Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 21.djvu/99

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It will be noticed that the estimate of Lee's losses from the 29th of March to April Qth exceeds the number of prisoners which official

army to General Sherman. Ordnance Office, War Department, December 30, 1880."

The Army of the James and the Army of the Potomac were both under Grant in all his final movements and at Appomattox. There was little fighting or even skirmishing on the 8th of April, and no captures. The surrender took place next ..day, and it ended the war. Neither of these armies took part in any more fighting, and hence could not make any cap- tures of arms after the 9th. It is inevitable, if these reports cover arms actually captured between the 8th of April and their respective dates, April nth, May 3ist, 1865 [instead of arms gathered up at Appomattox and other places in Virginia by ordinance officers of those armies between those dates] that the captures were made at Appomattox, and on the day before since there was no other time or place when captures could be made be- tween those dates. The "statement " covers the cannon and small arms ; and if, as Badeau assumes, it proves the number of small arms surrendered at Appomattox, it equally proves the number of " cannon " surrendered. On Badeau's theory, the statement on its face shows that 514 cannon and 32,633 small arms were surrendered at Appomattox. I have omitted from this statement the number of cannon reported September 12, 1865, as sur- rendered at "Richmond and Petersburg," because the report does not include any small arms, and even Badeau would hardly contend that it referred to cannon captured at Appomattox.

Why should Badeau reject one of the returns, instead of taking both ? If his version is correct, that the report covers arms actually captured after April 8th, he is certainly bound to take the report of April nth, as showing a part of the small arms surrendered at Appomattox, for between those dates the army of the James had been nowhere except at Appomattox and its vicinity ; and there can be no reason for not adding that number to the small arms shown in the report of May 3ist. Why he does not include the number in both reports, but rejects the first and takes the second, we will see presently.

There are certain well-known historical facts which even Badeau cannot dispute. Lee at no one time during the existence of the Army of Northern Virginia, had as many as 514 pieces of field artillery. That number is about double the highest number he ever had. It is twice the number Lee had at the opening of hostilities; in the Wilderness in May, 1864, or in March, 1865, when grant began his final operations. Besides, Lee lost some field pieces at Five Forks, when the Petersburg lines were swept to Hatcher's Run, at Sailor's Creek and other places on the retreat, to say nothing of the num- ber of pieces dismantled and destroyed by Lee's order on the retreat, and those sent on ahead of the army. Lee himself reported to President Davis