage of casualties based on the total of killed, wounded, and missing, a similar roll could be constructed. It would be headed by the First Minnesota Infantry, which, at the battle of Gettysburg, with 262 men engaged on the second day, lost 168 wounded and 47 killed, or a percentage of 82. In fact, other regiments standing at the top of such a list are worthy of note, and a few such, as listed by Colonel Fox, are given in the table at the bottom of this page.

The tabular statement on page 154 must be considered, therefore, as suggestive rather than complete. The selection of fifty regiments is an arbitrary one; for, of over two thousand regiments in the Union army, 45 infantry regiments lost over 200 men killed or mortally wounded in action during the war. In fact, Colonel Fox has compiled a list of 300 fighting regiments, which lost over 130 who were killed and died of wounds during the war, or which, with a smaller enrollment, suffered an equivalent percentage of casualties.

REGIMENT	BATTLE	Killed	Wounded	Missing	Total	Engaged	Per Cent.
1st Minnesota	Gettysburg	47	168	—	2154	262	82.0
141st Pennsylvania	Gettysburg	25	103	21	149	198	75.7
101st New York	Bull Run	6	101	17	124	168	73.8
25th Massachusetts	Cold Harbor	53	139	28	220	310	70.0
36th Wisconsin (4 Cos.)	Bethesda Church	20	108	38	166	240	69.0
20th Massachusetts	Fredericksburg	25	138	—	163	238	68.4
8th Vermont	Cedar Creek	17	66	23	106	156	67.9
81st Pennsylvania	Fredericksburg	15	141	0	176	261	67.4
12th Massachusetts	Antietam	49	165	10	224	334	67.0
1st Maine H. A.	Petersburg	115	489	28	632	950	66.5
9th Louisiana Colored	Milliken's Bend	62	130	—	192	300	64.0
5th New Hampshire	Fredericksburg	20	154	19	193	303	63.6

[153]

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[154]

Casualties of fifty Union regiments during entire term of service

Killed and died of wounds—maximum percentages of enrollment compiled from fox's

Regimental losses in the Civil War

REGIMENT	DIVISION	CORPS	Enrolled	Killed	Per Cent.
2d Wisconsin	Wadsworth's	First	1,203	238	19.7
1st Maine H. A.	Birney's	Second	2,202	423	19.2
57th Massachusetts	Stevenson's	Ninth	1,052	201	19.1
140th Pennsylvania	Barlow's	Second	1,132	198	17.4
26th Wisconsin	Schurz's	Eleventh	1,089	188	17.2
7th Wisconsin	Wadsworth's	First	1,630	281	17.2
69th New York	Hancock's	Second	1,513	251	17.1
11th Penn. Reserves	Crawford's	Fifth	1,179	196	16.6
142d Pennsylvania	Doubleday's	First	935	155	16.5
141st Pennsylvania	Birney's	Third	1,037	167	16.1
19th Indiana	Wadsworth's	First	1,246	199	15.9
121st New York	Wright's	Sixth	1,426	226	15.8
7th Michigan	Gibbon's	Second	1,315	208	15.8
148th Pennsylvania	Barlow's	Second	1,339	210	15.6
83d Pennsylvania	Griffin's	Fifth	1,808	282	15.5
22d Massachusetts	Griffin's	Fifth	1,393	216	15.5
36th Wisconsin	Gibbon's	Second	1,014	157	15.4
27th Indiana	Williams'	Twelfth	1,101	169	15.3
5th Kentucky	T. J. Wood's	Fourth	1,020	157	15.3
27th Michigan	Willcox's	Ninth	1,485	225	15.1
79th U. S. Colored	Thayer's	Seventh	1,249	188	15.0
17th Maine	Birney's	Third	1,371	207	15.0
1st Minnesota	Gibbon's	Second	1,242	187	15.0
93d Illinois	Quinby's	Seventeenth	1,011	151	14.9
36th Illinois	Sheridan's	Fourth	1,376	204	14.8
8th Penn. Reserves	Crawford's	Fifth	1,062	158	14.8
126th New York	Barlow's	Second	1,036	153	14.7
49th Pennsylvania	Wright's	Sixth	1,313	193	14.6
9th Illinois	Dodge's	Sixteenth	1,493	216	14.4
20th Indiana	Birney's	Third	1,403	201	14.3
15th Kentucky	Johnson's	Fourteenth	956	137	14.3
2d Massachusetts	Williams'	Twelfth	1,305	187	14.3
55th Illinois	Blair's	Fifteenth	1,099	157	14.2
4th Michigan	Griffin's	Fifth	1,325	189	14.2
15th Massachusetts	Gibbon's	Second	1,701	241	14.1
15th New Jersey	Wright's	Sixth	1,702	240	14.1
145th Pennsylvania	Barlow's	Second	1,456	205	14.1
28th Massachusetts	Barlow's	Second	1,778	250	14.0
1st Michigan	Morell's	Fifth	1,329	187	14.0
8th New York H. A.	Gibbon's	Second	2,575	361	14.0
7th West Virginia	Gibbon's	Second	1,008	142	14.0
37th Wisconsin	Willcox's	Ninth	1,110	156	14.0
5th Michigan	Birney's	Third	1,883	263	13.9
10th Penn. Reserves	Crawford's	Fifth	1,150	160	13.9
13th Penn. Reserves	Crawford's	Fifth	1,165	162	13.9
63d Pennsylvania	Birney's	Third	1,341	186	13.8
5th Vermont	Getty's	Sixth	1,533	213	13.8
6th Iowa	Corse's	Sixteenth	1,102	152	13.7
155th New York	Gibbon's	Second	830	114	13.7
49th Ohio	T. J. Wood's	Fourth	1,468	202	13.7

