Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 05.pdf/210

Rh Seventeen regiments: Present, 7,000; average per regiment, 412; present for duty, —; average per regiment, —. Heth's division.

Fifteen regiments: Present, —; average per regiment, —; present for duty, 4,484; average per regiment, 299. Pickett's division.

Fifty-three regiments: Present, —; average per regiment, —; present for duty, 17,500; average per regiment, 330. First corps.

It will be seen that the average of the men present for duty in Early's division is exactly the average between the two other figures (299 and 330); we can take it, therefore, as the real standard of the regimental strength, while we shall take, also, Early's figures as being the lowest average for the whole of the men present per regiment.

According to the tabular return of losses of the Army of Northern Virginia in the campaign north of the Potomac, furnished to me by the archives of the United States War Department, this army contained 167 regiments of infantry, and not 163, as Dr. Bates has alleged; and 167 multiplied by 360 and 313 would give us respectively 60,120 infantry men present, and 52,271 present for duty. These 167 regiments of infantry represent the force with which Lee invaded Pennsylvania after he had left Corse's brigade at Hanover Junction, one regiment at Winchester, and had sent two regiments back to Staunton with the prisoners from the latter place. The addition of Pettigrew's brigade, and especially the increase by the draft, must consequently have raised the force of Lee's infantry north of the Potomac by about 6,000 men above the return of the 31st of May. Since that date Stuart's command of cavalry had been increased by Jenkins' brigade of five regiments. Moreover, Imboden's command, which contained three regiments of cavalry and at least a few hundred infantry not accounted for in the above 167 regiments, and was stationed in the Alleghenies somewhat about Romney, I think, joined Lee across the Potomac. Before these additions Stuart's cavalry numbered twenty-five regiments, and had on the 31st of May 9,536 men present, which gives an average of 381 men per regiment. This standard would give 1,905 horsemen to Jenkins, and 1,143 to Imboden, and in the whole 12,584 present, or at the same rates as the infantry, 10,978 present for duty. But, of course, from both figures should be deducted the severe loss of the cavalry at Fleetwood hill and Upperville, which, being about 1,100, reduces the strength of the cavalry when it crossed the Potomac to about 11,484 present, and 9,878 present for duty. The cavalry not being able to take in its rapid marches any one on the sick list, I shall from the first of the last two figures deduct again 5.4 per cent. on that head, which brings down to 10,864 the number of cavalrymen who crossed the Potomac. If we reckon Imboden's infantry at only 300 present for duty, we get accordingly the following figures, which, for the cavalrymen present for duty, are rather low, as the men detached for duty were less numerous than in the infantry:

Infantry present, 60,459; present for duty, 52,571. Artillery present, 4,460; present for duty, 4,190. Cavalry present, 10,864; present for duty, 9,878. Total present, 75,783; present for duty, 66,639.

As the artillery had no men on detached duty as teamsters, guards, &c., I have deducted, instead of 13 per cent., only 6 per cent. for men on the sick list or under arrest; 4,090 seems already a very low figure if it embraces all the men on duty with the trains of ammunition, which is a military duty, as it gives only men per gun. If all these troops were not at Gettysburg during the whole battle, every man out of them was at a certain time within reach of the field of battle, and therefore under the hand of General Lee. According to General Pendleton's official report, the artillery was divided in 15 battalions, 5 to each corps: each battalion contained 4 batteries of 4 guns each, which give 1.6 guns per battalion, 80 per corps, and 240 for the whole, to which should be added the horse artillery, containing 6 batteries of 4 guns each or 24 guns, and one brigade battery of 4 guns in Early's division, or 268 guns in the whole. I reckon, therefore, the whole strength of the Army of