E
COMPARISON OF LOSSES OF BLACK WATCH AT TICONDEROGA WITH THOSE OF OTHER WARS.
In the “Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861, 1865. A treatise in the extent and nature of the mortuary losses in the Union Regiments, with full and exhaustive statistics compiled from the official records on file on the State Military Bureaus and at Washington, by William F. Fox, Lieut. Col. U. S. V., president of the Society of the 12th Army Corps; late president of the 107th New York Veteran Volunteer Association. Albany Publishing Company, Albany, N. Y., 1899.” The writer states that he has examined the records of 2,000 regiments of the Union Army and on page 2 he says, “The one regiment in all the Union Army which sustained the greatest loss in battle during the American Civil War was the 5th New Hampshire Infantry. It lost 295 men, killed or mortally wounded in action during the four years of service from 1861 to 1865. It served in the first division, second corps. This division was commanded successively by General Richardson, Hancock, Caldwall, Barlow and Miles and any regiment that followed the fortunes of these men was sure to find plenty of bloody work cut out for it. Its loss includes 18 officers killed, a number far in excess of the usual proportions and indicates that the men were bravely led.”
“There were 34 regiments of the Union Army whose casualties in killed, wounded or missing amounted to 58 per cent or over of the men engaged in one battle in each case, however, there was not a full regiment engaged. For example, the 1st Minnesota at Gettysburg, which was the highest per centage, had 47 killed and 168 wounded, or a total loss of 215 out of 262 men engaged. This is a loss of 82 per cent.
The 9th Illinois at Shiloh had 61 killed, 300 wounded and 5 missing, a total of 63.3 per cent.
The Light Brigade which has been immortalized by Tennyson took 673 officers and men into that charge at Balaklava in which 113 were killed and 134 wounded, a total of 247 or 36.7 per cent.
Lord Howe’s Monument in Westminster AbbeyTHE PROVINCE OF MASSACHUSETS BAY, IN NEW ENGLAND BY AN ORDER OF THE GREAT AND GENERAL COURT BEARING DATE FEBY1ST1759, CAUSED THIS MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF GEORGE AUGUSTUS LORD VISCOUNT HOWE, BRIGADIER GENERAL OF HIS MAJESTY’S FORCES IN AMERICA, WHO WAS SLAIN JULY THE 6TH1758, ON THE MARCH TO TICONDEROGA, IN THE 34THYEAR OF HIS AGE: IN TESTIMONY OF THE SENSE THEY HAD OF HIS SERVICES AND MILITARY VIRTUES, AND OF THE AFFECTION THEIR OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS BORE TO HIS COMMAND.HE LIVED RESPECTED AND BELOVED: THE PUBLICK REGRETTED HIS LOSS; TO HIS FAMILY IT IS IRREPARABLE.
Lord Howe’s Monument in Westminster AbbeyTHE PROVINCE OF MASSACHUSETS BAY, IN NEW ENGLAND BY AN ORDER OF THE GREAT AND GENERAL COURT BEARING DATE FEBY1ST1759, CAUSED THIS MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF GEORGE AUGUSTUS LORD VISCOUNT HOWE, BRIGADIER GENERAL OF HIS MAJESTY’S FORCES IN AMERICA, WHO WAS SLAIN JULY THE 6TH1758, ON THE MARCH TO TICONDEROGA, IN THE 34THYEAR OF HIS AGE: IN TESTIMONY OF THE SENSE THEY HAD OF HIS SERVICES AND MILITARY VIRTUES, AND OF THE AFFECTION THEIR OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS BORE TO HIS COMMAND.HE LIVED RESPECTED AND BELOVED: THE PUBLICK REGRETTED HIS LOSS; TO HIS FAMILY IT IS IRREPARABLE.
THE PROVINCE OF MASSACHUSETS BAY, IN NEW ENGLAND BY AN ORDER OF THE GREAT AND GENERAL COURT BEARING DATE FEBY1ST1759, CAUSED THIS MONUMENT TO BE ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF GEORGE AUGUSTUS LORD VISCOUNT HOWE, BRIGADIER GENERAL OF HIS MAJESTY’S FORCES IN AMERICA, WHO WAS SLAIN JULY THE 6TH1758, ON THE MARCH TO TICONDEROGA, IN THE 34THYEAR OF HIS AGE: IN TESTIMONY OF THE SENSE THEY HAD OF HIS SERVICES AND MILITARY VIRTUES, AND OF THE AFFECTION THEIR OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS BORE TO HIS COMMAND.
HE LIVED RESPECTED AND BELOVED: THE PUBLICK REGRETTED HIS LOSS; TO HIS FAMILY IT IS IRREPARABLE.
The heaviest loss in the German army of the Franco-Prussian war was the 16th Infantry (3d Westphalian) at Mars LaTour which had 509 killed, 619 wounded, 365 missing, a total of 1,484 or 49.4 per cent. out of 3,000 men. The regiments of the German army had 3,000 men.”
The above are the greatest casualties suffered in three great wars taken from a book compiled by an authority who had made a study of the subject. Compare with these the loss of the Black Watch at Ticonderoga given by Col. Stewart of Garth as 8 officers, 9 sergeants and 297 men killed and 17 officers, 10 sergeants and 306 soldiers wounded or a casualty of 647 (64.7 per cent) out of the 1,000 men of the 42nd reported by General Abercrombie at Lake George, June 29, 1758.