Download Technology of the Civil War - Conejo Valley Unified School District

Comparing North and South
Civil War divides many American
families.
 After attack on Ft. Sumter, 11 states
make up the Confederacy.

› Richmond, Va. is chosen as Confed. capital.
› Only 100 miles from Union capital,
Washington, D.C.!
Border States

4 Union states allow slavery:
› Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland & Delaware

These border states are divided on which
way to go.
› Missouri, Kentucky, & Maryland very close to
seceding.
› Each state has strategic location.
› If Maryland secedes, Washington, D.C. will
be surrounded by South.
Border States

April 1861: mob in
Baltimore, MD attacks
Northern troops.
› Confederate sympathizers
burn railroads & cut
telegraph lines to capital.
› Baltimore is cut off from
North.
› Order is restored, but it’s a
reminder of Maryland’s
delicate position.
Remaining With the Union

Lincoln is in difficult position:
› Act too boldly against South or slavery,
border states will secede.
› Don’t act boldly enough, North will lose faith
in him.

Lincoln suspends some constitutional
rights & enacts martial law against those
who support secession.
› Border states remain, but many citizens join
Southern armies.
Strengths & Weaknesses

Northern advantages:
› Larger population: 22 million in the North vs.
›
›
›
›
›
5.5 million in the South
More industry
More resources
Better banking system/more $$
More ships/railroads: 22,000 miles of track in
the North vs. 9,000 miles in the South
Lincoln!
Strengths & Weaknesses

Northern weaknesses:
› Difficult to bring Southern states back in.
› North has to invade South.
 Remember: Civil War is not war of splitting
apart—North has to go in & fight South to get
them back in.
› Southern spirit = very strong.

Both sides underestimate dedication &
intelligence of Lincoln.
Strengths & Weaknesses

Southern strengths:
› Southern military leadership is
superior.
 With its long military tradition and
great military schools, the South
put many brilliant officers into
battle.
 Jefferson Davis is West Point grad.
 Southern farms could provide
food for soldiers, but much
Southern agriculture was inedible
or may be eaten by invading
Northern soldiers.
Strengths & Weaknesses

Perhaps the greatest Southern strength
was strategic.
› The South needed only to defend itself until
the North grew tired
› Southern soldiers fought on their home soil,
while the North had to occupy large areas
of enemy territory.
Strengths & Weaknesses

Southern weaknesses:
› Smaller population (fewer soldiers)
› Far fewer factories for making weapons, etc.
› Much less edible food production
› Inferior transportation for deliveries to troops
› States’ rights: States don’t give central
Confederate govt. enough power to wage war
effectively.
› Jefferson Davis = weak leader in many
Southerners’ eyes. 
Gen. Scott’s “Anaconda Plan”
Northern Strategy

North wants to restore South into the Union.
› Abolition becomes a main concern in 1863.

North’s offensive strategy (Anaconda Plan):
› 1. Block Southern ports
 No imports (supplies) or exports (cotton—$$$)
› 2. Control Mississippi River
 Cut supply lines/divide Confederacy
› 3. Take control of Richmond, VA (Confed.
capital)
Southern Offensive-Defensive
Strategy
South’s main goal = win independence &
preserve way of life.
 South’s defensive strategy:

› 1. Hold territory until North wears out.
› 2. Look to France & Britain to pressure North to
end the war.
 Both countries import Southern cotton.

South’s offensive strategy:
› Attack Northern cities to prove North can’t win.
American People at War

Civil War pits family members & friends
against each other.
› Mary Todd Lincoln has relatives in Confederate
Army.
› Confed. Gen. Robert E. Lee and Union Gens.
George McClellan & William Tecumseh
Sherman attended West Point together.
Who Were the Soldiers?
Avg. age = 25, some 15 or younger.
 ~50% of Northern & >60% of Southern
soldiers are farmers.
 1861:

› 112,000 Southern Rebels vs. 187,000 Northern
Yankees.

