| Show information WORTH owl newspapers and soldiers ate are asked questions which app appear answer simple and easy to answer su CV chow how many enlisted men were tb ahti the war how many gene generate killed were there the re any chap chaff surgeons killed etc such are not so easily answered parties are well posted or given to look up good authority ia h this fact and in order that such e questions may be readily and a ace answered I 1 have devoted so time in the interest of my eo coat and also for the information ot who may not have had the time W at sire to read the books published of G late war and the following official and reliable information tah tw I 1 shall refer are taken from the rec of the war of the rebellion J a I 1 compiled by colonel fox ot of alb I 1 new york and irom from rcy my own p e observations during eleven years SC in in the volunteer and regular to the united states puring during the different periods tak war the strength of our armies boft present and nd absent greatly differed oaf january 1861 there were pr s total of and absent 1704 1 aggregate of 16 this thimas was 01 co the regular army of the united states on may 1865 there were p present absent bog and aggregate aft ot of i As regards enlistments in the anaw of the united states during th the ati varied in length although the bulk be noted as for three years there were enlisted during ath the K 2 of which were wem lot three years which included the veteria veteran re enlistments for one yeam tor for tw two 0 years 1042 for fast years for nine months for three months ifor six months moat si for one hundred days sixty days for eight months and ang 42 for four months there were also abo several new york regiments of militia who served for thirty days in various emergencies and bodies of minute men from other states stales of which no abc atc was ever given the war there were soar or mortally wounded ta om other causes or a total of of 3 as follows officers lat Bisted ed men jfe were over men who en sast t before the war closed who if saw active service or ever fired a aad it is doubtful if there were at itane e who were actually difed during the whole war bong ng the casualties of the union sars during the war there were mur fr kil ailed ed after capture butted hutted suicide ai executed by my authority in this connect witnessed the shooting of five for ny jumping executed by the re ifft died from sunstroke sun stroke died uses unknown and not classified li and d from causes not stated the war ar there were over enlisted men honorably dis fed from the service for disability from wounds or disease e desertions during the war noted d to but the provost atal of the army considers that they fe wrongly reported and he places actual number at of this iber were arrested and sent to gaeir ir respective regiments be number ol of drafted men held to imbat reach canada num M wily 53 but in addition to there tre were conscripts who substitutes and besides these sub there were who enlisted chutes utes for men who bad been but secured exemption there v sending men into the field in laces ces there were also men who received exemption payment adment of each r regiment in all the union army re s credited with having sus abi i greatest loss in battle was the new hampshire infantry its loss men killed or mortally wound va action during its four years ser abut from later reports irom from the erroll oll of that regiment and from on file in the war department it the honor to the seventh new york s written ritten regiment regimen tits its loss being dinst t the fiato new Hamps hampshire hirOS volunteer light artillery branch of ae Mo service the first pennsylvania is re worded as suffering ring the greatest loss ite in the regular army battery B artillery stands first and light kfoury Kf artillery stands second heavy art artillery mery the first maine th e roll of honor with a total sued of out of who went into ace battle Peters borgh gettysburg burg which has been credited A being the greatest battle ol of the war v sustained attained a loss ot of killed landed Wan ded captured making a total M in the killed or those who AW irom wounds the number comes IN to 10 if gettysburg is to be con addred the greatest battle of the war att jetam was the bloodiest one as more were killed in one day september VA 1862 than on any other one day during daring the war being a total killed ol of 2168 2108 wounded missing or a grand total of the largest number of general officers wed tilled or died during the war will sur prise areat many and were as follows fot lows 1111 generals 27 brigadier generals generali 6 brevet maior generals and 5 brovet brevet brigadier generals there were abd abb 23 brevet brigadier generals killed in in action without brigade commands but doing duty either as regimental or staff duty in addition to those killed there were 35 general officers died of disease during the war there were also 34 colonels killed while command ing in brigades I 1 surprise will also be manifested when you vou learn that of oi the commissioned officers killed there were ii chaplains many of whom were recommended for or bravery en cn the field ot of battle chaplain fuller of the sixteenth mass was killed at fredericksburg with rifle in hand and chaplain bennett of the thirty second ohio