- Joined
- Jan 16, 2015
Having recently identified (by name and unit) 1,000 Union infantrymen whose type of wound (or other injury) at Gettysburg was recorded, a straightforward percentage breakdown is presented below:
68.7 % - struck by gunshot alone, 687 cases (see footnote #1)
25.2 % - struck by artillery (direct) alone, 252 (footnote #2)
1.3% - struck by another object impelled by artillery (indirect), 13 (footnote #3).
2.4 % - struck by artillery and gunshot, 24 (footnote #4)
0.2 % - struck by gunshot and a clubbed or butt end of a musket, 2
0.2 % - struck by gunshot and a bayonet, 2
0.1 % - struck by gunshot and a saber, 1
0.1 % - struck by clubbed musket alone, 1
0.1 % - struck by bayonet alone, 1
0.1 % - struck by saber alone, 1
1.6 % - injuries from all other causes, 16 (footnote #5)
Footnotes:
#1 – at least 35 (five percent) of the 687 cases involved multiple (two or more) gunshots. Also, in three separate cases two men were wounded by the same bullet.
#2 – includes five likely instances of “friendly” artillery fire.
#3 – sheer momentum sent a lot of intermediate objects flying, like fence rails, or fragments from stone walls and outcroppings. Additional casualties were inflicted by detonated caissons, limbers and certain cartridge boxes.
#4 – some of these 24 cases involved contradictory information, or else the lead cause for a disabling wound could not be determined. An even split between gunshot and artillery as the primary cause seems reasonable.
#5 – among the 16 examples, six involved a horse, whether it was falling, bucking or running loose. Four other cases were likely linked to artillery fire – a broken tree limb, bricks knocked loose from a building and stones thrown from an unidentified source. Two involved a rout – once when an officer used his sword on a fleeing man, and another time when a fleeing soldier used his gun butt on an officer. Other cases run the gamut, including a man falling into the railroad cut, a ramrod injury and even a soldier struck by a comrade who was acting out a nightmare.
Other comments:
-The data shows gunshot as the cause for seven in ten of the Union infantry casualties, while artillery felled at least one out of every four infantrymen. By comparison, percentages for the Confederate infantry (1,857 individuals) casualties are: gunshot – 78.8 %; artillery (direct and indirect) – 18.7 %; gunshot and artillery – 1.9 %; all other causes – 0.6 %.
-I have grouped the apparent examples of hand-to-hand combat. The numbers reveal that the attention we accord to close quarters combat far exceeds its actual impact. That includes the vaunted bayonet, which probably saw far more use as a candle holder, or to fix a gun stock in the ground to hold up a shelter tent, than it did as an effective battlefield weapon.
68.7 % - struck by gunshot alone, 687 cases (see footnote #1)
25.2 % - struck by artillery (direct) alone, 252 (footnote #2)
1.3% - struck by another object impelled by artillery (indirect), 13 (footnote #3).
2.4 % - struck by artillery and gunshot, 24 (footnote #4)
0.2 % - struck by gunshot and a clubbed or butt end of a musket, 2
0.2 % - struck by gunshot and a bayonet, 2
0.1 % - struck by gunshot and a saber, 1
0.1 % - struck by clubbed musket alone, 1
0.1 % - struck by bayonet alone, 1
0.1 % - struck by saber alone, 1
1.6 % - injuries from all other causes, 16 (footnote #5)
Footnotes:
#1 – at least 35 (five percent) of the 687 cases involved multiple (two or more) gunshots. Also, in three separate cases two men were wounded by the same bullet.
#2 – includes five likely instances of “friendly” artillery fire.
#3 – sheer momentum sent a lot of intermediate objects flying, like fence rails, or fragments from stone walls and outcroppings. Additional casualties were inflicted by detonated caissons, limbers and certain cartridge boxes.
#4 – some of these 24 cases involved contradictory information, or else the lead cause for a disabling wound could not be determined. An even split between gunshot and artillery as the primary cause seems reasonable.
#5 – among the 16 examples, six involved a horse, whether it was falling, bucking or running loose. Four other cases were likely linked to artillery fire – a broken tree limb, bricks knocked loose from a building and stones thrown from an unidentified source. Two involved a rout – once when an officer used his sword on a fleeing man, and another time when a fleeing soldier used his gun butt on an officer. Other cases run the gamut, including a man falling into the railroad cut, a ramrod injury and even a soldier struck by a comrade who was acting out a nightmare.
Other comments:
-The data shows gunshot as the cause for seven in ten of the Union infantry casualties, while artillery felled at least one out of every four infantrymen. By comparison, percentages for the Confederate infantry (1,857 individuals) casualties are: gunshot – 78.8 %; artillery (direct and indirect) – 18.7 %; gunshot and artillery – 1.9 %; all other causes – 0.6 %.
-I have grouped the apparent examples of hand-to-hand combat. The numbers reveal that the attention we accord to close quarters combat far exceeds its actual impact. That includes the vaunted bayonet, which probably saw far more use as a candle holder, or to fix a gun stock in the ground to hold up a shelter tent, than it did as an effective battlefield weapon.