By 1865:
› 850,000 Rebels vs. 2.1 million Yankees
› 200,000 African-American Union soldiers &
10,000 Hispanic Union soldiers
False Hopes

Both sides expect & hope for quick victory.
› Quotes, pg. 575

Why do you suppose war is not a quick
one? [discuss]
Lee’s expectations

Compare Lee’s quote:
› "If it came to a conflict of arms, the war will
last at least four years. Northern politicians
will not appreciate the determination and
pluck of the South, and Southern politicians
do not appreciate the numbers, resources
and patient perseverance of the North. Both
sides forget that we are all Americans. I
foresee that our country will pass through a
terrible ordeal, a necessary expiation,
perhaps, for our national sins.”
 Robert E. Lee - May 5, 1861
Technology of the Civil War

Civil War = “First modern war”
› First use of aircraft (balloons) in battle
› Troops travel by railroad
Technology of the Civil War

Civil War = “First modern war”
› Messages sent by telegraph
Technology of the Civil War

Civil War = “First modern war”
› First successful submarine, Confederate H.L.
Hunley, sinks a ship (though it also sinks)
“Spar torpedo”
Technology of the Civil War

Civil War = “First
modern war”
› Battles of “ironclad”
ships (U.S.S. Monitor vs.
C.S.S. Virginia)
› Use of “torpedoes”
(sea/land mines)
Technology of the Civil War

Civil War = “First modern war”
› Rifled muskets are common
› Minié ball (minie ball) bullet
Technology of the Civil War

Civil War = “First modern war”
› Repeating rifles
› First machine guns (Gatling guns)
First Battle: Bull Run/Manassas
When: July 21, 1861
 Where: Manassas, Virginia, near Bull Run
River.

First Bull
Run/Manassas
First Battle: Bull Run/
Manassas—Leadership
Union:
Irvin McDowell
Confederate:
Joseph E. Johnston
P.G.T.
Beauregard
First Battle: Bull Run/Manassas

How:
› “Spectator sport”/battle of
inexperienced soldiers w/
mismatched uniforms.
› Union winning at first, but
Confederates get
reinforcements & let out “Rebel
Yell,” causing Yankees to flee.
› Gen. Thomas J. Jackson is “like
a stone wall” and earns the
nickname Stonewall Jackson.
A Shock for the North

Effects:
› North is shocked by loss and
learns it will not be a quick,
easy victory.
› Lincoln issues orders for one
million new recruits to serve
for 3 yrs.
› New general, George B.
McClellan, appointed to
head Union army of the East
(Army of the Potomac) &
organize troops.
War at Sea

Lincoln already has blockade of Southern
ports in place. Why?
› South has trouble getting goods:
 Coffee
 Nails
 Shoes
 Salt
 Guns & ammo
Battle of Hampton Roads

Confed. forces seize Union shipyard in
Norfolk, Va.
› South salvages wooden Union ship Merrimack &
cover it in thick iron plates.
› March 8, 1862: Merrimack, renamed CSS Virginia,
destroys wooden Union ships off Virginia coast.
Monitor vs. Virginia
› March 9: Union sends out ironclad of its own:
Monitor
› Two ships battle for hours, neither destroying the
other.
› North is able to keep Virginia from leaving harbor;
no longer a threat.
Hampton
Roads
Monitor vs. Virginia

This ironclad battle
changed the face of
war forever, proving
that iron was the
future, no longer
wooden ships.
War in the West
War in the East becomes a
stalemate.
 In the West, Union seeks to
gain Mississippi & Tennessee
Rivers.

› Split Confederacy & hinder
transport efforts.

