The Shasta courier., 1865-05-27
A Moving Army.

Few persons have an idea of an army in
motion The last number of the United Ser
vice Gazette supplies some statistics which
will instruct the reader;
In the campaign of the past Summer the
Army of the Potomac, as near as we can
arrive at the figures, appears to have mum.
bered ordinarily about one hundred and
twenty FIVE thousand effective fighting men.
Its transportation is reported to have consis-
ted of about four thousand two hundred wag.
ons, eight hundred ambulances, thirty thous-
and artillery, cavalry, ambulance and
draught horses, four thousand five hundred
private horses, and twenty-five thousand
mules, making an aggregate in all of some
fifty thousand animals. This is Just about
one-third animals to the men. about the same
ratio as obtained during the Peninsular
campaign and ever since, whereas the ratio
among Western armies, during the same
time, and always, has been usually one half
and generally very nearly two thirds ami
mails, to the men. The figures in General
lanta campaign, footed up generally about as
follows: one hundred thousand effective
fighting men, sixty-three hundred wagons;
and artillery, cavalry, ambulance and
draught horses, forty five hundred private
horses, and thirty-six thousand mules, max
ing an aggregate in all of some seventy-two
thousand animals. These figures are simply
enormous and will give the reader some
slight conception of what an army really is,
if he will but consider them for moment
For example, an armv of one hundred and
Gx-o thn,,r nd =
umn four abreast, and the intervals but six
feet apart, which is less than the usual in
terval of troops on march, would extend over
distance of thirsy-fve miles, without max
ing any allowance for the usual intervals be-
tween regiments, brigades, divisions and ar
nv corps. So with the wagons. On good
roads where trains are kept we'll closed up, it
is calculated that each six-mule team will
occupy, on average, about sixty lineal feet ::
this would give about ninety teams to the
mile. large average on most marches, so that
six thousand three hundred teams would Or
dinarily require about seventy miles. If the
weather or roads are bad, of course they
will straggle along indefinitely, and thus re-
quire much more. An ambulance, on the
march, usually occupies about forty feet,
so that nine hundred ambulances would oc-
CupJ IL ulSlduCC VI dUOub SCNcu Lilco ~
with the artillery, of an army of one hun
dred and twenty five thousand men will usu-
ally have at least two guns to thousand
men, which would make two hundred
and fifty guns, or, say forty batteries of
six pieces each. Now, a battery on the march
as a general thing, will occupy fully three
hundred yards so that forty batteries alone
would take about seven miles. These fig
ures, thus roughly taken, foot mp one hun
drcd and nineteen miles. as the free and
easy marching distance of an army of the
size of the great ones that we have had oper.
ating East and West during the past cam
paign and this, too, without counting in
accurately our Bedouin Arabs, the cavalry,
that always swarm along for miles together.
besides, in apparently almost interminable
columns. Of course no General with a mod
crate stock of brains would ever think of
marching his troops thus in one continuous
line, and hence the necessity of parallel roads
in moving an army, to keep your troops mass
ed and well in hand.