Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-10-13
APPALLING LOSSES.
WHY THE POTOMAC FORCES FOUGHT
LESS STONCLY IN JUNE, 1864.

Official Figures OF tho LOsses-Generali
Killed and Wounded on Both Sides
A Private Soldier States n Problem
a Contrast.
AT the time, in the latter part of June,
1864, it was freely charged by the gener-
ais employed in the Army Of the Potomac
that that army was not fighting as
stanchly ut Petersburg rs it had fought
IN the WILDERNESS or at Spottsyly9nia.
The charge was true. We had seen regi-
mentS melt before the heat of the COnfed-
crate battle-flre, until a SCant hundred
men fell into line when the drum tapped.
We had seen brigades fall into battle line
300 muskets strong. Once at Cold Har-
Dor two regiments were sent to support
my battery. l smiled s~orrOwfully mt the
scanty array. One hundred and twenty
muskets, sixty files, were all that were
left Of two Delaware regiments. We had
seen heavy artillery regiments. which
Joined rs at Spottsylvania 1900, 1000
LOO men strong, fail into line before
Petersburg, 400, 500, 600 men strong, and
10 come back from the assault delivered
on June Is, 1864, still weaker. The en-
listed men who passed unframed through
the frightful carnage judged the losses
tho army suffered by the actual losses
that had occurred In regiments with
which we were familiar.
TO the official figures. During May,
1864, which period Of time includes the
prolonged study of the Confederate en-
treuchments at North Anna, the
Army b Of the Potomac lost S95
officers killed, 1913 wounded, and
III missing. Five or six general Off
GERS were killed and ten or twelve wounded
during this month. In the same month
5,lSg enlisted men were killed, "a, 40
wounded, and 1883 were missing. From
May 81 to Oct. %, the day or which the
campaign practically ended, there were
in the Potomac army 40l officers killed,
I.453 wounded, and 5G4 missing; during
the same time Asst enlisted men were
killed, 24, 40 were wounded, and l5,ai
were missing. The aggregate losses after
the lighting at North1Auna were $3.50 en-
listed men and officers.
q. GENERALS KILLED AND WOUNDED.
And in this appalling number, stricken
when the army was well nigh discour-
aged, and when the soldiers needed, IL
ever battle-worn troops did need, the
presence of their generals, and needed To
be reused to enthusiasm and valOr by gal
liant leaders, the enlisted men never heard
II but one general officer being killed. He
was Brig. Gen. Burnhan. They heard OF
one or two other generals being wounded,
and of two being captured. During the
same time-that is, after the battle Of
North Anna-we learned that the Conted-
.rate Gems. DOles. ChambliSs, Gherardie,
Donovan and Gregg had been killed, and
many of their generals wounded. And 1t
must be remembered that the Conteder-
ate general was behind sheltering earth
works with their troops. The execution
Of their duty made it essential that they
should be there. Our losses OF general
officers, il they had fearlessly performed
their duty, would have been at least four
times as heavy As those Of the COnfeder-
ates. Instead Of one Union generals be-
ing killed to $4,000 enlisted men stricken
in battle, there should have been at least
twenty Of them killed and eighty OF them
wounded, and there would have been II
they had done their duty a the Couteder-
ate generals did theirs
Let me go west, and to the battle OF
FRANKLIN to illustrate my meaning. On
the afternoon OF Nov. 30, 1864, the COnfed-
crate generals led their veteran infantry
to the assault against the hastily con-
structed union earthworks, thrown up
across q broad neck OF land formed by q
bend in the Harpeth river, in Tennessee.
The attack began at 4 p. m. 1t was dark
at 6 D. IN. The fight lasted until about 10
0. m. Say six hours Of fighting, four or
which was performed after dark, when 1t
was impossible for infantry to select gen.
erals as targets, OF to shoot accurately.
The C~onfederates lost about 5000 enlisted
men in this action. The problem for the
heroes OF magazine fiction to solve Is q
simple one in proportion. They had bet
ter figure it out for themselves. 1t Is
this:
THE PROBLEM STATED.
II one Union general was killed and two
were wounded during a continuous battle
in Virginia which lasted from May 81 to
Oct. % (l50 days., and IN which the Union
losses were officially stated at 1882 en-
listed men and officers, how many Con-
federate generals should have been killed
and wounded in q fight lasting six hours,
and in which their losses OF enlisted men
and regimental officers were 6.0005 Ignor-
ing the factor represented by the duration
OF tha fight and the problem can be stated
clearly:
As 46,0Ss are to8 sOwil 6,OOO be.to the
answer.
The answer is not to be found by arith-
metical rules, which in this case would