The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1888-03-29
THE OPPOSING ARMIES.
How Many Men Lee Surrendered---CoIn-
parative Figures of Fighting Forces.
IFrom the Augusta Chronicle.

From the Augusta Chronicle
\ valued correspondent of Selma,
Ala. forwards the following query:
\ few days ago 1 read in The Chron-
icle the speech of Mr. ingalls,, of the
Grasshopper State, and in it he states
that Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen.
Grant over $1,000 at Appomattox. Now
| say that Gen. Lee did not surrender
one-fourth of that number, by throw
ing in the old artillery, horses and the
few mules we had in the bargain. Now,
Mr.. Editor, will you please decide this,
who is right and give me the exact fig
ure as near as you possibly can.
1t is very difficult to reach the exact
figure, as the Confederate army was
very much crippled and scattered at
that time. Mr.. Stephens in his "War
Between the States,n gives the force
that surrendered at AppomattoN at
less than ten thousand men. President
Davis in his book vol. ii, p. G5S, says
when Gen. Lee left Petersburg, April
I'd, 1S65-eXactly one week before the
surrender-his command numbered
but $4,000 men. Soldiers and horses
were all reduced below the standard OF
efficiency by exposure and insufficient
supplies. Every day the army was
wasting away or being scattered so that
we are prepared to accept the statement
of Gen. Lees biographer, Thomas Jor-
dan, that his command at AppomattoN
numbered $1,000 men, about 5000 Of
whom were armed. On the 5th of April
Gen. Sheridan reported that Gen. Lees
army-horse, foot and dragoons-as
10000, much demoralized, and Gen.
Grant expressed the hope that in few
DAYS this could be reduced onehalf
Gen. Horace Porter, in the Century
sketches, gives the number at $4,000.
Senator Ingalls, estimate of $1,000 IS,
of course, false and absurd. The whole
Confederate army at the close of the
war did not number much over that
amount. General Johnson's army in
North Carolina numbered $1,000; in the
Georgia, Florida and Alabama depart
ments, about 10000, and in the Trans
Mississippi about 10000. This conf
prised the available forces of the Con-
federacy in April, 1868. General Grants
forces in Virginia alone would have
numbered 20O,0O0.
The extended scale upon which the
great national drama was enacted will
surprise the compiler of future histo-
ries. The war department of the Fed
eral government spent two and half
billion dollars, about half as much in
four years as Great Britain spent in
twenty-three years in her wars against
the French and Napoleon. In the
Franco-Prussian war the outlay on
both sides was not a billion dollars
not more than onc-third the American
outlay. The total number Of men called
into the Union armies between 1861
and 1868 amounted To 2,759,049 men.
The total number called into the Con-
federate armies was about 1,l0O,0OO, or
nearly 1909, 900 men drawn from pop
ulatlon Of thirty-two million. Germany,
with a population Of 4l,WN,NO, can III
time Of war furnish an army Of ,JO,-
900 men. France, with Il population Of
sc, ,GOO, ,WJO, claims to be able to set )
500, 900 aticld. The area over which the
civil war was fought was is large as
Germany, France, Spain, Portugal,
Belgium and Holland combined. II is
estimated that in the civil war OF
America half Il million men laid down
their lives.