The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1895-08-23

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Fierceness OF the Combat.
Following are 10 notable battles of
the century, where the loss in killed
and wounded exceeded 10 per cent of
the number engaged:
I. Eilau, 1907. Russians and French. Loss,
20 per cent.
2 Stone River (Murfreesboro) 1862 Loss,
| 2315 per cent. Tho Union troops woro not ali
closely engaged, but their loss was 20 per cent
.. lMarengo, 800. Austrians and French.
| Loss, % per cent.
4. Chickamauga. 1868. Loss, 81 per cent The
Union troops were not all closely engaged.
! but their loss was 20 per cont.
| 3. AntietaIn, 1862. Loss, 81 per cent. Union
troops were not all closely engaged. but their
| loss was 10 per cent.
6. Leipsic, 1873 Allies and French Loss,
| Fl per cent. Leipsio has been termed by the
Germans "the battle Of the nations" on ac-
count OF the vast armies assembled, which
| numbered 465, 600 men. 1t occurred the year
after Borodino. which until recent years has
been classed as the bloodiest battle of modern
times. But an outside estimate on the best
figures attainable places the loss at Borodino
at about 81 per cent.
| 2. Gettysburg 1863. Loss, 2Oper cent. Union.
| troops not all closely engaged and their loss
| 10 per cent. The four Union corps most heav-
| lily engaged-namely, the First, Second, Third
| and Eleventh-lost SO per cent. The six corps
| most closely engaged-including the Fifth and
Twelfth with the above-lost about "a per cent.
8. Shiloh, 1862 Loss. 20 per cent. Union
| loss, 1715 per cent.
0. Mars.la-Tour, 1870. Germans and French.
| Loss 10 per cent.
10. Waterloo, 1914. Loss. IA per cent.
| IL. Woerth 1870. Germans and French. Loss,
| IA per cent.
, IL. Solferino, 1850. French and Austrians.
| Loss IL per Cent.
| 10. sadowa, 1906 Prussians and Austrians
Loss, IL per cent
Of these battles Eilau, Marengo, Leip-
sic and Waterloo were fought with
smoothbore flintlock muskets Stone
River, Chickamauga, Antietam, Gettys-
burg, Shiloh and Solferino with rifed
barrels and percussion caps, and Woerth
| and Mars a-Tour with breechloaders.
| At Sadowa the Prussians had breech-
| leaders.
If the figures for the losses ut Eilau,
Marengo and Leipsic could be given
with the exactness that applies to the
battles of the civil war it is probable
that the percentage Of losses ON those
fields would be found less than I have
estimated.
The figures handed down doubtless
include the prisoners or missing, thus
swelling the loss. In the numbers given
for the civil war only the known killed
and wounded are included in the &C
count. To be exact, then, Stone River,
Chickamauga, Antietam, Gettysburg
and Shiloh must be considered the blood
lest battles Of the century.
The Battle Scared Recions.
The war invested certain regions with
memories that can never fade The vet
Grams with their descendants and rela-
tives who take pride in the achieve
ments of kindred have made pilgrimages
to the scenes hallowed by clash Of arms,
and every wave of interest set in motion
by battlefield tour broadens until thou
sands and tens Of thousands arc drawn
In. But aside from all this the battle
SCARED regions remain monuments an
nouncing the splendor and glory of the
past. 1t will never be possible to tear
from the valleys Of the Potomac, the
Rappahannock, the Shenandoah and the
James the associations Of the war; nei-
ther from the Tennessee, Alabama and
Georgia mountains of the west.
In tho east the bloody ground was
between Gettysburg, Pa, on the north
and Suffolk, Va. ON the south, the west
ern limit on line drawn through
Lynchburg, and the eastern through Nor
folk. In this district, about 100 miles
broad and 200 miles long, occurred Is
battles, where the loss in killed outright
numbered over 100, 200 and tho aggre-
gate Of killed and wounded was over
200, 900 In the lesser engagements and
In siege operations probably 100000
more were numbered with the casual
ties.
Here were fought the desperate strug
giles of Gettysburg, Antietam, Malvern
Hill and Winchester, fields Of glorious
memory to the veterans who contended
there. Here the Monitor bore down the
Merrimac and led off in u new era of
naval warfare. Here, too, was Appomat-
tox Back and forth over this blood
stained arena the armies contended in
the campaigns Of the Rappahanncck, tho
Peninsula, the invasions Of Maryland
and Pennsylvania, tho Shenandoah and
the Wilderness.
The graves of the Union dead in this
consecrated arena number over 90, 900,
and tens Of thousands more, who there
received their death stroke, were bolne>
north to their last resting place. The
plains of Manassas, the wales through
which the Shenandoah rolls its placid
streams, the banks of the Potomac and
the James were affairs whereon tie rich
blood of patriots was shed as ibations
to the god of nationality.
The bloody ground in the west is al
most identical with the state Of Tennes-
see. From Atlanta ON the southern limit
to Knoxville on the northern is about
40 miles, and from Atlanta to Mem
phis on the west about 800 miles. With
in the limits come Chickamauga, Stone
River and Shiloh, three of the desperate
battles Of the age For three years tho
war ragged back and forth across the state
of Tennessee. Fort Donelson, Nashville,
Murfreesboro, Knoxville, Chattanooga
and Corinth were scenes of repeated
struggles. Over 10000 Union dead lie
in the cemeteries of that district, and
tens Of thousands were taken north from