Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 06.djvu/30

20 Their loss then from other causes than casualties in battle was a little over ten per cent. By an oversight in my article in the last December number of the Papers, the loss between the 10th and 20th of June was stated at twelve per cent., when it should have been ten per cent.

My return for June 20th showed 5,643 for duty, including five chaplains, and my return for July 10th at Hagerstown showed 4,144, giving a loss of 1,449, of which 1,181 was in battle, leaving a loss of 318, a little over five and a half per cent., from other causes than casualties in battle. My aggregate present on the 20th of June was 6,476, and on the 10th of July it was 4,791, being a loss of 1,685, from which the loss in battle being deducted leaves 504, or a loss of very nearly eight per cent, from other causes than casualties in battle on the aggregate present. The greater part of this doubtless resulted from leaving the sick behind, or sending them to the rear. As it took us only three days to march from Gettysburg to Hagerstown, at which latter place we arrived on the 7th, there had been time for all the men with the trains to join the division. In fact a return made on the 8th showed 261 less for duty, and 408 less in the aggregate present on that day than on the 10th. I may assume therefore, that there was a loss of five and a half per cent, in my division from the 20th of June to the beginning of the battle, and that there was the same ratio of decrease in the rest of our infantry during the same period. To show the likelihood of there being at least as much loss in Longstreet's and Hill's corps as in Ewell's, I quote from General Kershaw's report the following statement: "Tuesday, June 16th, the brigade marched to Sperryville; 17th, to Mud run in Fauquier county. These two days were excessively hot, and on the 17th many cases of sunstroke occurred." General Hill started from the heights of Fredericksburg on the 15th, I believe, and his march had to be rapid to join Longstreet's corps, and hence the probability is that the loss in his corps exceeded the ratio in my division.