The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-10-18
LOSSES AT GETTYSBURG.
Confederate Losses known Now to Have
Been Quite 10000.
Ne,o York Sun.

publications called out by the late
Grand Army reunion at Philadelphia
have started again the old discussion
about the Confederate strength and
losses in the Gettysburg campaign OF
1863, both moot questions and both OF
historical Importance as well as OF
general interest. The numbers en-
gagged and the losses of the two oppos-
ing armies in the battle of Gettysburg
are set out in the Government publ.
cation of records Of the war, being
embodied in Volume 27 in three parts.
The aggregate Of Union losses, com
piled from complete official returns OF
every Federal command, engaged in the
Pennsylvania campaign, was 23,O49
men killed, wounded and missing.
These figures are undisputed; they
have been accepted and quoted un-
changed by all writer's on the subject
ever since Gen. Meade made his off,
,cial report in August, 1868.
Now, unfortunately for historians,
there was no like and corresponding
complete official report Of the Confed-
crate casualties, covering in detail all
the commands engaged. The docu-
ment, SO called, most often c;ted in
historical discussions is mere sum-
mary of Confederate killed and wound
ed, made up by Surgeon L. Guild,
Gen. Lees medical director. 1t is
very unsatisfactory, being palpably
incomplete and inaccurate, and so in
dicated by the conscientious compi-
lers Of the official publication referred
to in footnotes and otherwise. Sever
al commands are entirely omitted;
Others estimated are inconsistent with
known facts, and still others are ire
eonciliable with the detailed reports
Of the commanding officers. DR..
Guilds summary accounts for Only q
.683 killed and 13, 1850 wounded: total,
6.052. Il makes no record o. the
missing, large numbers Of whom
were known to have been killed and
wounded.
Following Dr.. Guilds compilation
Of killed and wounded is a second
summary Of Confederate losses, which
include the missing. This is COM
piled from the general official reports
of the various commands Of the army.
As in DR.. Guilds report, some of
these were incomplete, while from
many subordinate commands no re-
ports whatever are on file in the de-
partment archives. In this summary
killed and wounded do not vary much
from the totals in Guilds report,
which, in fact, was the main authori-
ty on these heads. The aggregate
Confederate loss is summed up in this
statement as follows: Killed, 1882;
wounded, 1900; missing, '5,l5O; to-
tal, 20.45l.
In bracketed Introductory note to
this official summary Of Confederate
losses the Government compilers, OBJ
serving numerous discrepancies be-
tween the totals of DR.. Guild and 9TH
ers and those of the regimental, bri-
gade and other commanders Of the
Confederate army, remark: "O@ing 10
the ABSENCE of subordinate reports
such disagrcements cannot be explain
ed. Whether taken in detail or as a
whole, the compilation can only be re-
garded as approximate. Several OF the
reports indicate that many of the
missing were killed or wounded. "
Some idea of the extent of these va
riations and consequent misleading
character of this report may be gath
cred from the returns relating to Law s
brigade. A difference Of 122 is shown
by the regimental reports of losses
over the brigade summary totals. This
excess occurred in the returns OF four
regiments. The detailed regimental
report of the 18th Georgia, Of Ben
ning's brigade, shows a loss of III
killed, wounded and missing; in the
official summary the total loss OF the
Georgia regiment is carried at only Y
precisely the number of killed and
wounded reported in Surgeon Guild S
summary AS there were l7O regiments
Of Confederate infantry at Gettysburg
it will be seen what wide door is thus
opened for speculation. Gen. Lane
brigadeis set down in the summary
with loss Of 389: Lane himself re-
ported his loss at $50, difference of
271. Again, the Confederate official
reparts state their aggregate missing
at only $3.50 men, whereas the Union
rolls of prisoners of war carried the