Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1889-08-23

had pushed into tho worry face OF the
Union line, but still found themselves
unable TO carry tho low works before
them. At the same time Laws division
of bongstreet had rushed upon tho front
of Harker, moving across open ground
and Under heavy enfilading fire OF Frank
Smiths regular battery, and up almost
to the muzzles OF tho infantry rifles:
In this movement Kershaw supported
Hood, and thus tho Union troops on the
right had the full view and full eX-
| pcrience OF the fighting of Long
streets Veterans, Bushrod johnson in
front of Brannon, Hindmau before Sted-
itan, With Prcstons strong brigades M
u reserve, alternately assisting on one
point and then on another of the ridge
all these covered its long slope almost
continuously from noon till dark with
tho lines of assaulting columns. The
splendor OF such fighting as this Is en-
HANGED many fold by the fact that from
the beginning to the end 1t was unsuc-
cessful fighting. Ordinary soldiers can
be carried forward In battle 80 long ns
success attends their movement but 4
test of manhood, of soldierly ability, OF
courage and endurance, which IL Is difi-
cult to measure and which can not lie
overestimated, comes when, through d
long afternoon, assault after assault;
seemingly in overwhelming numbers,
has failed, and when the whole line OF
each succeeding advance and retreat Is
thickly strcwn with dead and wounded,
and all the terrible wreck of battle. To
say that in the face of such experiences
the Confederate lines were rallied quick
ly after every repulse and brought for
ward again to new and ever vigorous as
saults over slopes thus covered with hor-
rors, is TO say all that can be said in
praise of the valor of the officers who di-
rected and the soldiers who executed
these marvellous storming parties.
Turning to the figures of loss in inde.
pendent commands, they will be found
to show that this praise of the Confeds
crate lighting is In no sense eSagger-
ated: In truth, language can not exag-
gerate it.
The loss In Longstreet's wing reached
A per cent, and most of this was incur
red on the second day of the battle and
tho largest part of it in little more than
an hour on Sunday afternoon.
Bushrod Johnson's division lost 42 per
cent. The Tenth Tennessee, In one of
his brigades, hada casualty list of 6s per
cent. Patton Anderson's brigade, of
Hindman's division, lost so per cent,
and most of this was in the afternoon of
Sunday.
Among the regimental losses, that of
the Nineteenth Alabama was 43 per cent;
that of the Twenty-second Alabama 55
per cent.
Browns brigade of Stewart corps lost
33. 3 per cent, Bate of the same division,
4s.7 per cent, and Clayton, the temaiti-
ing brigade, A.. 4 per cent; and Bate in
one afternoon had three horses shot hn-
der him.
In Claytoris brigade the Eighteenth
Alabama lost SO per cent.
Prcston's division, in less than one
hour and thirty minutes, on Sunday af-
ternoon, lost 33 per cent of those en-
gagged. Gracie's brigade of this division
lost S4.S per cent. in single hour, while
assaulting the position of General Bran
nan on Horseshoe Ridge, and the total
loss of the same brigade in the second
days fight was 81 per cent.
of Gracie's brigade the First Alabama
Legion lost 40 per cent; the SiXty-third
Tennessee 40. Z per cent
This brigade of Oracle, which suffered
such terrible loss within the space of an
hour, carried into action 2,O03 officers
and men, and in this time lost Cos killed
and wounded. The Second Alabama
battalion lost 1863 killed and wounded
out of 239. In the assault on the Ridge,
in which these losses occurred, the col
in eighty-three places. They were af-
terward, by request, presented to Presi-
dent Davis, and the standard bearer,
Robert w. Hearth, was promoted for
conspicuous courage.
Gregg's brigade of Bushrod Johnson's
division, while assaulting Snodgrass
Hill, lost nearly As per cent; the Twen-
ty-ffth Tennessee, of Johnsons S brigade,
in Stewards division, lost over so per
cent.
Jackson's brigade of Cheatham's divis-
ion lost 34.S7 per cent; the Fifth
Georgia, one of its regiments, lost $40
per cent. Several of the regiments of
Maney's brigade of this same division
lost over 50 per cent. This was true of
the two regiments, Sixth and Mint tn
Tennessee, under the command of that
brilliant officer, Colonel Geo. c. Porter,
and the same character of fighting was
performed by tho First and Twenty
seventh Tennessee, under the command
of that equally brilliant officer, Colonel
Hume r. Field.
In Breckinridges division the aggre-
gate of loss was 80 per cent. Owing to
theloss of its commanding officer, the
Adams brigade of this division was COM
manded in the latter part of the fight by
Senator Randall Gibson. Its loss was 81
cent. In Brecliinridges division, Helm,
in command of one brigade, was killed;
Adams, commanding another, severely
wounded, and Graves, the Chief of Ar
tillery, was killed.
The loss in Cleburne's division was 43
per cent. The Forty eighth Tennessee,
in Folks brigade of this division, lost
73 out of $50. Deshler's brigade lost it's
commanding officer and % per cent. of
its men, and ID. II. Hills corps of two
divisions, to which these brigades be-
longed, lost "a per cent. of those en-
gagged.
The desperate character of the fight
ing ON Baird's front, the left division of
our army on Sunday afternoon, is illus
trated by the fact that three brigades in
succession moved up against the same
point of the work and each in success
sion was broken and scattered. First
Helm, of Breckinridge's division at
tackled in two lines and were driven
back. Then Gist's brigade of Walkers
division went over these lines of Helms
which had been repulsed, and charged
forward only to be in turn overwhelmed
by the irmness of the fire from the
breastworks. Upon Gists withdrawing,
Ectors brigade moved over the broken
lines of Helm and Gist in succession
and assaulted the works, to be in turn
repulsed.
Wilson'S brigade of Walkers division
lost little over 80 per cent of those en-
gagged. Liddelrs division of two bri-
gade's lost Al per cent. Govan's brigade
suffered loss of so per cent, and Sena-
tor Walthal's of 80 per cent.
1t is just to the men and commands
who performed this magnificent fight
ing to say further that these are not Sc
lected figures. In compiling them there
has been no search for the maximum
figures of loss, but they were taken at
random from such Confederate battle
reports as were available for the pur-
pose.
No ordinary comment could emphasize
the story of yalor and endurance which