The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-16


on the following day in the
room Of the senate committee on
military affairs. There was Gems. Rose
Grams. Baird, Reynolds. Cist. Manderson.
Boynton and Col. Kellogg OF the union Of
ficers present, and Gems. Bate Of Tennes-
see. Colquitt Of Georgia, Walthall of Mis-
sissippi, Morgan and Wheeler Of Alabama.
Wright Of Tennessee and Col. Bankhead
of Alabama and Morgan Of Mississippi.
Thus the project grew, enlistng in its
service distinguished citizens i'm the north
and south. When the question arose. in
the winter following the organization of
the association, Of asking congressional
aid for the purchase of the battlefield,
Gen. Boynton conceived the idea Of en-
larging the scope OF the scheme so as TO
embrace the notable fields Of Lookout
Mountain and Missionary Ridge and Chat
tanooga and establishing the whole as
national park under the control of the
Secretary of War. The bill was drawn au-
thorizing the secretary, through "a COM
mission of his own selection, to establish
the park
1t was placed in the hands Of Gen.
Charles II. Grosvenor. an influential mem
Der Of the House Of Representatives from
Ohio, who served with signal distinction
at Chlckamauga and who was a prOml-
nent member OF the Society of the Army
of the Cumberland. Gen. Grosvenor who
Is as active in executive capacity as he
was on the field of battle thirty and odd
years ago, championed the measure with
characteristic energy. II was referred to
the House committee on military affairs
and by them favorably reported. 1t was
not until the closing hours of congress that
unanimous consent was asked to cali up
the measure A single objection would
have defeated the request None was
made. This was the more remarkable
when 1t is remembered that the river and
harbor bill, in which every member was
interested, and which they were desirous
to dispose of, was before the house. The
bill was read and the House dispensed
with the reading of the report Of the COM
mittee and the measure passed In twenty
three minutes
In the Senate equal consideration was
shown to the measure. The sundry civil
appropriation bill was before that body
when Senator Hawley of Connecticut
asked that the park bill be taken up. IL
was read and passed unanimously. The
Senate clerk, Gen. Arson G. McCook of
THE Fighting McCOoks," who partic;-
pated in the battle OF Lookout Noun
tain, proved to be faster reader than
the House clerk, and as a result the bill
passed the Senate IN twenty minutes
IL was taken that night to President Har-
rison by Mr.. H. Clay Evans of Chatta-
nooga, who represented the district in tho
House, and who was the recent republl-
can candidate for the governorship OF
Tennessee. The President promptly sign
ed 1t, the national park was authorized,
and an appropriation of Sl25,01O made
available to begin the work.
Senator Proctor of Vermont. who was
then Secretary of War, selected the two
civilian members Of tie committee, Gen.
Joseph S. Fullerton and Alexander z.
Stewart, with Capt kellogg Of the
Fourth cavalry, whom he detailed as the
army officer provided by law, and who
was also to be secretsry Of the commits
sion. Gen. II. V. Boynton was appointed
historian. All these. gentlemen had
served in the battles about Chattanooga
Gen. Fullerton as chief Of staf to Gen.
Granger; Gen. Stewart as a division
commander under Bragg. and Capt.
Kellogg as an aide on Gen. Thomas
staff
Gen. Boynton asserts that the battle
Of Chickamauga stands to-day as the
most stubbornly contested battle of the
war. He claims that the percentage of
its casualty lists exceeds those Of Ma
poleon's most noted battles, as well as
those Of all the later fields of modern
Europe.
He goes on to show that the Third
Westphalan regiment became famous
throughout the German army as the reg
iment which suffered the heaviest loss
during the FrancO-Prussian war. 1t went
into battle 5000 strong and its loss was
40 per cent. There was n6thing in the cam
paign of which this regiment formed a
part, which exceeded these figures, yet in
the American civil war there was more
than sixty regiments whose loss exceeded
this.
Seventeen of them lost above 60 per cent.
and quite number ranged from 20 to so.
There were more than a score of regi-
ments on each side at Chickamauga whose
loss exceeded that of the Westphalian reg
iment. The percentage of loss in the
charge of the Light Brigade at Balakla-
va of worldwide celebrity, was only SO
per cent. Rosecrans' loss at Chattanooga
was $4,000; Bragg's losses were 1900. The
total loss for each army was more than
25 per cent, of the entire force of each
side and it averaged about 80 per cent,
on each side for the troops actually en-
gagged.