William H. Price

“ But like all truly great tragedies, it carries with it an enduring lesson and a profound inspiration. It was a demonstration of heroism and sacrifice by men and women of both sides, who valued principle above life itself and whose devotion to duty is a proud part of our national inheritance. ”

“ In one company of 84, every officer and man was hit.
Of the 46 Confederate regiments that went into the famous charge at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, 15 were commanded by General Pickett. Thirteen of his regiments were led by Virginia Military Institute graduates; only two of them survived the charge.
The heaviest numerical loss during any single battle was at Gettysburg, where 40,322 Americans were killed or wounded. On the Union side 21 per cent of those engaged were killed or wounded, in the Confederate ranks 30 per cent—the largest percentage of Confederates hit in any battle. ”

“ Over one-fourth of the West Point graduates who fought during the Civil War were in the Confederate Army. Half of the 304 who served in Gray were on active duty in the United States Army when war broke out. Of the total number of West Pointers who went South, 148 were promoted to the rank of general officer. In all, 313 of the 1,098 officers in the United States Army joined the Confederacy. ”

“ Of the 2.3 million men enlisted in the Union Army, seventy per cent were under 23 years of age. Approximately 100,000 were 16 and an equal number 15. Three hundred lads were 13 or less, and the records show that there were 25 no older than 10 years.
The average infantry regiment of 10 companies consisted of 30 line officers and 1300 men. However, by the time a new regiment reached the battlefield, it would often have less than 800 men available for combat duty. ”

“ Soldiers and sailors of the United States received 1.34 billion dollars in pay during the war.
In 1861 an infantry private was paid $13 per month—compared to a private's pay of $83 today. A Civil War colonel drew $95 per month and a brigadier general $124. Their counterparts today are paid a monthly base rate of $592 and $800.
During the 1860's the average cost of a musket was $13 as compared to $105 for an M1 Garand in World War II.
[17] Numbers and Losses
[1] Confederate figures are based upon the best information and estimates available. ”

“ The total cost of the war to the South has been estimated at 4 billion dollars.
The public debt outstanding for an average population of 33 million rose from $2.80 to $75 per capita between 1861 and 1865. In mid-1958 the per capita debt stood at $1,493 for a population of 175.5 million.
In 1958 the government was providing pensions for 3,042 widows of Union veterans. In June of that year, as a result of special legislation, 526 widows of Southern soldiers and the two surviving Confederate veterans became eligible for Federal pensions. ”

“ Colonel CHRISTOPHER C. ("Kit") CARSON commanded the 1st New Mexico Volunteers (Union) , and campaigned against the Comanche, Navajo, and Apache Indians during the Civil War. In 1866 he was promoted to brigadier general.
In his mid-teens JESSE JAMES joined the Confederate raiders led by William Quantrill. The famous "Dead or alive" reward for Jesse in 1882 was issued by an ex-Confederate officer, Governor Thomas T. Crittenden of Missouri.
[11] The Soldier, the Battle,
The Losses
"There's many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell." ”

“ William H. Price is a pursuer of the lesser-known, but important, facts about the Civil War; an interest that is reflected throughout this unique handbook. Living in Northern Virginia, he has been over many square miles of the battlefields on foot and, often with a surveyor's transit, has plotted key sites and troop positions left obscure in the records of the armies. He specializes in the smaller, yet significant battles fought in Virginia—First Manassas, Cedar Mountain, Brandy Station—and in the operations of the signals services and topographical engineers. ”

“ Artillerymen soften an objective for the infantry. Although field artillery was used extensively, it frightened and demoralized more men than it wounded. Only 20 per cent of the battle casualties can be attributed to the artillery.
[55]
Assaults on fortified positions were costly, but here at Petersburg war-weary infantrymen await their turn for another charge against the Confederate works. ”

“ In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery all the slaughter of plague, pestilence and famine.
—GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
The arts of tactics and strategy were revolutionized by the many developments introduced during the 1860's. Thus the Civil War ushered in a new era in warfare with the ... ”

“ From 1861-1865 the Quartermaster Corps of the Union Army made 116,148 burials.
In the 79 National Civil War cemeteries, 54 per cent of the graves are those of unknown soldiers. The largest Civil War cemetery is at Vicksburg, where 16,000 soldiers rest; only 3,896 are known. At the Confederate prison site in Salisbury, North Carolina, where 12,126 Union soldiers are buried, 99 per cent are unknown. ”

“ On the silent battlefield at Gettysburg, veterans of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia who survived the baptism by fire await their fate as prisoners of war.
[23]
Regimental camp sites created sanitary problems that went unsolved. Typhoid fever, diarrhea, and dysentery took the lives of over 70,000 Union soldiers.
[24]
Private residences like the Wallach House at Culpeper, Virginia, provided generals on both sides with comfortable quarters in the field. ”

“ On the first ship to surrender under the Virginia's guns was Buchanan's brother, an officer of the U.S. Navy.
Major CLIFTON PRENTISS of the 6th Maryland Infantry (Union) and his younger brother WILLIAM, of the 2nd Maryland Infantry (Confederate) , were both mortally wounded when their regiments clashed at Petersburg on April 2, 1865—just seven days before hostilities ceased. Both were removed from the battlefield and after a separation of four years, they were taken to the same hospital in Washington. Each fought and each died for his cause. ”

“ One of an estimated 584,000 Union and Confederate soldiers wounded during the war. Of this number, over 80,000 died.
The Union ambulance corps provided one ambulance for every 150 men during the Wilderness Campaign. In one convoy of 813 ambulances, over 7,000 sick and wounded were transported to the hospital in Fredericksburg.
[57]
Amputees, like these Union soldiers who survived the surgeon's scalpel, would never forget the traumatic ordeal. ”

“ Gabions, open-end baskets filled with earth, proved as effective as masonary in defensive works. Thousands of these baskets were patiently made by hand for use in field and seacoast fortifications.
Confederate sappers constructed a number of artillery emplacements covering the avenues of approach to Atlanta. The guns in this fortification overlook famous Peachtree Street.
[50]
Chevaux-de-frise, made of logs pierced by sharp stakes, line the Georgia countryside. ”

“ The fighting covered an area of more than 170 square miles, with 35 miles of trenches and fortifications stretching from Richmond to the southwest of Petersburg. During September, 1864, nearly 175 field and siege guns poured forth a daily average of 7.8 tons of iron on the Confederate works.
The greatest cavalry battle in the history of the western hemisphere was fought at Brandy Station, Virginia, on June 9, 1863. Nearly 20,000 cavalrymen were engaged for more than 12 hours. ”

“ Sickness and details as cooks, teamsters, servants, and clerks accounted for the greatly reduced numbers. Actually, in many of the large battles the regimental fighting strength averaged no more than 480 men. ”