Chancellorsville Campaign
Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper
A few weeks after the end of the Chancellorsville Campaign—which had concluded in early May 1863 with a demoralizing and bloody loss for the Army of the Potomac—XI Corps quartermaster William G. Le Duc filed his official account of recent events. Of the many scenes he had witnessed during the failed 10-day push toward Richmond, one stood out. On the campaign’s third day, when Le Duc passed through camps recently abandoned by several corps of the advancing Union force, he found the sites “were covered with blankets and overcoats, and the road was lined with abandoned property.” And since “the inhabitants of the country” had been busy collecting discarded items, Le Duc was convinced that what he saw was only a fraction of what the troops had thrown away. “I doubt not a search of … [the local citizens’] houses and out-buildings would repay the provost-marshal, and secure many wagon-loads of clothing and blankets,” he concluded.
Le Duc’s report sheds light on an aspect of Civil War campaigning known well to Union and Confederate troops: Soldiers on the march regularly jettisoned personal effects in an effort to lighten their loads—especially in warmer weather or when heading into battle. The following figures on the amount of clothing and camp equipage discarded by the approximately 26,000 men of the XI and XII Corps (representing roughly 20 percent of the Army of the Potomac) during the Chancellorsville Campaign are evidence that the sheer volume of such debris could be staggering.
William G. Le Duc’s Report by the Numbers
11,051 Shirts
8,490 Drawers
7,827 Trousers and pantaloons
2,543 Caps
10,623 Knapsacks
6,222 Haversacks
4,039 Canteens
19,690 Socks
6,631 Shoes, boots, and bootees
12,020 Blankets
6,449 Rubber blankets
5,571 Wool blankets
6,251 Coats, jackets, and covers
3,756 Sack coats (blouses)
1,924 Overcoats
548 Jackets, infantry coats, and dress coats
23 Ponchos
8,276 Tents
8,256 Shelter tents
12 Common tents
8 Wall tents
64 Camp kettles and mess pans
Source
United States War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records 129 vols. (Washington, 1880–1901), Series I, Vol. 25, pt. 2, 556–560.
