, 1864-07-12

One OF the things concerning #Mcn II 1e |
difficult to get accurate information, in army |
matters, is in regard to the losses OF the re-
Epcctive armies. Different parties assert the !
most contradictory statements, and the pub" |
lie hive NO neans Of knowing whech are true. |
In rcezssaa~ 10 all matters Of fact, the judg~
1ncute Of men differ cndlesely. Two men
will see the same identical facts, and report
concerning them wide as the moon apart |
Az to the official reports, they arc seldom
made public, at least, until long Afterwards
and there Is q well founded distrust Of such |
reports in the matter of numbers. Napoleon
is said to have been accustomed to report his |
nwn losses at about one, third Of their actbal !
number, while he was careful to guess large |
enough as to those Of his enemy. When q !
report comes from the army Of tie lezgess tgg'
4 1tsttls, II can selaG6sm Be other than mere
estimate; and in regard to the enemy, 1t can
often bc little more than mere guess WORK
There is consequently the fullest opportunity
for the Imagination. and some mems 3anc1es
are very active.
Since this campaign commenced We have
had all sorts OF reports Of the losses Of our
armies Six weeks ago 1t was given out that
General Sherman, then near Resaca, had sent
to the rear II, eco wounded men. snch
statement struck all observers with surprise,
and even with dssmay; for If 1t was true, his
army was melting away at rate which
would leave him but small force at Atlanta
Now correspondent of the New York 1tnes
:aftirmB that the losses Of General Sherman
up to the 23d of June, number not Tar from
thirteen thousand, In killed, wounded and
prisoners, Prtna .faeie, this statement Is TOO
low. and we should wish to know precisely
what the grounds Of 1t are before accepting
It. The losses Of General Grants army have
been widely variant rs VIC are aware, as they
have been etated by the malignants or By
disinterested parties. !.
The chief point Of Importance in regard to
lossts, In It's bearing upon the waz, is as. to
tlose Of the respective sides in tae contest.
We feri our losses 'iis tEze esen II We gain
by them; but that which the public are most
concerned to Be assured Of, is, whether we
Or tkr eatMy are losing the taster. General
Grant may have lost 50, 600 men; but how
many las Gen Lee losts One thing ts to be
noticed as the war progresses. The judgment
of our reporters not only becomes better, but
their candor improves also. It is much more
common now to find our own losses fairly
stated than in the carly years Of the war, as
well as those of the enemy. 1t is due to truth
also to say, that the rebels In some cases
1lave improved in this respect also.
We infer two things-gathering our infer
cnccs from many aud various sources. One
is, that both our large armies hare been con-
Quoted with a considerable economy Of men
hitherto. Happily we have had little Of sick
ness as yet in either line Of advance The
wounded, especially in Grants army have
been numerous, and ne have before pointed
out the cause of II, as well az the fact that an
unusual number Of the wounds have been
slight. II is stated that few days since,
ten Thousand Of the wounded had recovered,
and returned to their posts; and thatns many
would 60 again in few days more
We have thus only to deduct as final losses,
the Killed, the severely wounded, and the
prisoners, which are Ill together less than
halt Of what arc counted as losses.
The other thing inferred is, that our losscs
are certainly not greater than those Of the
enemy, and our final losses not 50 large.
Some correspondents estimate that NC lose
faster than the cnemy-belng the attacking
party, and thus more exposed Others think
differently; that our losses are at least no
more than equal or even less. But the
enemy lose more In killed, in the severely
wounded, and in prisoners, than We. We
have taken three prisoners, or nearly that,
on both lines, to their one. Consequently
fewer Of their men, once put Aors du combat
return to the ranks, than OF ours. Our infer.
cnce thns Is, that VIC on the whole gain upon
the enemy. And yet on. main reliance thus
Tar Is in our superior ability to make repairs
They cannot continue to recruit their forces
adequately. We Gun, only 50 that our cour
age holds out
1t will behoove us to be patient in regari
TO army movements- Our Generals will ain
to save their men. They will perhaps b
more careful Of them for two months to come
than for two months past, for obvious rca
sops. Very active operations cannot be e1
pected in the extreme heat Of the season.
CAPT. w1NSLOW.