 Some authorities accredit the 26th North Carolina Regiment with
having incurred the greatest loss in a single battle recorded
in the Civil War. At the Battle of Gettysburg, it lost 708 of
its men, or approximately 85 percent of its total strength. In
one company of 84 men, every man and officer was hit, link. The orderly
sergeant who made out the report had a bullet wound through both
legs.
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The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery in the assault on Petersburg, June
1864, lost 604 men killed and wounded in less than 20 minutes.
This organization did not see action until 1864. In less than
one year it lost in killed and wounded 1283 men out of 2202.
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During the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone's River), the Union artillery
fired 20,307 rounds and the infantry exhausted over 2,000,000
rounds. The total weight of the projectiles fired was in excess
of 375,000 pounds.
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At the Battle of First Bull Run or Manassas, between 8,000 and
10,000 bullets were fired for every man killed or wounded.
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At the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, there were 23,700 Union and Confederate
casualties.
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During the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, "Stonewall"
Jackson marched his force of 16,000 men over 600 miles in 39 days,
fighting five major battles and defeating four separate armies
totaling 63,000 men.
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In the Vicksburg campaign in 1863, Grant won five battles within
a period of 18 days, captured 40 field guns, and inflicted casualties
of approximately 5200 on the enemy. He captured 31,600 prisoners,
172 cannon and 6000 small arms when Vicksburg fell-the greatest
military haul ever made in the Western hemisphere.
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At Fredericksburg in 1862, the Confederate trenches stretched
for a distance of seven miles. The troop density was ll,000 per
mile, or six men to the yard.
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The greatest cavalry battle ever fought in the Western hemisphere
was at Brandy Station, Virginia, on June 9, 1863. Nearly 20,000
cavalrymen were engaged on a relatively confined terrain for more
than 12 hours.
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The Confederate cruiser Shenandoah sailed completely around
the world, raiding Union whalers and commerce vessels. The ship
and its crew surrendered to English authorities in Liverpool more
than 6 months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox.
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The U.S.S. Kearsarge sank the C.S.S. Alabama off
the coast of Cherbourg, France, in a fierce engagement. Frenchmen
gathered along the beach to witness the engagement, and Renoir
painted the scene which now hangs in a Philadelphia art gallery.
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General Grant's losses from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor in 1864,
a period of 29 days, totaled 54,900.
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Approximately 6000 battles, skirmishes, and engagements were fought
during the Civil War.
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There were over 2000 lads 14 years old or younger in the Union
ranks. Three hundred were 13 years or less, while there were 200,000
no older than 16 years.
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The C.S.S. Alabama in 11 months captured 69 Northern prizes
valued at $6,500,000.
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Besides their captures, Confederate cruisers drove great numbers
of U.S. ships under foreign flags for protection, precipitating
the decline of the U.S. Merchant Marine.
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During the Civil War, one small section of Virginia became America's
bloodiest battle ground. In an area of barely 20 square miles
and including Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness,
Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor, more than half a million men fought
in deadly combat. Here, more men were killed and wounded during
the Civil War than were killed and wounded in the Revolutionary
War, the War of 1812, the War with Mexico and all of the Indian
wars combined. No fewer than 19 generals-10 Union and 9 Confederate-met
death here.
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