greatest and severest conflict that has occurred, but for some
other things that I may mention. The fight of the 2d of July, on the
left, which was almost a separate and complete battle, is, so far as I
know, alone in the following particulars: the numbers of men actually
engaged at one time, and the enormous losses that occurred in killed and
wounded in the space of about two hours. If the truth could be obtained,
it would probably show a much larger number of casualties in this than
my estimate in a former part of these sheets. Few battles of the war
that have had so many casualties altogether as those of the two hours on
the 2d of July. The 3d of July is distinguished. Then occurred the
"great cannonade"--so we call it, and so it would be called in any war,
and in almost any battle. And besides this, the main operations that
followed have few parallels in history, none in this war, of the
magnitude and magnificence of the assault, single and simultaneous, the
disparity of the numbers engaged, and the brilliancy, completeness and
overwhelming character of the result in favor of the side numerically
the weaker. I think I have not, in giving the results of this encounter,
overestimated the numbers or the losses of the enemy. We learned on all
hands, by prisoners and by the newspapers, that over two divisions
moved up to the assault--Pickett's and Pettigrew's--that this was the
first engagement of Pickett's in the battle, and the first of
Pettigrew's save a light participation on the 1st of July. The Rebel
divisions usually number nine or ten thousand, or did at that time, as
we understood. Then I have seen something of troops and think I can
estimate their numbers somewhat. The number of the Rebels killed here I
have estimated in this way: the 2d and 3d divisions of the 2d corps
buried the Rebel dead in their own front, and where they fought upon
their own grounds, by count they buried over _one thousand eight
hundred_. I think no more than about _two hundred_ of these were killed
on the 2d of July in front of the 2d division, and the rest must have
fallen upon the 3d. My estimates that depend upon this contingency may
be erroneous, but to no great extent. The rest of the particulars of the
assault, our own losses and our captures, I know are approximately
accurate. Yet the whole sounds like romance, a grand stage piece of
blood.

Of all the corps d'armie, for hard fighting, severe losses and
brilliant results, the palm