carried his musket and fought in the ranks among the brigade commanders killed at cold harbor was rev J C drake colonel of the iirth new york we also find that durin during the war there were 40 surgeons k killed 1 I and 73 wounded this will also slow show that non combatants are not always in a safe place as is supposed by many who are unacquainted with military life especially field service the two great battles of the age are those of waterloo and gettysburg and were fought with from to on each side and the combatants lost about each it is indeed a very peculiar fact that the regiments that lost the most men in battle incurred the least loss by disease and through the war there were more men lost by disease than by bullet and also that one fifth of the deaths from disease occurred in regiments that were never in battle during the war there were battles fought and in all them were 1882 engagements gage ments battles skirmish skirmishes hes on affairs in which at least one regiment was concerned of the union prisoners confined there died or 28 per cent the greatest number present at one time was on august ath 1864 the greatest number of deaths in one day was on august 1864 the largest military prison in the north during the war was at elmira new york and at one time there were confined prisoners of whom 2994 died and ot or the total number that died dica 2998 were buried in the field that has since been ploughed sloughed hed over and planted and now each summer the golden grain arain and in winter the snow clad fields elds show no sign of the hapless confederate soldier buried beneath the surface A few moments will be devoted to the colored soldier the first appearance of our colored comrade in military op operations pe rations was at cincinnati in september 1862 at the time when general morgan threatened his invasion A colored brigade of three regiments was organized and assigned to duty in constructing ting fortifications and eartho earthworms earthworks earth works about cincinnati these men gave their services freely to the government they were not armed or uniformed and their service lasted three weeks it was about this time that general butler took his first steps in organizing the colored regiments known as the louisiana native guards at new orleans and on the of september 1862 the first colored regiment was mustered into the united states slates service as the louisiana native guard it is a well known fact that the colored troops fought well throughout the war brid nd deserve great credit one hundred and sixty six regiments of colored troops were organized during the war and the total loss in battle amounted to 2751 killed and mort mortally alIV wounded not including the deaths of their officers who were white during the rebellion there were organized twenty five army corps two cavalry corps and an engineer and pontoon corps and a united states signal corps which were divided among the armies of the east and the west the artillery was divided among the several armies and had no separate organization except that at each army corps division and brigade headquarters there was a reserve corps composed of heavy and light batteries naturally every soldier who served in the late war had his favorite corps division brigade and regiment and even a light battery and I 1 must be excused it on this occasion I 1 speak more of the army of the potomac lotom ac than of the western armies therefore in my mv personal estimation the the most famous corps was the fighting third which was afterwards consolidated with the gallant second the most talked of division in the army were the pennsylvania reserves bikis division ot of regulars which also included a bi imade of new york troops and hancocks lian cocks fighting divi division ion ol of the second corps of the famous brigades the vermont brigade suffered tbt greatest loss ot of me life 01 any throughout the war which lost in killed led and death from wounds 1272 in the battle of the wilderness Wid erness ane next famous brigade was the iron brigade of wisconsin whose tota total loss during the war was 1131 this brigade was first commanded by general john gibbon recently deceased and who in montana in 1869 and 70 commanded the re regiment the writer belonged to the ath united states infantry In the irish brigade next followed and there followed loll owed the first new jersey new yorks excelsior at one time lime commanded by the gallant sickles the star brigade of the irth corps Ste edmans willicas hl hs and hor kers brigades of the ath corps all of whom suffered heavy losses during the war with reference to the losses in the wisconsin and vermont brigades due allowance should be made the vermont brigade having been composed of six regiments while the wisconsin had but five regiments so that in pro poro pon ion n to its number this brigade sustained the greatest loss the second mass infantry was considered the best officered regiment in the army the fifty fourth mass colored led the assault on fort wagner and at an engagement at elustre Olus tre F florida orida th the e sergeant serge ait att in major ajor was commissioned a lieutenant by governor andrews but for a long time the united states government refused to muster him in the service on account of his bis color the ath mass will be remembered