Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 27.djvu/331

 First Co//'/"'/'// of Richmond Howitzers.

ment. What this meant and entailed can never be adequately known but by those who endured the toils of that retreat. General Ewell says in his report, when accounting for the absence of over 3,000 of his men at the time of his surrender, that " it was caused mainly by the fatigue of four days and nights almost constant marching, the last two days with nothing to eat. Before our capture I saw men eating raw fresh meat as they marched in ranks." The memory o! many others can verify or liken this experience. On the other hand, by way of contrast, here is a report (p. 1234) of a division commis- sary of the 25th corps of Grant's army, in which he says: " During the entire march from James river to Appomattox Courthouse, the troops have had issued to them full marching rations, and have not been a day without food." It is small wonder that men thus sup- plied and not bothered with fighting their way, could push on ahead, as this corps did, and succeed in absolutely blocking Lee's further progress from Appomattox.

The contract suggested by this statement of the relative means of mere subsistence but deepens the problem presented by the great numerical superiority of the Federal army, which outnumbered its adversary by at least seventy thousand men. This superiority en- abled General Grant to concentrate and throw around General Lee's right more men than the latter had in his whole army, while yet con- fronting and threatening every part of Lee's lines with superior forces.

Hence the problem that has long puzzled some of us. How could forty-six thousand half-starved, half-clad men, wanting almost every- thing but guns and ammunition, defending a line of some forty miles against forces three times their number, maintain their position as long as they did, and when this position was no longer tenable, how was it that they could break away and extricate themselves from the toils spread by a swarming foe ? How could and how did they ever get away from Petersburg ? General Lee, in his dispatch of April 2, announcing the necessity of the evacuation, says: " It will be a diffi- cult operation, but. I hope, not impracticable." However, he did extricate himself, and inarched his diminishing army to Appomattox, hungry and worn, badgered and fighting at every step, like a wounded lion brushing away obstacles in front and turning on enemies on flanks and in rear. For ten days was kept up the unequal contest of fighting and marching, till at last, brought to bay, the army found itself absolutely surrounded and every egress stopped by superior forces; but not until they had inflicted on their foes a loss of ten