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Union Army
Army of the Potomac
The consolidated morning reports of the Union Army for June 30th, 1863, reflect
the numbers 'actually available for line of battle' (the effective force), including officers and men as follows:
| Command |
Cavalry |
Artillery |
Infantry |
Total |
| First Army Corps |
67 |
619 |
9403 |
10089 |
| Second Army Corps |
82 |
551 |
12363 |
12996 |
| Third Army Corps |
--- |
677 |
11247 |
11924 |
| Fifth Army Corps |
--- |
555 |
11954 |
12509 |
| Sixth Army Corps |
124 |
1039 |
14516 |
15679 |
| Eleventh Army Corps |
52 |
644 |
9197 |
9893 |
| Twelfth Army Corps |
--- |
396 |
8193 |
8589 |
| Cavalry Corps |
12653 |
491 |
--- |
13144 |
| Artillery Reserve |
---- |
2211 |
335 |
2546 |
| Aggregate |
12978 |
7183 |
77208 |
97369 |
Between June 30th and July 3d, the reinforcements that joined the army may
be estimated as follows:
Stannard's brigade to First Corps ................2,500
Lockwood's brigade
to Twelfth Corps ...........1,700
Duvall's company Maryland cavalry to
Gregg's cavalry division ...............................
60
Rank's Pennsylvania artillery to Gregg's
cavalry division ........................................... 50
====================================
Total reinforcements ................................ 4,310
This number, added to the strength as per returns of June 30th, makes a maximum
of 101,679 effectives of all arms.
Following the roll-call of June 30th, the severe marches caused sickness and
straggling and it considerably reduced the strength of the commands. A satisfactory computation of the shrinkage
from these causes does not seem possible. It may have ranged from five to ten per cent.
The field returns of the infantry and artillery of the army corps for July
4th, give the following effective figures:
First Corps (except one regiment
detailed as wagon guard)................
5,430
Second Corps................................ 6,923
Third Corps.................................... 6,130
Fifth
Corps......................................9,553
Sixth Corps.................................. 12,832
Eleventh Corps...............................
5,513
Twelfth Corps (except one
battery on reconnaissance).............. 9,757
===============================
Total .............................................56,138
Adding the loss of 21,905 sustained by the commands mentioned, gives
an approximate calculation of the strength of the seven army corps, viz., 78,043.
There are no field returns for the Cavalry Corps or the Artillery Reserve
for July 4th. But estimating in round numbers, 78,000 is the maximum fighting strength for the seven army corps.
By adding 13,000 for the Cavalry Corps, and 2500 for the Artillery Reserve (as shown by the return for June 30th), an aggregate
of 93,500 is obtained.
The effective strength as reported by the seven army corps commanders at the
council held on the evening of July 2d, was as follows: About 9000, 12,500, 9000, 6000, 8500, 6000, 7000,--total 58,000.
Unfortunately, the particular corps represented by these figures are not stated
in the minutes of the council.
Confederate Army
Army of Northern Virginia
According to the returns of the Confederate Army for May 31st, 1863, which
were the final reports preceding the battle, the 'effective total' of enlisted men was:
Infantry...................... 54,356
Stuart's Cavalry............ 9,536
Artillery....................... 4,460
Alexander's and Garnett's artillery battalions (consisting of ten batteries)
are not included in the above figures. Their effective strength may, however, be stated at 800 officers and men. There were
also 6116 officers borne on the return as 'present for duty,' which added to the foregoing and give an aggregate of 75,268
officers and men.
The accessions by organizations to the army between May 31st and July 3rd
were as follows:
....................................................|....Estimated at not less than
1st. Pettigrew's
infantry brigade.......|... 2,000
2d. Jenkins's cavalry brigade...........|... 1,600
3d. Imboden's cavalry brigade..........|...
2,000
Total gain ..........................................5,600
The loss by organizations during the same period was:
1st. Corse's brigade and one regiment
of Pettigrew's brigade left at Hanover
Court House, Va.-------------- 2,000
2d. Three regiments of Early's division left at Winchester, Va. --- 1,009
3d.
One regiment of Stuart's cavalry left in Virginia ---------------------- 350
======================================================
-------------------------------------------------------------Total loss (estimated) 3,350
or a net gain of 2250, which added to the strength on May 31st, of 75,268,
makes a maximum in the campaign of 77,518. After making a liberal allowance for losses by sickness, straggling, guards to
prisoners and casual ties in the various encounters between June 1st and June 30th inclusive, it seems reasonable to conclude
that General Lee had at his command on the field of battle, from first to last, an army numbering at least 70,000 men of all
arms.
