Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-09-22
FIGURES OF THE WAR.
Some Comparisons That Show the Vastness
of the Military Operations.

Some Comparisons That Show the Vastness
Of the Military Operations.
Figures and their combinations tell some
strange stories when applied to certain epochs
in civil and religious governments They
adorn graphic tales and point stupendous NOR
ais. Unfortunately the statistican whose meat
and drink, whose whole idea of life and only
conception OF pleasure is embraced by appall-
ing rows of figures, fixes them up in such amaz-
lngly complicated tables that the ordinary
brain cannot comprehend them. He spends
all the best years of his life reducing to a sci
ence this fantastic arrangement of the worlds
history in figur a postsl card. like the en-.
graver who puts the Constitution on a gold
dollar, forgetting alike that the average mind
is not scientific and the average s.constitu
tional" reader does not carry mag
nifying glass with him, hence the costly
tables and sacrifice of eyesight is in vain as
well set before the primer class a table Of
Chinese hierogiyphics. Yet if You translate
the Chinese into United States" the primer
class can comprehend it, Just SO it IS with
these all-embracing tables. II you say that the
war for Union cost the United States govern
ment three and one-half billion of dollars the
man who never earned above dollar day in
bis life can take in the magnitude of the sppo
But II you set before that man q long table of
figures showing IN neat parallel columns the
sums set apart for subsistence in the civil war
and that spent in the revolutionary war.
with other columns comparing expenditures for
ammunition, clothing bounties salaries. AZ
If you were to show the loans negotiated. the
bonded indebtedness, the enormous princ,nnl
and tho priDcclv interest he would st,pcer like
one with the sanstroke ana declare that the
war was failure because 1t cost too many lives
and too much money. But if you were TO saw
to him that in the prison pens of Raleigh Sails
bury and Andersonvilie more men died of pesti-
lence and starvation than the British had troops
In the allied army at the commencement of the
battle OF Waterloo lie would catch on lmuedi-
ately. History has told him that the effective
strength Of the British army at Waterloo was
rs, 3S9 men. and he knows that nearly 30 OOO
brave men died by inches In those three south
ern prisons.
There are some wonderful tables sent ont nv
tho War Department i'll the Records of the
Rebellion but nobody ever takes time TO read
them. A few plain figures taken from those
records, however, will be of interest to the
veterans now in the city.
When the southern states seeded from the
Union over. One-eighth Of the population of
the country consisted of slaves OF these
l75,000 entered the United States service
before the close of the war and fought nobly
for their own freedom.
the first troops we're volunteers, and there
was no drafting or conscripting until 1863
In tho army and navy forces there were nearly
three millions of men engaged in the defense
of the flag. OF this number something like
sixty-seven thousand were regulars, or belonged
to the standing army" of the United States.
All the prominent officers and many of the
minor ones were men whom the government
educated at West Point
or the troops in the Union army two-thirds
were American born and of the oDe-third for
eign born most of them were naturaiized cit-
zens. They enlisted ut first for three months"
and were called ninety day. men: then tho
eniistments were msde for year. and toward
the end for three years or the war;"
The northern army was divided into twenty
five army corps, consecutively numbered, and
one cavalry corps.
1t is estimated that of every thousand men
in the Union army seventy-three rien on the
sick list and 234 absent for various reasons was
the general average, leaving 693 reporting for
duty.
The number of men who deserted reached
l9j.Oi5; those dismissed from the service.
2,423; those dishonorably discharged, 1858:
cashiered, 274; executed by sentence T. making
a total OF 26i 4i2 who disgraced the army blue,
The number OF men killed in battle and died
on the field was 81, 49,. There were a. 77S
died OF wounds, lSs.2s7 died OF disease. 80G
were accidentally killed. 6749 we're missing in
action and never accounted for. l74.517 were
honorably discharged, 90, 1906 were discharged
for disability aud 2.2Sl resigned.
Summing up all the losses from disease. bat
tie and casualty. 1t is estimated that half a
million men lost their lives In the war OF the
rebellion. They found death on 2,4OO fields
worthy name in history, averaging two bat
ties day for each day Of the war. In $50 Of
these battles the loss was over 500 men,
The north raised money on loans from
abroad, If veasin,, the United States debt from
. S.0O0.O0, in let1, 70 s2,6l5 COG, eco in 1865
me whole sost ,f M war 10 e, .imated to have
Aoen 10, 400, 0OO.aN or about la.5na 600 u day.
There are buri, d IN thu national cemeteries
SIS. $40 men who tlies In LATHE aud IN prison or
from the effects Of one or both.
At the close Of the war there were 1000. 600
In the service; Of this number ESQ, O0O were
available for activs duty.
These are but simple facts and truthfuR fie-
ures, but whole war library csuld ted no
more: IL could only enlarge upon ed amhsl-
lish these easements