The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1858-02-11
THE LOSS OF LIFE DURING WAR

war. From the accounts of the killed in
battle, one is led to believe that this loss is
less than What it really is, since the mum.
Der Of deaths from wounds aud sickness is
generally lost sight of. The statistics in re-
gard to these losses arc made up sometimes
after the war has terminated, and never re.
ccive he publicity to which they are cn,i
tied.
An article in the last number of the
!Ame:"an Journal OF Medical Scicuccs, writ
ten 10y DIR. Coldridge, of the United States
Army, contains some very interesting sta
tistlcs. AS the Crmcan and Mexican wars
lasted for about the same period, the Doc
tor thinks that the statistics Of each admit
, of comparison, and that from the general
results there is offered material for serious
consideration TO those interested and CON
cerncd III the formation, discipline and econ
omy Of armies. Though the forces of the
Allies Far outnumLcred those of our own
in Mexico, yet no one will deny ,at in mil
itarv skill and in the achievement Of blilia.,t
eyents, the latter fully cqua!cd the former.
We therefore think the compa'i sous drawn
by the Doctor are justified by the circun-
stances.
The advances which have hccm made in
military science and the Improvement in a..
tack and dctcncc, have, it appears le,>cnci
the loss Of life arising from the ac,u;,l cou-
f1lct of arms; and while the progress ua,c
IN medicine and surgery has diminished the
proportion Of deaths to the number Of sick
and wounded, yet the loss of life incident
to large armies from the various diseases
has not been materially lc>senrl.
The Allied army landed in the Crimca,
on the l4lh Of September, 1854 On the
18th Of October they commenced the bonn
bardment Of Scl;,>t"pol, aud during the
next eleven months, in addition TO the en-
posure and necessary losses consequent TO Il
siege, they fought five battles. Our own
army advanced from Corpus Christi to the
III" Grandc on the sh OF March, 1916 and
during the campaign fought upwards of
thirteen battles, some of which lasted sew
eral days. The actual duration Of the two
wars was nearly the same, as was also the
period which elapsed between the frs.
movement of the troops towards their re-.
spectivc theatres of war, aud the crow,line
events Of the contests. While the Allied
army were exposed to the severity Of Il Cri-
mean winter, and while they also suffered
from the ravagcs Of the cholera, our troops
encountered the intense heat and fevcrs
Of the Rio Grande and Vera Cruz, and suf-
fered severely from the Mexican diarrlura.
The total number Of officers and men in the
British army in the Crimca, WAS lII,3I3,
deaths from all causes, 2l,Oo7; invalidcd,
le,oos-total 37,4oo. Our army in Mcxi.
co numbered 1 1O0,454; the deaths from all
causes were l2,S9G; discharged for disaLil-
ity 1882 total loss, 25,l4 Taking the
British force of regulars at 97.s64, and our
regular army at 1876, or about one sixth
OF the former, we find that during about
. the same period of service, twenty five
- in men 2,59S; men and officers WHO died
OF wounds 2,Ol9. Our loss in officers was
Al; i'll men 422; men and officers died Of
wounds, 329 The total British loss was
4,774; ours 792. This multiplied by 6,
our force being one-six,h of the British,
would give 4,752, or % less than that Of
the British. In the British army the loss
per cent in the whole service was 4S7 !;
ours 5.03. Their proportion Of deaths TO
the number Of wounded was in 5.SS ; ours
! in 5.4s. Their proportion of killed and
wounded to total strength of officers and
men was in G.GS; ours l in G.94. The
loss per cent from ordinary and accidental
deaths in the British army was 1918 ours
1855. Ofinvaiided and disabled, the Brit
ish loss was 1G.4O ours 1860. The total
loss per cent. of British, 1886 ours, 3l.24
In the PcninsuIar army the annual ratio
OF mortality was ten per cent. Of then Off
GERS, and sixteen per cent. of the men. On
the basis assumed in these tables the annual
mortality of officers is 0.4s per cent and
that Of men 2O.54 per cent.
In comp"ring the losses Of the volunteer
forces, and those Of the regulars in Mexico,
we find that what has so often been said Of
the neglect by the former of the laws of
health, and of their appropriateness in many
respects, is here repeated. While the an
nuaI loss nor cont of tilloI and ,younIod
in :he army is stated at 4.5G, that of the
, volunteers was but l.40; the per. ccntage OF
deaths in the former, ordinary and acciden-
tai, was 1920, in the latter pip; in the
army the loss of invalided and disabled
was 1850; among the volunteers it was
5000. The total annual loss of the French
in, the Crimea was 1880; that of the Eng
lish was 1908. That If our regulars in