(Adapted from Battles and Leaders of the Civil War)
Recommended
Reading: Brigades
of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle
of Gettysburg (Hardcover) (704 Pages). Description: While the battle of Gettysburg is certainly the most-studied battle in American history, a comprehensive treatment
of the part played by each unit has been ignored. Brigades of Gettysburg
fills this void by presenting a complete account of every brigade unit at Gettysburg
and providing a fresh perspective of the battle. Using the words of enlisted men and officers, the author and renowned Civil War
historian, Bradley Gottfried, weaves a fascinating narrative of the role played by every brigade at the famous three-day battle,
as well as a detailed description of each brigade unit. Continued below...
Organized by
order of battle, each brigade is covered in complete and exhaustive detail: where it fought, who commanded, what constituted
the unit, and how it performed in battle. Innovative in its approach and comprehensive in its coverage, Brigades of Gettysburg is certain to be a classic and indispensable reference for the battle of Gettysburg
for years to come.
NEW!
Recommended Reading: The Gettysburg
Companion: A Guide to the Most Famous Battle of the Civil
War (Hardcover). Description: There have been many books about Gettysburg, but never one to rival this in scale or authority. Based on extensive research,
The Gettysburg Companion describes the battle in detail, drawing on firsthand accounts of participants on all sides in order
to give the reader a vivid sense of what it was like to experience the carnage at Gettysburg
in early July 1863. The many full-color maps--all specially commissioned for the book--and the numerous photographs, charts,
and diagrams make this book a feast for the eyes and a collector's dream. Includes
a massive library of 500 color illustrations.
Recommended
Reading: The
Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command (928
pages). Description:
Coddington's research is one of the most thorough and detailed studies of the Gettysburg Campaign. Exhaustive in scope and
scale, Coddington delivers, with unrivaled research, in-depth battle descriptions and a complete history of the regiments
involved. This is a must read for anyone seriously interested in American history
and what transpired and shaped a nation on those pivotal days in July 1863.
Recommended
Reading: The History Buff's Guide to Gettysburg (Key People,
Places, and Events) (Key People, Places, and Events). Description: While most history books are dry monologues of people, places, events and dates,
The History Buff's Guide is ingeniously written and full of not only first-person accounts but crafty prose. For example,
in introducing the major commanders, the authors basically call Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell a chicken literally.
'Bald, bug-eyed, beak-nosed Dick Stoddard Ewell had all the aesthetic charm of a flightless foul.' To balance things back
out a few pages later, they say federal Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade looked like a 'brooding gargoyle with an intense cold
stare, an image in perfect step with his nature.' Continued below...
Although it's
called a guide to Gettysburg, in my opinion, it's an authoritative guide to the Civil War. Any history buff
or Civil War enthusiast or even that casual reader should pick it up.
Recommended
Reading: Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg,
by James M. Mcpherson (Crown Journeys) (Hardcover). Review From Publishers Weekly: The country's most distinguished Civil War historian, a Pulitzer Prize winner (for Battle Cry of Freedom)
and professor at Princeton, offers this compact and incisive study of the Battle of Gettysburg.
In narrating "the largest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere," McPherson walks
readers over its presently hallowed ground, with monuments numbering into the hundreds, many of which work to structure the
narrative. Continued below...
They
range from the equestrian monument to Union general John Reynolds to Amos Humiston, a New Yorker identified several months
after the battle when family daguerreotypes found on his body were recognized by his widow. Indeed, while McPherson does the
expected fine job of narrating the battle, in a manner suitable for the almost complete tyro in military history, he also
skillfully hands out kudos and criticism each time he comes to a memorial. He praises Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine, but also the 140th
New York and its colonel, who died leading his regiment
on the other Union flank in an equally desperate action. The cover is effective and moving: the quiet clean battlefield park
above, the strewn bodies below. The author's knack for knocking myths on the head without jargon or insult is on display throughout:
he gently points out that North Carolinians think that their General Pettigrew ought to share credit for Pickett's charge;
that General Lee's possible illness is no excuse for the butchery that charge led to; that African-Americans were left out
of the veterans' reunions; and that the kidnapping of African-Americans by the Confederates has been excised from most history
books.
NEW! Recommended Reading: General Lee's Army: From Victory
to Collapse (Hardcover). Review: You cannot say that
University of North Carolina
professor Glatthaar (Partners in Command) did not do his homework in this massive examination of the Civil War–era lives
of the men in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Glatthaar spent nearly 20 years examining and ordering primary source
material to ferret out why Lee's men fought, how they lived during the war, how they came close to winning, and why they lost.
Glatthaar marshals convincing evidence to challenge the often-expressed notion that the war in the South was a rich man's
war and a poor man's fight and that support for slavery was concentrated among the Southern upper class. Continued below...
