Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-07-15
BATTLES IN THE CIVIL WAR.
Total in Four Years, SIPS; Missouri wit.
messed Much Hard Fighting.
(From the Washington Post.)

The interest in war "Reminiscences
created by the present difficulty with
Spain has influenced me to contribute
to the numerous articles
that have already appeared. but upon
a subject not heretofore touched upon.
Through the courtesy of Capt l.. Nj.
Kelley, the obliging Deputy Commits
sioner OF Pensions, l was permitted
to unearth certain facts relating to the
civil war that will absolutely distin-
guish 1t as being conflict truly Ii
tanic; and at the same time it may
furnish a surprise to those who are
only familiar with the great battles.
Capt. Kelley, by the way, is gallant
Union soldier. and participated in
many of the hard-fought battles that
engaged the armies in the West. He
entered the service as a private and
emerged from the conflict as captain
of Company A, Thirty-siXth Illinois
Infantry. A vast number of engage
mentS We're fought in states where
only a few are ever spoken of. and of
the actual number but little is
known. For instance. should civil
service examination require an appli-
cant to name the state in which the
greatest number of battles took place,
excepting of course, Virginia, he
would naturally reply Kentucky or
Tennessee. While as a matter of fact
more battles We're fought in Missouri
than in any other state. In Texas the
fewest number took place of any Of
the seeding states. While Florida and
nd he ascending
scale. The actual number of engage
ments that occurred in each state Will
doubtless surprise those who have not
investigated the matter. AS Virginia
was the great theatre of that strug-
gle. we hear oftenest of Bull Run, the
Seven Days battles. Fredericksburg.
the Wilderness, characteristics, Pet
ersburg and the Valley campaign. but
by actual count. taken from the rec
ords 621 battles We're fought in that
commonwealth during the civil war
In Missouri the greatest prominence
is given to the battles of Elk Horn
and Wilson's Creek, while. as a mat
ter of fact, Az engagements took
place altogether. Tennessee is famous
as the scenes of the battles of Muir
fresboro. Lookout Mountain. Chicka-
manga, Franklin and other important
struggles. but at the close of the
strife 37S engagements We're put down
as her quota.
In Arkansas. one Of the border states
there Was much hard fighting. Pea
Ridge being one nf the important en-
gagements. but there We're 29i battles
in all. Nicksburg was in the fury Of 4
long siege and the battles of Corinth
Holly Springs and Jackson also took
place in Mississippi; add to these the
other engagements that occurred N
that state and we have a total of PSI
Louisiana comes next in point of num-
beers, with 49, among these being the
battles of New orleans, Pleasant Hin,
and the siege Of Port Hudson. as eYents
that will live in history. Georgia.. IN,
route of 'Sherman's march to the sea
furnished many of the notable battles
of the war, among them Atlanta, Ken
esaW Mountain, Peach Tree Creek. Re
SAGA, Savannah and Ringgold, the tota
being 1862. In Kentucky there were 10;
battles during the war, that of Perry
willie being chaps the most important
In Ala bama there 10o engagements, no
table among them being the lombard
mcnt of Mobile and battles around Sci
ma and Montgomery. Next on the lis
comes North Carolina, with a total OF
103 battles, among them Bentonvilie
Wilmington and Greensboro. In Yves
Virginia IS engagements took place
In South Carolina. where the first gur
of the war was fired there We're /:
battles. including the capture of Co
l,Ip "a hpm h1 rt
ments of Fort Sumter, and the as
saults that We're made upon the bat
teries in Charleston harbor. In tn,
Indian territory there were 40 battles
and in Florida there We're SO. the mos.
important being the battle Of Oluste
Maryland is famous for strategic i'm
portance, because the battle Of Ante
tam place within her borders, but there
were also SO other engagements. There
We're - engagements in Kansas during
the war, and in Texas l.. Gettysburg
the greatest battle of the war, was
fought in Pennsylvania but there wert
six other engagements in that state
which have been overshadoWed by thai
more important event. In Ohio Their
were five engagements, in Indiana, }
Illinois, / and in the District of Colum
bia. (Early's raid !.
According to the above figures. anC
they are taken from the records, tn,
total number of battles that Wer,
fought between the Union and Confed
crate armies from April i, 1861, t,
April .. 1868. is 1928 This period en-
braced the four years of the civil strife
To give an idea of how this compare
with other struggles in which the Uni
ted States have been engaged. it ma,
be here stated that more battles tool
place in West Virginia during the Civi
War than We're fought in the entir
country during the Revolutionary Wa
or during the war with Mexico. q
course, there We're numerous battle
of greater Importance during the latte
conflicts but 10y count the number o
engagements by comparison is in Yves
NWginias favor
Madge--On account of the war,