360 Nortu Carotina Troops, 1861-65.

third day, its Captain (Wagg) was killed, and ten wounded
and missing out of fourteen taken into the fight. Lieutenant
J. A. Polk, commanding Company K when the muster roll
was signed 31 August, 1863, states every officer was wounded
at Gettysburg, 16 men killed and 50 wounded and missing.
He does not give the number taken into action.

As to the loss sustained by the regiment as a whole, we may
rely upon the statements of Northern writers who have com-
piled them from the official records in the War Department
at Washington, D. C. Colonel William F. Fox, of Albany,
N. Y., in his book, “(Regimental Losses in the Civil War,” a
work of recognized authority—places the loss of the Twenty-
sixth Regiment in the first day’s fight at 86 killed and 502
wounded, out of 800 taken into action. He says: “On the
third day’s fight in Pickett’s charge, they lost 120, recorded
as missing.” In a letter to the writer dated 30 September,
1889, Colonel Fox says: ‘My figures for the loss of the
Twenty-sixth North Carolina at Gettysburg, are taken from
the official report of Surgeon-General Lafayette Guild, C. S.
A., who obtained his figures from the nominal lists of the
killed and wounded made out in the field hospitals. In my
opinion, the 120 missing should also be included in the killed
and wounded; but as they were not so reported officially, I
cannot substitute my opinion for official statistics. In a sec-
ond edition, which is now going through the press, I added the
losses for Bristoe Station, having obtained them from the War
Department since the publication of the first edition. In
these losses for Bristoe, I was surprised to see that the Twen-
ty-sixth North Carolina again heads the list. I took great pains
to verify the loss of the Twenty-sixth North Carolina at Get-
tysburg, for I am inclined to believe that in time this regi-
ment will become as well known in history as the Light Bri-
gade at Balaklava.”

Colonel Fox further states in his book that this loss of the
Twenty-sixth Regiment was the greatest in numbers and
greatest in per cent. of those taken into action of all the regi-
ments on either side in the Civil War in any one battle. Mr.
John M. Vanderslice, Director of the Gettysburg Memorial
Association, who was a private in Company D, Eighth Penn-
sylvania, was gazetted for distinguished services in action at

Twenty-SixtH REGIMENT. 361

Hatcher’s Run, 6 February, 1865, in his book, “Gettysburg,
Then and Now”—writes thus: “The loss of the Twenty-
sixth North Carolina Regiment should be 584 on the first
day and of the remaining 216, 130 were lost on the third, its
total loss in the battle being 588 killed and wounded and 126
missing out of 800 engaged. This brigade (Pettigrews’s)
lost over 500 additional on the third day.”

As a matter of historical interest, I append a list of the
losses in the several brigades that fought in and around Me-
Pherson’s woods on the first day at Gettysburg:

 

Killed and
Wounded.

Missing.
Engaged.

Meredith s Iron Brigade—

2 Wisconsin
6 Wisonsin
7 Wisconsin
19 Indiana

Biddle’s Brigade—

80 New York.
121 Pennsylvania
FAP CODA IVEDI Os: 5 poe shod PETRUS eee ee
151 Pennsylvania

Union Troops.

Stone’s Brigade

Artillery

 

\ Gamble’s Cavalry

 

{ Davis’ Mississippi Brigade....... .... eat “O08 |
Archer’s Tennessee Brigade | 160 |
Brockenborough’s Virginia Brigade ........... | 148 |

11 North Carolina Regiment
26 North Carolina Regiment
47 North Carolina Regiment
52 North Carolina Regiment

Heth’s Division.

I
| Pettigrew’s North Carolina Brigade—
|
1
{