On Sunday the enemy had beaten us by superiority of numbers, by having his plans laid and his dispositions for the battle made without our knowledge, and without any interruption from us, and, finally, by the advantage gained in the attack being a complete surprise to us. Of these, his advantage in superiority of numbers is the only one that has been questioned. The most moderate estimates from the enemy's side have placed his force at about forty thousand. No one who knows that our army was so much reduced by sickness and other causes that not more than half the men borne on its rolls were available for the line of battle, will believe that we had more than thirty thousand actually engaged. I have no doubt, that in the afternoon the enemy opposed us on the left with two to one. We believed that this battle had demonstrated the superiority of the enemy's generals; but at least the equal bravery of our own troops. His prisoners admitted that they had not imagined we would fight so well. We told them in reply that we were all Americans, the only difference between us being of ideas and education. If we were to believe what the newspapers at home said of us, we were both heroes and cowards. We knew that if we had achieved nothing splendid, we were at least victors. Though we knew that we had not won much glory, we felt that we had merited much more than we had won. On the whole, we were disposed to rejoice, not so much on account of the bare victory we had gained, as that the army had escaped, though narrowly, from the utter ruin which hung over it.
Finally, the following orders of thanks and congratulation came, the two latter of which, and particularly the one of Governor Andrew, brought tears to the eyes of stout soldiers as they were read on parade:—
Headquarters, Department of the Mississippi, }
Pittsburgh, Tenn., April 15th, 1862. }General Orders,
No. 16.The Major General commanding the Department thanks Major Generals Grant and Buell, and the officers and men of their respective commands, for the bravery and endurance with which they sustained the general attacks of the enemy on the sixth, and for the heroic manner in which, on the seventh, they defeated and routed the whole rebel army. The soldiers of the West have added new laurels to those which they had already won on numerous fields.
While congratulating the troops on their glorious success, the General commanding desires to enjoin upon all officers and men the necessity of greater discipline and order. These are as essential to the success as to the health of the army, and without them we can not long expect to be victorious; but with them we can march forward to new fields of honor and glory, till this wicked rebellion is completely crushed out, and peace returned to our country.
By command of Major General Halleck,
(Signed) N. H. McLean, A. A. G.
Headquarters, District of West Tennessee, }
April 10th, 1863. }General Orders,
No. 34.The General commanding congratulates the troops who so gallantly sustained the attack, repulsed and routed a numerically superior force of the enemy, composed of the flower of the Southern army, and fought by them with all the desperation of despair. In numbers engaged no such contest ever took place on this continent. In importance of result, but few such battles have taken place in the world.
Whilst congratulating the brave and gallant soldiers, it becomes the especial duty of the General commanding to make mention of the brave wounded and those killed on the field. Whilst they leave friends and relatives to mourn their loss, they have won a nation's gratitude, and undying laurels, not to be forgotten by future generations, who shall enjoy the blessings of the best Government the sun ever shone upon, preserved by their valor.
By command of Major General Grant,
(Signed) John A. Rawlins, A. A. G.
Headquarters, Department of the Mississippi, }
Camp Pittsburgh Landing, April 19th, 1862. }General Orders,
No. 17.The following General Order of the Governor and Commander-in Chief of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has been received and is published to the Military and Naval forces of this Department:—
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, }
Headquarters, Boston, April 10th, 1862. }General Orders,
No. 6.In honor of the most signal victories recently won by the soldiers of the Union in the Department commanded by Major General Halleck, under the immediate leadership of Major Generals Pope, Grant and Buell, and by the sailors and marines commanded by Flag Officer A. H. Foote, and as a humble expression of the grateful joy with which the splendid results of the heroic valor, energy and good conduct of these commanders, their officers and men, is received by their brethren and fellow citizens of Massachusetts, it is ordered by the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Militia of Massachusetts, that a salute of one hundred guns be fired on Boston Common, to-morrow, the 11th day of April current at noon.
Not even the cannon's mouth can loudly enough proclaim the debt which our country, human liberty, and civilization itself, owe to those noble men of the West, who have met the angriest torrents of the rebellion, and rolled its waves back upon its depths. The heart of every son of Massachusetts leaps to salute them and do them homage.
Major General Andrew, commanding First Division, is charged with the execution of this order.
By command of His Excellency John A. Andrew, Governor and Commander in Chief.
William Schoulder, Adjutant General.
By command of Major General Halleck,
N. H. McLean, A. A. G.
Headquarters Fourth Division, }
Pittsburgh, Tenn., April 9th, 1862. }General Orders,
No. 20.The General commanding tenders his heartfelt gratitude to the surviving officers and men of this Division, for their magnificent service during the two days struggle which under the blessing of God has terminated in victory.
Let this Division remember that for five hours on Sunday, it held under the most terrific fire, the key point of the left of the army, and only fell back when flanked by overwhelming masses pressing through points abandoned by our supports. Let them remember that when they fell back it was in order, and that the last line of resistance in rear of the heavy guns was formed by this Division. Let them remember that on the morning of Monday, without food and without sleep, they were ordered forward to reinforce the right; and that where-ever either brigade of this division appeared on the field, they were in time to support broken flanks and hold the line. Keep these facts before your memories to hand down to your children when we conquer a peace, and let it be the chief pride of every man of this command, as it is of your General, that he was at Pittsburgh with the Fighting Fourth Division.
By order of Brigadier General Hurlbut,
Smith D. Atkins, A. A. G.
But when we looked through the ranks of our regiment and surveyed our losses, there was left us little room for joy or congratulation. Of the four hundred and fifty who had marched into the battle under our flag on Monday morning, twenty-eight were killed, and over two hundred were killed, wounded and missing. Of our officers, Stone was captured; Hobbs was killed; O'Niel, Knight, Merrill and Wayne were wounded and captured; and Trumbull, Ogg, Weiser, Tullis and Hammill were wounded. In addition to this, Williams, whom we claimed was disabled while commanding the brigade, and while doing his duty bravely and well. Many regiments of the different divisions had suffered as much, and some perhaps more than ours. It was a poor satisfaction that the enemy's dead outnumbered our own. The only joy we could derive from a knowledge of his sufferings was that it would diminish his strength for the next battle. The field attested that his killed outnumbered ours by at least one-third. But his prisoners in our hands asserted that their dead in proportion to their wounded was unusually large. When both sides of the question shall have been fully heard in reference to this great battle, it will be believed that the aggregate losses of the two contending forces were very nearly equal.[1]