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Ellison Capers            Greenville, So.Ca.

                                    July 28 1874

Genl Jos. E. Johnston

My dear General

        In reply to your letter
of the 23rd inst, I cheerfully give you all
the information at my command in
relation to my probable loss of arms
in the campaign which you directed
in Georgia in ’64, and in which my
Regt – the 24th So.Ca.Vols. had the hon-
our to be engaged.-
        By the record of our Casualties, which
were carefully recorded & have been
preserved by me, covering the period
from Dalton to Franklin, it ap-

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pears that we lost while under
your command from May 6th
to July 18, Eighteen prisoners. –
2 at Calhoun – 5 at Pine Mt.
and 11 at Kennesaw.
These men were captured with their
arms while on picket duty.
The 11 taken at Kennesaw were
captured in the Rifle Pits by the en-
emy’s main line as it advanced to
the general assault of our po-
sition on the 27th of June, and is [struck-through] are
referred to in your narrative,
page 342, when mention is made
of the capture of ^some of Walker’s pickets.

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    These 18 arms are include every
gun we lost in the campaign when
you commanded.
I am certain, that in our Brigade there
were no captures in either of the
regiments besides those made
occasionally on the picket line.
We were never driven from our
positions, and whenever men were
wounded or killed great care
was taken to secure their arms &
turn them over to the Brigade
Ordnance Officers. I think we
did fully as much picket duty as
any other command in the army,

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and were as often engaged with the en-
emy, as that our loss of arms might
be safely taken as the maximum
of the regimental loss on the cam-
paign. Suppose each Regiment
to have lost 18 prisoners, & that we
had 200 Regiments, the total
loss of arms would only be 3600.
Now we did not have 200 Regiments,
and I have no idea we lost 2000
arms! As to the army losing
19,000 it is simply preposterous,
and an unworthy aspersion of an [struck-through]
brave men who held their ground
on every field, & retired only in

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obedience to their Generals’ com-
mand, and when military strategy
made retreat wiser than battle.
I am certain, that if great captures
of our troops had been made, or
if desertions had been frequent on
the campaign, they would have been
the subjects of remark among us,
yet I never once heard of such
captures or desertions in our Corps,
or in any other command of the
army.- Every event of any interest
was discussed at Corps, Div.& Brig.
Hd Qrs, but I never heard of
such losses at either of these Hd

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Qrs. nor among our troops. –
To have lost 19000 arms we must
have lost over 2000 at each of
the eight lines of defence we
established, & from which the
army successively retired in per-
fect order. The charge is absurd,
and can be disproved by the tes-
timony of every Regimental com-
mander of the gallant army of
Tennessee. I must say, General,
that I can not think it is seriously
made in the interests of history.
It is certainly unworthy of any
man or officer who had the

honor to share the hardships & the
dangers of the army which you
commanded in Georgia.
            With very great respect
                I am, Genl,
                    Most Truly Yrs.
                        Ellison Capers