CASUALTIES

 

Estimates of numbers engaged in Civil War battles vary; statistics on killed, wounded, captured, and missing are incomplete. The reports of casualties at the Battle of Antietam shown in the official records are certainly inaccurate. Often these reports are qualified by "about," "not over," or "less than." In addition, they do not show numbers of wounded who later died or the missing who later returned to duty or had been captured. The casualty estimates shown below are drawn from reports in the Official Records, submitted one to several months after the battle. While Union reports show casualty statistics for 17 September 1862, Confederate reports show the total number of killed and wounded for the Maryland Campaign, including the battles of South Mountain, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg (Antietam), and Shepherdstown (Boteler's Ford). Confederate cavalry casualties are not shown. Stuart's cavalry brigades spent 17 September guarding the flanks of the Confederate Army, thus their casualties were relatively few.

TABLE 1: ARMY OF THE POTOMAC, CASUALTIES DURING THE BATTLE OF
ANTIETAM, 17 SEPTEMBER 1862

Unit
Killed
Wounded
Missing
Aggregate
Ofcrs
Men
Ofcrs
Men
Ofcrs
Men
I Corps
25
392
100
1,951
0
122
2,590
II Corps
63
820
188
3,671
3
393
5,138
V Corps
1
16
2
88
0
2
109
VI Corps
8
63
22
313
2
31
439
IX Corps
24
414
98
1,698
2
113
2,349
XII Corps
17
258
63
1,323
0
85
1,746
Cavalry Division
1
6
0
23
0
0
30
Total
139
1,969
473
9,067
7
746
12,401

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TABLE 2: ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, CASUALTIES DURING THE
MARYLAND CAMPAIGN, 14-19 SEPTEMBER 1862

Unit
Killed
Wounded
Aggregate
Longstreet's Command
    
McLaws' Division
205
1,256
1,461
R. H. Anderson's Division
134
887
1,021
D. R. Jones' Division
142
818
960
Walker's Division
177
144
321
Hood's Division
133
830
963
Evans' Brigade*
47
262
309
          Subtotal
838
4,197
5,035
   
Jackson's Command
    
Ewell's Division
161
854
1,015
A. P. Hill's Division
113
818
931
Jackson's Division
111
435
546
D. H. Hill's Division
451
1,735
2,186
          Subtotal
836
3,842
4,678
Total
1,674
8,039
9,713

* This brigade was not assigned to a division but operated with Longstreet's command.

Source: U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 70 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1893), ser. 1, vol. 19, pt. 1, pp. 189-200, 810-11, 843, 860-62, 888, 906-07.

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