Lee's army
included the rich, poor and middle-class, according to the author, who contends that there was broad support for the war in
all economic strata of Confederate society. He also challenges the myth that because Union forces outnumbered and materially
outmatched the Confederates, the rebel cause was lost, and articulates Lee and his army's acumen and achievements in the face
of this overwhelming opposition. This well-written work provides much food for thought for all Civil War buffs.
NEW! Recommended Reading:
ONE CONTINUOUS FIGHT: The Retreat from Gettysburg and
the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863 (Hardcover) (June 2008). Description: The titanic three-day battle of Gettysburg left 50,000 casualties in its wake, a battered Southern army far from its base
of supplies, and a rich historiographic legacy. Thousands of books and articles cover nearly every aspect of the battle, but
not a single volume focuses on the military aspects of the monumentally important movements of the armies to and across the
Potomac River. One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg
and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863 is the first detailed military history of Lee's retreat
and the Union effort to catch and destroy the wounded Army of Northern Virginia. Against steep odds and encumbered with thousands
of casualties, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee's post-battle task was to successfully withdraw his army across the Potomac
River. Union commander George G. Meade's equally difficult assignment was to intercept the effort and destroy his enemy. The
responsibility for defending the exposed Southern columns belonged to cavalry chieftain James Ewell Brown (JEB) Stuart. If
Stuart fumbled his famous ride north to Gettysburg, his generalship
during the retreat more than redeemed his flagging reputation. The ten days of retreat triggered nearly two dozen skirmishes
and major engagements, including fighting at Granite Hill, Monterey Pass, Hagerstown, Williamsport,
Funkstown, Boonsboro, and Falling Waters. Continued
below...
President Abraham
Lincoln was thankful for the early July battlefield victory, but disappointed that General Meade was unable to surround and
crush the Confederates before they found safety on the far side of the Potomac. Exactly what Meade did to try to intercept the fleeing Confederates, and how the
Southerners managed to defend their army and ponderous 17-mile long wagon train of wounded until crossing into western Virginia on the early morning of July 14, is the subject of this study.
One Continuous Fight draws upon a massive array of documents, letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and published primary
and secondary sources. These long-ignored foundational sources allow the authors, each widely known for their expertise in
Civil War cavalry operations, to describe carefully each engagement. The result is a rich and comprehensive study loaded with
incisive tactical commentary, new perspectives on the strategic role of the Southern and Northern cavalry, and fresh insights
on every engagement, large and small, fought during the retreat. The retreat from Gettysburg
was so punctuated with fighting that a soldier felt compelled to describe it as "One Continuous Fight." Until now, few students
fully realized the accuracy of that description. Complimented with 18 original maps, dozens of photos, and a complete driving
tour with GPS coordinates of the entire retreat, One Continuous Fight is an essential book for every student of the American
Civil War in general, and for the student of Gettysburg in
particular. About the Authors: Eric J. Wittenberg has written widely on Civil War cavalry operations. His books include Glory
Enough for All (2002), The Union Cavalry Comes of Age (2003), and The Battle of Monroe's Crossroads and the Civil War's Final
Campaign (2005). He lives in Columbus, Ohio.
J. David Petruzzi is the author of several magazine articles on Eastern Theater cavalry operations, conducts tours of cavalry
sites of the Gettysburg Campaign, and is the author of the popular "Buford's Boys." A long time student of the Gettysburg
Campaign, Michael Nugent is a retired US Army Armored Cavalry Officer and the descendant of a Civil War Cavalry soldier. He
has previously written for several military publications. Nugent lives in Wells, Maine.
Recommended
Reading: Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania
Campaign (Civil War America)
(Hardcover). Description: In a groundbreaking, comprehensive history of the Army of Northern
Virginia's retreat from Gettysburg in July 1863, Kent Masterson
Brown draws on previously unused materials to chronicle the massive effort of General Robert E. Lee and his command as they
sought to expeditiously move people, equipment, and scavenged supplies through hostile territory and plan the army's next
moves. More than fifty-seven miles of wagon and ambulance trains and tens of thousands of livestock accompanied the army back
to Virginia. Continued below...
The movement
of supplies and troops over the challenging terrain of mountain passes and in the adverse conditions of driving rain and muddy
quagmires is described in depth, as are General George G. Meade's attempts to attack the trains along the South Mountain range and at Hagerstown and Williamsport, Maryland. Lee's deliberate pace, skillful
use of terrain, and constant positioning of the army behind defenses so as to invite attack caused Union forces to delay their
own movements at critical times. Brown concludes that even though the battle of Gettysburg
was a defeat for the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee's successful retreat maintained the balance of power in the eastern theater
and left his army with enough forage, stores, and fresh meat to ensure its continued existence as an effective force.
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