William F. Fox, Lt. Col. U. S. V....

To some it may appear that the publication of a work like this belongs properly within the province of the General Government, and that a citizen in private life should not presume to offer information on official matters. In reply it should be stated that this work is offered only as a convenient digest of official publications already issued by the General Government, or State Military Bureaus, to which have been added some original exhibits deduced from official statistics heretofore publishe

Wars and battles are considered great in proportion to the loss of life resulting from them. Bloodless battles excite no interest. A campaign of mancoeuvres is accorded but a small place in history. There have been battles as decisive as Waterloo and Gettysburg; but they cost few lives and never became historic. Great as were the results, Waterloo and Gettysburg would receive but little mention were it not for the terrible cost at which the results were obtained. Still, it is difficult to compre

Having arrived at the maximum of killed in a regiment during its term of service with its many battles, the question naturally arises as to the greatest number killed in any One action. There has been a great deal of exaggeration regarding regimental losses in particular battles, especially in instances where the loss was comparatively small; while some regiments which really sustained heroic losses are never mentioned in this particular. The figures in connection with this subject are interesti

The loss sustained by a regiment in any battle can be properly estimated, only when the number of men engaged is known and taken into consideration, The small battalion in which Fifty men were killed must not be classed, in point of loss, with the large regiment losing the same number. The 31 men killed in the One Hundred and Forty-first New York, at Peach Tree Creek, was as severe a loss as the 102 killed in the Eleventh Illinois at Fort Donelson. The percentage of loss in each case was the sam

The loss in officers killed or wounded, in proportion to their number, was in excess of that of their men. Of the total number killed and wounded during the war, there were 6,365 officers, and 103,705 enlisted men; or, One officer to 16 men. In the common regimental organization there was One officer to 28 men; and this proportion would have consequently required only One officer to 28 men among the killed. The loss of officers, however, was not so excessive as the difference in these ratios wou

It was the greatest war of the century. On the Union side alone, 110,070 men were killed in battle, while 249,458 more died from disease, accidents, in military prisons, or from other causes. Including both sides, over half a Million lives were lost. There have been wars which have lasted longer— wars with intermittent and desultory campaigns; but, in this struggle the Two armies for Four years never let go their clutch upon each other's throat. For Four years the echo of the picket's rifle neve

Wherever black regiments were engaged in battle during the Civil War, they acquitted themselves in a manner which fully justified the policy of the Government in enlisting their services. In the future wars of the Republic the colored American will find himself entrusted with his full share of tie fighting. And yet, the war for the Union was not the First One in which the African fought for the Stars and Stripes. Black faces were not uncommon among the ranks of the patriots in 1776. The First ma

The statistics presented in these pages are based largely on a personal examination of the muster-out-rolls of the various regiments. When a regiment was mustered out of service at the close of the war,— or at the expiration of its term of enlistment,— each company in the organization was required to hand in a muster-out-roll bearing the names of every man who, at any time. had served in it. The rolls, which were furnished in blank for this purpose, were large sheets, nearly One yard square, rul

With the record of each regiment given in these pages will be found the division and corps to which it belonged. The history of a regiment is so largely identical with that of its corps, that such information serves at once to familiarize the student with the part which it played in connection with the war. An excessive loss in action, or an immunity from the casualties of battle, requires but little explanation where there is a thorough acquaintance with the history of the division and corps wi

Within the corps organizations there were certain divisions and brigades which also achieved distinction, sometimes greater than that of the corps to which they belonged. Prominent among these was the famous division of the Pennsylvania Reserves— the only division of Three years men in the Union Armies which was composed entirely of troops from One State. The Reserves included Thirteen regimlents of infantry, divided into Three brigades. The Thirteenth Reserves was the celebrated regiment known

It is not claimed that these are The Three Hundred Fighting Regiments of the Army; but, that they are Three hundred regiments which evidently did considerable fighting. There were, undoubtedly, others which did equally good or, perhaps, better fighting, and their gallant services will be fully recognized by the writers who are conversant with their history. But, for lack of other information, this chapter deals only with those which sustained the heaviest losses in battle. It includes every regi

It is intended in this chapter to give a list of the battles and minor engagements of the war in their chronological order; and, with each battle or engagement, a statement of the regiments which sustained the greatest loss in that particular action. The figures thus given have been compiled from the Official Records of the Rebellion, either already published or in process of publication, by the War Department at Washington. The statement of the loss in each case is based on the nominal lists ma

Another interesting chapter in this story of loyalty may be found in the statistics showing the total number of deaths in each organization from the Northern States that served in the War for the Union. The deaths incurred in battle are tabulated here separately from those induced by other causes, and the loss in officers is also given by itself. These figures are based on the records of the muster-out rolls on file in the Military Bureaus of the various States, and have been revised by a carefu

Reenlisted and served through the war. Reenlisted and served through the war. Reenlisted and served through the war. Reenlisted and served through the war. Reenlisted and served through the war. Reenlisted and served through the war. Reenlisted and served through the war. Enlisted for Two years. Reenlisted and served through the war. Reenlisted and served through the war. Enlisted for Two years. Reenlisted and served through the war. Reenlisted and served through the war. Reenlisted and served t

The statistics in this chapter, with the exception of the percentages, are compiled largely from the recent official publications of the War Department. They show not only the aggregate mortuary loss of the Union Armies during the War of the Rebellion, but show the losses sustained by each State, together with the various causes of death. The tables are based upon the statistics prepared in the War Department at Washington, in 1885, by order of General Richard C. Drum, Adjutant-General United St

Gettysburg was the greatest battle of the war; Antietam was the bloodiest. The largest army was assembled— by the Confederates, at the Seven Days; by the Unionists, at the Wilderness. Gettysburg may be considered as the greatest battle for various reasons. The strategic issues involved were the most important; it was the turning point in the fortunes of the Confederates; the contending armies were not only large, but were at their best in point of discipline and experience; while the loss of lif

The Eleven States of the Southern Confederacy had, in 1860, Military population of 1,064,193 with which to confront the 4,559,872 of the same class, belonging to the other States and Territories. This number was largely supplemented during each successive year of the war by those who attained their Eighteenth year of age, at which time they became liable to military duty. During the Four years immediately following the census of 1860, the military population of the Eleven Southern States was inc

(Includes only such commands as have a place in Chap. XV.)...