Not Regimental, but Corps-Level

[5thCorpsFan]

The Fifth Corps monument at Fredericksburg lists 35,708 casualties of the Fifth Corps during its service. Has anyone come across a number for how many total men served with the Corps as a whole from 1862-1865?

 

[RedRover]

The Fifth Corps monument at Fredericksburg lists 35,708 casualties of the Fifth Corps during its service. Has anyone come across a number for how many total men served with the Corps as a whole from 1862-1865?

Whew!, a complete head count like that might be tough. Men came and went, discharges, deaths, recruits arriving, etc.; united detached and attached, etc. I imagine such a calculation would require compiling the records of all the regiments and batteries that served with the corps at one time or another, to come up with a number.

 

[Rhea Cole]

Whew!, a complete head count like that might be tough. Men came and went, discharges, deaths, recruits arriving, etc.; united detached and attached, etc. I imagine such a calculation would require compiling the records of all the regiments and batteries that served with the corps at one time or another, to come up with a number.

Agreed, it is relatively easy to come up with a roster for a regiment. The total number of men who served in a corps would be, as a historian was fond of saying, "slippery."

 

[Stryker65]

The Fifth Corps monument at Fredericksburg lists 35,708 casualties of the Fifth Corps during its service. Has anyone come across a number for how many total men served with the Corps as a whole from 1862-1865?

That's essentially impossible with the records available, as others have said, and also when considering the number of men off on detached duty, units temporarily attached, couriers and scouts, artillery detachments, and the like.

 

[Rhea Cole]

I think this is will give some idea of why quantifying the number of men who served in the 5th Corps would be problematic.

This is a roster of the Corps commanders down to the brigade level. A count of those individuals is an insight into how complex the 5th Votps roster is.

The 1st brigade 2nd division states that at a certain time there are no brigade returns. Go figure that.

Hopefully these pages are emblematic of how complex the structure of a corps can be.

 

[Stryker65]

Additionally, look at Dyer's Compendium, from page 301, to see the comprehensive list of every unit that ever served in the Fifth Corps.