Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 21.djvu/236

 228 Southern Historical Society Papers.

"THE BLOODY ANGLE."

The Confederate Disaster at Spotsylvania Court-House,

May 12, 1864, by which the "Stonewall Brigade"

was annihilated.

GENERAL LEE TO THE REAR.'

Accounts by General James A. Walker, Colonel Thomas H. Carter, Lieu- tenant Wm. S. Archer, Rev. M. S. Stringfellow and Major D. W. Anderson.

The following communications appeared in the Richmond Times, on February 5th, I2th, 26th, March 5th, and April 2nd, 1893, res ~ pectively. An extract from an editorial upon the communication of General Walker is a pertinent comment:

"One statement in General Walker's paper fails to do full justice to that immortal army which General Lee commanded in that glo- rious campaign. He says that Grant crossed the Rapidan on the 4th of May with 141,000 men, and that General Lee had opposed to him 64,000. We know with definite certainty that Grant had many more than 141,000, and, while it cannot be demonstrated with math- ematical certainty that General Lee had much fewer than 64,000, it can be with moral certainty.

" The Thirty-sixth volume of series I, part 3, of the ' Rebellion Record,' at page 426, gives the numbers that Grant had present for duty on the morning of May 31, 1864, after all the fighting of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania was over. This is the official record of the War Department at Washington. It states that he had present for duty on the morning of May 3ist, 129,620 men. What seems to be the most reliable account of his losses between May 4th and 3ist is that of Captain Phisterer, an officer of the regular army, in his 'statistical record.' He places his losses between those days at 66,171. Now, if this be added to those present for duty we have for Grant on May 4th a grand total of 195,791 men. This of course