Corse's losses in this battle, from the full official records, were 142
killed, 352 wounded, and omitting those captured at the block house two
miles away, 128 prisoners; a total loss of 622--nearly one-third his
entire command.
French in his report estimates that he had killed and wounded 750, and
captured 205--which, with the block house prisoners, would make a total
loss inflicted on Corse of over 1000, which is over 50 per cent. too much.
French's losses are not known. With his report he gives a tabulated list
of casualties by brigades, which shows footings of 122 killed, 443 wounded
and 243 missing--a total of 799. Sears, however, whose report of
casualties is the only one accessible to me, reports in his brigade alone
a total loss of 425--as against 351 attributed to him in French's
schedule, which is an increase of 21 per cent. Young and Cockerell must
have lost at least as heavily as Sears, and having charged our line
repeatedly and had several encounters at close quarters, probably more so.
Allowing for these facts, it is perhaps nearer correct to increase
French's statement of loss by 25 per cent., which would make it almost
exactly 1000 men. As Corse actually buried 231 rebel dead, captured 411
prisoners, well and wounded, and picked up 800 stand of arms, and as
French left behind him, according to his own account, only those of his
wounded who needed litters to move them, we must add to the 644 rebels
accounted for by Corse at least 400 or 500 wounded who got away when
French left, or previously. French's total loss could not have been much
less than 1100 or 1200.
The number of troops with him cannot be determined. He gives it as "but
little over 2000 men," in which case he lost more than half his entire
number, but he omits three regiments as forming no part of the assaulting
column. He refers to those supporting the artillery, but these men were in
the engagement, kept the 18th Wisconsin in their front, and French thanks
their leader, Col. Andrews, "who commanded on the south side," and Major
Myrick, who commanded the artillery. French's field report for Sept. 24th
showed "Present for Duty" 331 officers and 2945 men; an "Effective
Present" of 3626, and an "Aggregate Present" of 4347. He probably had not
less than 3000 with him at Allatoona engaged in action, in which case his
total loss was proportionally the same as ours, viz., about one-third.