as the regiment that had its street fight in baltimore nd in 1861 en route to washington to protect the capitol five companies of the pennsylvania militia were the first volunteer troops in the war to arrive at washing ton at 7 a in april irth 1861 on the following day the aith pennsylvania and ath mass arrived at baltimore and in the fight at that city the 26 tb penn lost one killed and seven wounded the second rhode island infantry was the fighting regiment of the state and fired the first volley at the first battle of bull run the wisconsin ath regiment ot of infantry was known as the eagle regiment on account of the live american eagle it carried through the war perched on a staff beside the colors in the armies of the union during the war there were classed three hundred fighting regiments these regiments being so classed each lost over in killed or died of wounds during their service in the rebellion at the outbreak ot of the war there were commissioned offic officers ersol of the army ranking from brigadier generals down to battalion second lieutenants who left the service deserted old glory and joined the south all those who so thus deserted among the number being the noted general lee were classed as deserters in an order published by the war department regarding the professions there were ot of farmers 48 mechanics 24 laborers 16 commercial 5 professional men 3 and miscellaneous 4 per cent As regards nativity it appears that out of three fourths were native born americans of the other fourth our germany furnished irela ireland england british america and other countries the mean age of each recruit was years when classed by age the largest class was that of 18 years from which the classes decreased to that of 45 years of the recorded ages taken from the company rolls there were of 18 years of age at ig 19 years and so on the number at 25 years being and at 44 years there were in addition to these figures musicians company cifers drummers bummers and buglers buggers bug lers an enormous number under 16 ceasr the writer of this being at the age of jo 10 years ii i month and 2 days when enlisted and enjoys the honorable distinction of being the youngest soldier ever enlisted in defence of the flag the average weight ot of our soldiers are incomplete but the general average appears to be put down as pounds yet et in one company of the 3rd ard maine infantry infantry the average weight was pounds the average height of our soldiers as shown by the returns of recruiting officers appears to be 5 feet af inches the west Viriginia ns average 5 leet feet 9 inches the tallest man whose record was verified in the army was capt van Bus buskirk kirkof of the indiana who rho was 82 inches in height in his stocking feet the shortest maii man was a soldier in the ohio who at the time of his enlistment was 24 years old was 40 inches in height colonel butter chis his commanding officer stated that the little lellow fellow could endure the great est hardship latigue fatigue and exposure the tall tail man as a rule proved to be poor material fora for a long and tedious ca cam m laign as at the end ot of a hard days march the ponies were generally on hand band to answer answer roll call while the head bead of the companies in the mornings were behind coming into camp later on the officers of the N Y high landers wore kilts the N Y was called the orange blossoms having baving been recruited in orange county the N Y was known as the steuben rankers rangers and full of fight the noth N Y national zouave organized a working lodge of masons called the national zouave lodge and held beld their meetings in a co at fort monroe va the iirth N Y was 1 dubbed the iron hearts and the ath N Y the writers regiment the ellsworth avengers Av engers the booth penn was nicknamed the round heads having been recruited in that part of the state which had been sett ed by the english roundheads round heads and scotch irish Covenant ers the old IIA penn was well known throughout the army of the potomac as the Buck tails this regiment was the one that in all the union forces was most dreaded by the johnnies and it was this regiment that made the famous charge across the stone bridge at Ant eitam the aist penn was the california regiment having been recruited recruit ea at philadelphia by senator baker ot of california who was killed at bal s bluff in the penn one company was composed ot of jews the jewish citizens ot of chicago having contributed to organize them the ath michigan was known as the wandering regiment on account of being changed so often from place to place the iowa was termed the gray beard regiment as ail members were over the age of 45 the ath new jersey was called the jersey bues 1 the massachusetts colored refused their pay at per month for seven consecutive pay days and on september 1864 the men were paid in full from day ot of enlistment at 1300 per month during the war there were wounded by the sabre and bayonet general custer had been credited with capturing the first rebel flag in the war at an en ga gement on may 1862 at new Sa ridge bridge va but in the report of lieutenant bowen of the topographical engineers and colonel woodberry ath mich cavalry I 1 find no such record of the capture ot of a rebel flag although both officers highly recommended |