[155]

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[156]

Some casualties of Confederate regiments

General Marcus J. Wright, Confederate States Army

At the time when Lieutenant-Colonel William F. Fox, U. S. V., published his valuable and exceedingly accurate work, entitled Regimental losses of the American Civil War, 1861-1865, many regimental reports were missing or inaccessible, so that this work, in many respects a standard as far as Confederate material was concerned, necessarily is incomplete.

No compilation of statistics exists corresponding to that given for the Union armies on a preceding page, and but little exact statistical information of a broad character is available. Therefore, it seems desirable here to give on a following page a table from Colonel Fox's book, which shows remarkable percentages of losses in Confederate regiments at particular engagements. This list contains only a few of the many instances of regiments suffering a heavy percentage of loss. The list is compiled from the few cases in which the official Confederate reports on file in the United States War Department mention the number of effectives taken into action as well as the actual losses.

Because of these statistical deficiencies, no complete catalogue of distinguished Confederate regiments based on the records of battlefield casualties is possible. This is especially regrettable to those who recall the conspicuous services of many organizations from the very outset.

In addition to Colonel Fox's table we give a few other notable instances. At the first battle of Bull Run, the 33d Virginia lost 45 killed and 101 wounded, and the 27th Virginia lost 19 killed and 122 wounded. Hampton's Legion lost 19 killed and 100 wounded.

The 2d Georgia had the longest service of any infantry regiment from that State. In the Seven Days around Richmond, with 271 men in the field, it lost 120. At Malvern Hill, it lost 81 men and about the same number at Gettysburg.

At Mills Springs, Ky., the 15th Mississippi Regiment lost 46 killed and 153 wounded. The 8th Kentucky regiment at Fort Donelson, Tenn., lost 27 killed and 72 wounded. The 4th Tennessee, at Shiloh, lost 36 killed and 183 wounded, while the 4th Kentucky lost 30 killed and 183 wounded. The 12th Mississippi, at Fair Oaks, Va., lost 41 killed and 152 wounded. Hampton's Legion, a South Carolina organization, at Fair Oaks lost 21 killed and 122 wounded. The 20th North Carolina lost, at Gaines' Mill, 70 killed and 202 wounded. At Gaines' Mill and Glendale the 14th Alabama lost 71 killed and 253 wounded, the 19th Mississippi 58 killed and 264 wounded, the 14th Louisiana 51 killed and 192 wounded, and the 12th Mississippi 34 killed and 186 wounded. At Malvern Hill, the 2d Louisiana lost 30 killed and 152 wounded. The 21st Virginia lost, at Cedar Mountain, Va., 37 killed and 85 wounded.

At Manassas (Second Bull Run), Va., the 5th Texas lost 15 killed and 224 wounded; the 2d Louisiana lost 25 killed and 86 wounded. At Richmond, Ky., the 2d Tennessee lost 17 killed and 95 wounded. At Antietam, or Sharpsburg, the 13th Georgia lost 48 killed and 169 wounded; the 48th North Carolina lost 31 killed and 186 wounded. At Iuka, Miss., the 3d Texas, dismounted cavalry, lost 22 killed and 74 wounded. At Corinth, Miss., the casualties of the 35th Mississippi were 32 killed and 110 wounded, and of the 6th Missouri, 31 were killed and 130 wounded. At Chaplin Hills, Ky., from the 1st Tennessee regiment, 49 were killed and 129 wounded.

At Fredericksburg, Va., the 57th North Carolina lost 32 killed, 192 wounded, and the 48th North Carolina 17 killed and 161 wounded. At Stone's River, the 29th Mississippi lost 34 killed and 202 wounded.

At Chancellorsville, Va., the losses of the 37th North Carolina were 34 killed and 193 wounded; the 2d North Carolina, 47 killed and 167 wounded. At Vicksburg, Miss., the 3d Louisiana lost 49 killed, 119 wounded, and the 6th Missouri lost 33 killed and 134 wounded. At Helena, Ark., the 7th Missouri lost 16 killed and 125 wounded. At Gettysburg, the 42d Mississippi lost 60 killed and 205 wounded, and the 1st Maryland, with 400 present for duty, had 52 killed and 140 wounded.

