The killed and wounded in some battles of the war are shown in the following table:

Union Confederate
Shiloh, Tenn. 10,162 9,735
Second Bull Run 10,199 9,108
Fredericksburg, Va. 10,884 4,664
Chancellorsville, Va. 11,368 10,746
Gettysburg, Pa. 17,567 15,298
Chickamauga, Ga. 11,409 15,881
Stone’s River 9,532 9,239
Antietam, Md. 11,657 11,234

In every one of these battles the Union loss was greater than the Confederate, except at Chickamauga; yet Shiloh, Gettysburg, and Stone’s River are recorded as Union victories. The Confederate loss at Antietam was much smaller than that given above, which includes Harper’s Ferry, South Mountain, Crampton’s Gap, and Shepardstown. The prisoners captured are excluded from the above list, because only the killed and wounded indicate the intensity of the fighting.

The Confederate’s large losses at Chickamauga show plainly the active musketry of the Union troops, their good marksmanship, and the difference (in the number of casualties) between making and receiving attacks. On the second day the Union troops remained in line and received the attacks of the Confederates. At Gettysburg the Union forces did the same thing during the last two days. Those on the left at Chickamauga were protected by breastworks, and suffered but little loss on the 20th; while they inflicted very heavy punishment on the Confederates; for instance, Hill’s Corps of the Confederate right lost 2,990 out of 8,894; Jackson’s brigade of Cheatham’s division lost 35 per cent. of his force, and the losses in Govan’s brigade exceeded 50 per cent. On the Union side Steedman, while attacking the Confederate troops—which had gained an enfilading position and were about to attack the right flank of Brannan—lost in this assault and in the subsequent position which his troops occupied, 1,787 out of 3,700 in about four hours. The loss is fearful, when assaults are made on protected lines, or on points held with difficult approaches. On the Confederate left Benning’s brigade of Hood’s division lost 56.6 per cent.; Gregg’s brigade of B. R. Johnson’s lost 44.4 per cent. Taking Longstreet’s estimate of 16,986 killed and wounded, and adding to it the number of prisoners captured, namely, 2,003, the total Confederate loss aggregates 18,989. It is officially established that the Union loss was 11,338 in killed and wounded; its loss in prisoners was 4,774; but 2,500 of them were wounded and were left on the battlefield. It is reasonable to suppose that these wounded left on the field were reported as wounded by their company officers, and are included in the official returns of the 11,338.

The historian will point out sharply the immense benefit to the Union Army derived from the log works and the compact lines of the four divisions under General Thomas on the 20th. The conclusion is a fair one, that the whole line ought to have been similarly fortified; there was ample supply of timber along the line to provide for such protection. Of the five divisions under General Thomas’s command on the 19th and on the 20th, Brannan’s was the only one which fought both days without works; on the 19th none of them fought behind any entrenchments, yet they fought against six Confederate divisions, viz.: two of Walker’s corps, two of Cheatham’s, Cleburne’s, and Stewart’s. On the 20th Brannan was on the right and did not fight any of the Confederate troops, which Baird’s, Johnson’s, Palmer’s, Reynolds’s, and his own divisions had fought on the 19th. Van Derveer’s brigade of Brannan’s division made one charge, however, along the Kelly field, against two brigades of Breckenridge’s; then returned to the right. But it must be noticed that Breckenridge was not in the fight of the 19th. On the 20th Baird, Johnson, Palmer, and Reynolds fought behind breastworks all day the same divisions they had fought the day before without breastworks, and also Breckenridge’s in addition. It is true they were assisted a little by two brigades of Negley’s and one of Van Cleve’s on the left of the breastworks. In addition to the Confederate infantry divisions mentioned, there was also Forrest’s cavalry of 3,500, which would more than offset any assistance these four Union divisions had received from other troops on the 20th. The following table will show the losses in killed and wounded of the divisions on both sides, with the exception of prisoners captured during the two days of battle in and around the Kelly field.

The figures are taken from the official returns:

Union Confederate
Brannan—Three Brigades 1,977 Walker—Five Brigades 2,290
Baird—Three Brigades 975 Cheatham—Five Brigades 1,843
Johnson—Three Brigades 1,088 Cleburne—Three Brigades 1,743
Palmer—Three Brigades 1,165 Stewart—Three Brigades 1,674
Reynolds—Two Brigades 778 Breckenridge—Three Brigades 1,075
——— ———
Total 5,983 Total 8,625

There were 14 Union brigades and 19 Confederate. It will be seen that Brannan, who was not protected by works on the 20th, lost about 800 more than the highest loss of any of the Union divisions, which were protected. That is a practical illustration of the value of the precautions thus taken by the protected troops. Estimating Brannan’s loss on the 20th at 900, his loss on the 19th would be 1,077. This would reduce the total loss in the Union column above to 5,083. Considering that the Confederate divisions mentioned above encountered no other Union troops during the battle, except those five divisions mentioned, it will be understood that the five Union divisions by incurring a loss of 5,083 killed and wounded, inflicted a loss on the enemy of 8,625. Forrest’s loss does not appear but should be added to the latter; let this item be offset, however, by the losses to Beatty’s Stanley’s and Barnes’s brigades in their assistance on the left of Baird.

We will make a similar comparison of the losses on the right of the Union, and the left of the Confederate Army:

Union
Steedman 1,174—Two Brigades
Sheridan 1,090
Davis 944—Two Brigades
Wood 876—Two Brigades
Van Cleve 660
Negley 496
Brannan (estimate) 900
———
Total 6,140