The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-06-13

1t is quite possible that the measure intro
duced into Congress at the present session,
for the establishment of national military
park on the battlefield OF Chickamauga may
become law before the 9th anniversary Of
the great fight, which occurs on September
10 and 20 next.
1t may seem strange that Congress should
select for this purpose battle which was
technically Union defeat. But this consid-
Grafton evidently does not strike the House
military committee as being OF particular
tRs ysh ether e points n
fndisputable:
"There is no other field upon which all the ar
niles were so fully represented. There Is prOba-
bly, no other In the world which presents more
formidable natural obstacles to great military on
sTat4aS tnaR dg ne slopes u Loono1s Mountain and
passes Chlckamauga In the deadlness and per
sistence Of its fighting. The tactical movements
many OF them remarkable. Indeed, both are as
noted In this respect as In the character Of the
fighting"
Exactly what the losses in killed and
wounded at Chckamauga were may not be
altogether beyond dispute. But a careful
estimate puts the Union loss at 1.656 killed,
9.749 wounded. and Alta missing. or total
Of 1919; and the Confederate at $3.50 killed,
13.4l2 wounded, and zoos missing, a total Of
1854. The Union loss at Gettysburg, ac-
cording to Colonel Phisterer, was %, 1856, in
eluding 1854 killed and 13. 700 wounded, and
the Confederate loss 3l,62i Still the loss at
Chickamsuga was greater than at Shiloh,
and on the Union side 1t was greater In
killed and wounded than at Murfreesboro.
The House committee, In fact, makes q
special point Of the sanguinary character OF
the fighting at Chickamauga as compared
with that in some famous modern European
battles:
NWellington Lost 10 nar eant NJ xua.o-too
Napoleon, 141s per cent. at Austerlltz and IL
per cent; az Marengo. The average loss OF both
than per cent. AT KOniggratz, ia 1856 ID was
9 per cent. At Worth, MARSHA four Grayelotte
cent eS TSe 10 one " oss s,T was ~ per
Franco-PruSsan war was by the Third West
phalian infantry at Mars-la-Tour 1t took 600
this record was that Of the Garde-Schutzen bat
talon, 900 strong. at Metz, which lost as per
cent There were several brigades on each Side
at Chiekamauga, and very many regiments, whose
losses exceeded these figures for Mars-la-Tour
and Metz. Tne average losses on each Side for
the troops which fought through the two DAYS
were fully 80 per cent, while for many portions of
each line the losses reached so per cent and for
some even 75 per cent field as renowned as
this for the stubbornness and brilllancy Of its
hghting, not only 10 our own war, but when COM
pared with all modern wars, has an Importance 10
the nation as an object lesson Of what Is possible
In American hghtiDg, and the national value OF
such lines for historical and professional study
mast be apparent to all rejecting minds"
CuliOu was Ll6 great DdLLle OF Immature
armies at the West, like Bull Run at the
East; but Chickamauga. like Gettysburg, re-
presented the armies hardened by expert
ence and at the height OF their efficiency and
skill; Mistakes. were certainly made at
Chlckamauga on both sides; and some gene
rails brilliantly renowned on other fields
failed to win honor there. But on the whole
General Hindman, who fought against the
Union right at Horseshoe Ridge, had ground
for the declaration In his official report that
he had never seen Confederate soldiers fight
better nor had known Federal troops to fght
so well.
Like Gettysburg, also, Chlckamauga was
battle In which the laurels of the defeated
were only less splendid than those Of the vic
tors. Although tactically a reverse for tn
Union troops, yet the objective point Of the
whole campaign remained In the hands Of
the Union army. At Chickamauga, also, the
seed was sown which was harvested at Mis-
sionary Ridge. With the Army OF the Cum
berland REINFORCED by troops from Vicks-
burg and Bragg simultaneously weakened by
the detachment Of Longstreet, the next bat
| tie was assured in advance as a Union tri-
umph. The Confederate General ID. III. Hill
| was perhaps extrayagant In declaring that
| 1.-THE Southern soldier after Chickamau0a
| fought with the sullenness OF despair. mot
the enthusiasm Of hope. That barren VIC
tory sealed the fate Of the Southern Confed-
eracy." But at all events this Is a battle
field which Union as well as Confederate
soldiers can take pride in; and certainly its
highest individual fame Is not for Bragg, but
for that great Union soldier, George III.
Thomas.