Lee's Army during the Overland Campaign: A Numerical Study

Summary and Conclusions

218 Summary and Conclusions Several conclusions can be drawn from studying the strengths and casualties of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Overland Campaign. First, it is apparent that Lee’s army was stronger than has previously been believed. Its strength at the start of the campaign was about 66,000 men, or 4,000 higher than the traditional figure of 62,000. If one includes the units temporarily serving with Beauregard, the overall strength of the army is close to the estimated 75,000 men at Gettysburg. This illustrates that Lee’s command had, for the most part, recovered over the winter. As described above, most of the individual brigades and battalions were combat ready and ably led. According to variable sources, morale at this point in the war ranged from guarded to high, and despite considerable logistical shortcomings, the condition of the army was good. Second, the Army of Northern Virginia was reinforced substantially during the campaign, the total of additional men exceeding 30,000. The combined figure of 96,000 represents the maximum number of men available to Lee. This is a considerable figure and far exceeds the historic 78,000 men offered by Major Taylor of Lee’s staff. It represents the greatest number of men the Confederate War Department ever concentrated at one point in the war and even exceeds the number collected for the Seven Days’ Battles outside Richmond in 1862. Countering factors included battle casualties, substantial losses due to sickness, and a reduction in strength of the cavalry owing to the loss of mounts during the campaign. A comparison of Lee’s and Grant’s strengths and losses is instructive. As documented in the Official Records, the Army of the Potomac started the campaign with an effective strength of about 118,000 men, from which, if we are to compare the like with like, should be deducted the 3,400 men of the provost guard and engineers. Based upon other figures provided in the same source, Grant’s army received about 48,000 reinforcements during Summary and Conclusions 219 the Overland Campaign.1 These principally consisted of units drawn from the Washington defenses, others returning from furlough, and new recruits. According to the report of Maj. Gen. William F. Smith, he brought about 16,000 men in the XVIII Corps to Grant at Cold Harbor. At the same time, it should be recognized that the army lost about 20,000 men whose terms of enlistment expired. This represented a serious loss, for these were all veteran soldiers. Grant’s net increase is then about 44,000 men, or a maximum total of 162,000 men. The initial disparity in numbers between the Federal and Confederate armies decreased as the campaign progressed, especially in June. The casualty figures for Lee’s army are certainly larger than any previously reported. The compiled total loss of about 33,500 men in this campaign was greater than anything previously experienced by the army. Furthermore, when one considers only the battles of the first fifteen days (the Wilderness , Spotsylvania, and Sheridan’s Richmond Raid) and the original size of Lee’s army, the percentage loss sustained during this period (about 24,000 of 66,000) exceeds even the campaigns of Gettysburg and the Seven Days’ Battles . In each of these earlier campaigns, the Army of Northern Virginia sustained more than 20,000 casualties but from a larger force. As a side thought, it should be mentioned that this researcher spent some effort compiling the Confederate losses at Gettysburg using available new sources together with personal research. Generally accepted sources place the total Confederate loss at this battle between a low of 20,451 to a high of 27,000. The latter figure likely covers the entire campaign and includes many stragglers and deserters captured after the battle. According to this author’s research, the actual total for the Confederate losses at Gettysburg appears to be about 23,500 men. So the losses for the army during the Overland Campaign do appear to exceed those of Gettysburg. Further insight regarding Confederate losses for the Overland Campaign can be obtained by comparing these numbers with those of the opposing Union forces. The four infantry corps in the Army of the Potomac sustained losses of about 42–48 percent of their original strength during the overall campaign. The highest loss occurred in the II Corps (Hancock); the lowest in the IX Corps (Burnside). The V Corps (Warren) and VI Corps...