At Charleston Harbor, the 21st South Carolina lost 14 killed and 112 wounded, and the 25th South Carolina 16 killed and 124 wounded. At the bloody battle of Chickamauga, Alabama regiments suffered great losses. [157]

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[158]

Casualties of fifty Confederate regiments

From fox's

Regimental losses in the Civil War

showing remarkable percentages of losses at particular engagements based on official reports

Note—This list does not aim to include all the notable instances of remarkable casualties of regiments in the Confederate Army. It was based by Colonel Fox on available records where the numbers taken into action as well as the casualties were specified in official reports. The list is suggestive rather than complete, as many regiments omitted might with propriety claim to be included in any roll of ‘Fifty Fighting Regiments.’

REGIMENT	BATTLE	DIVISION	Present	Killed	Wounded	Missing	Per Cent.
1st Texas	Antietam	Hood's	226	45	141		82.3
21st Georgia	Manassas	Ewell's	242	38	146		76.0
26th North Carolina	Gettysburg	Heth's	820	86	502		71.7
6th Mississippi	Shiloh	Hardee's	425	61	239		70.5
8th Tennessee	Stone's River	Cheatham's	444	41	265		68.2
10th Tennessee	Chickamauga	Johnson's	328	44	180		68.0
Palmetto Sharpshooters	Glendale	Longstreet's	375	39	215		67.7
17th South Carolina	Manassas	Evans'	284	25	164	1	66.9
23d South Carolina	Manassas	Evans'	225	27	122		66.2
44th Georgia	Mechanicsville	D. H. Hill's	514	71	264		65.1
2d N. C. Battalion	Gettysburg	Rodes'	240	29	124		63.7
16th Mississippi	Antietam	Anderson's	228	27	117		63.1
27th North Carolina	Antietam	Walker's	325	31	168		61.2
6th Alabama	Seven Pines	D. H. Hill's	632	91	277	5	59.0
15th Virginia	Antietam	McLaws'	128	11	64		58.5
8th Georgia	Antietam	Hood's	176	13	72	16	57.3
1st S. C. Rifles	Gaines' Mill	A. P. Hill's	537	81	225		56.9
10th Georgia	Antietam	McLaws'	148	15	69		56.7
18th North Carolina	Seven Days	A. P. Hill's	396	45	179		56.5
3d Alabama	Malvern Hill	D. H. Hill's	354	37	163		56.4
17th Virginia	Antietam	Pickett's	55	7	24		56.3
7th North Carolina	Seven Days	A. P. Hill's	450	35	218		56.2
12th Tennessee	Stone's River	Cheatham's	292	18	137	9	56.1
9th Georgia	Gettysburg	Hood's	340	27	162		55.0
5th Georgia	Chickamauga	Cheatham's	353	27	167		54.9
16th Tennessee	Stone's River	Cheatham's	377	36	155	16	54.9
4th North Carolina	Seven Pines	D. H. Hill's	678	77	286	6	54.4
27th Tennessee	Shiloh	Hardee's	350	27	115	48	54.2
12th South Carolina	Manassas	A. P. Hill's	270	23	121	2	54.0
4th Virginia	Manassas	Jackson's	180	18	79		53.8
4th Texas	Antietam	Hood's	200	10	97		53.5
27th Tennessee	Perryville	Cleburne's	210	16	84	12	53.3
1st South Carolina	Manassas	A. P. Hill's	283	25	126		53.3
49th Virginia	Fair Oaks	D. H. Hill's	424	32	170	22	52.8
12th Alabama	Fair Oaks	D. H. Hill's	408	59	156		52.6
7th South Carolina	Antietam	McLaws'	268	23	117		52.2
7th Texas	Raymond	John Gregg's	306	22	136		51.6
6th South Carolina	Fair Oaks	D. H. Hill's	521	88	181		51.6
15th Georgia	Gettysburg	Hood's	335	19	152		51.0
11th Alabama	Glendale	Longstreet's	357	49	121	11	50.7
17th Georgia	Manassas	Hood's	200	10	91		50.5
3d North Carolina	Gettysburg	Johnson's	312	29	127		50.0
4th Virginia	Chancellorsville	Trimble's	355	14	155	3	48.4
1st Maryland	Gettysburg	Johnson's	400	52	140		48.0
8th Mississippi	Stone's River	Jackson's	282	20	113		47.1
32d Virginia	Antietam	McLaws'	158	15	57		45.5
18th Mississippi	Antietam	McLaws'	186	10	73		44.6
14th South Carolina	Gaines' Mill	A. P. Hill's	500	18	197		43.0
33d North Carolina	Chancellorsville	A. P. Hill's	480	32	167		41.4
5th Alabama	Malvern Hill	D. H. Hill's	225	26	66		40.8