Editor’s Note: This article was transcribed by Brett Schulte.
HEAVY LOSSES IN BATTLE.
On the subject of heavy losses in battle, we find an interesting statement in George E. Bernard’s book, entitled “War Talk of Confederate Veterans,” which was published in Petersburg some years ago. There we read, upon the authority of Lieutenant John E. Laughton, of Richmond, who, at the battle of the Crater, commanded the battalion of sharpshooters of Mahone’s Brigade, that that organization went into the fight with 104 officers and men. Of these, ninety-four were killed or wounded. Of the nine officers present eight were shot through the breast. Lieutenant Frith, of Chesterfield county, Va., one of the most gallant of the officers, escaped unhurt. The presence of these sharpshooters with the charging column was accidental—their usual duty being on the skirmish line—and they occupied the extreme right of Mahone’s extreme line of battle.1
Source:
- “Heavy Losses in Battle.” Richmond Dispatch. January 29, 1901 p. 4, col. 3 ↩