Union commander in Illinois:
Ulysses S. Grant.
Ft. Henry & Ft. Donelson
Ft. Henry & Ft. Donelson
Where: Along the Tennessee & Cumberland
Rivers, in Tennessee
 When: Ft. Henry, Feb. 6, 1862
Ft. Donelson, Feb 16, 1862

Ft. Henry / Ft.
Donelson
Ft. Henry & Ft. Donelson

Leadership:
› Union: Ulysses S. Grant
› Confederate: John B. Floyd,
Gideon Pillow & Simon Buckner
Ft. Henry & Ft. Donelson

How: Grant & ironclad warships capture Fort
Henry (Feb. 6, 1862) and then lay siege to Fort
Donelson (Feb. 16).
› “No terms except an unconditional and
immediate surrender can be accepted.”

Effect: Lower Tennessee River is secure, and
the Union is making progress toward gaining
the Mississippi River.
› Grant is now a national hero
› U.S. Grant becomes “Unconditional Surrender”
Grant
Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing

Grant’s forces march south toward a railroad
junction in Corinth, Mississippi while Rebels
march north.
› They meet near a church called Shiloh (“Place of
Peace” in Hebrew).
Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing
Where: Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee
 When: April 6-7th, 1862

Shiloh/Pittsburg
Landing
Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing:
Leadership
 Union:
- Ulysses S. Grant
- Don Carlos Buell
Confederate: 
- Albert Sidney Johnston
- P.G.T. Beauregard
Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing

How:
› Rebels launch attack April 6th & drive Grant’s
forces back to Tenn. River.
› Yankees recover w/ reinforcements & April 7th
defeat Rebels, who withdraw to Corinth.
Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing

Effects:
› Confederate General A.S. Johnston killed by stray
bullet.
 ~20,000 dead/wounded during these 2 days.
› Union gain control of Corinth, Mississippi &
Nashville, Tennessee and are on the way to
controlling Miss. River.
Reflections on Shiloh
“I never realized the ‘pomp and circumstance’ of the thing
called glorious war until I saw this. Men…lying in every
conceivable position; the dead…with their eyes wide
open, the wounded begging piteously for help…I
seemed…in a sort of daze.”
—Unnamed Tennessee soldier
“[There were] piles of dead soldiers’
mangled bodies…without heads and
legs…The scenes on this field would
have cured anybody of war.”
—General William Tecumseh Sherman
New Orleans Falls

April 25-May 1, 1862: Union also
wins important battle at New
Orleans.
› Rear Admiral David Farragut’s
Union naval forces capture New
Orleans, Louisiana & place it
under military control.
 South’s biggest city.
› Gives Union control of almost all
of Miss. River.
› Farragut grew up in Tenn. but
remained loyal to North.
Peninsula Campaign
Meanwhile, stalemate in the East breaks.
 Gen. McClellan is charged w/ capturing
Confed. capital of Richmond, Va.
 McClellan makes several mistakes during the
“Peninsula Campaign.”

› 1. Too cautious.
› 2. Overestimates Confederate army size.
› 3. Takes army to Virginia by ship instead of over
land.
› 4. Hesitates for weeks despite Lincoln’s urging.
Seven Days’ Battles

When McClellan finally
gets to Richmond, Rebels
have had time to prepare
defenses.
› General Robert E. Lee takes
command of Rebel forces.
 Lincoln had asked Lee to be
Union general.
› Thomas J. “Stonewall”
Jackson confuses & defeats
McClellan’s much larger
Union army while Lee wins a
moral victory in the “Seven
Days’ Battles.”
nd
2
Bull Run/Manassas
Pres. Lincoln orders new commander, Major
General John Pope, into Northern Va.
 Meanwhile, Confed. Generals “Stonewall”
Jackson & Robert E. Lee move forces 50 mi
south to attack Union supply base at
Manassas.
 Pope encounters approaching Rebels,
beginning 2nd Battle of Bull Run/Manassas.

nd
2
Bull Run/Manassas
When: August 28-30, 1862
 Where: Manassas, Va., near Bull Run Creek
 How:

› McClellan stalls in reinforcing Pope for 3 weeks.
› Pope’s forces are crushed & retreat to
Centreville.

Effects:
› Situation is reversed: Rebels are now within 20 mi
of Union capital, Washington, D.C.!
› McClellan is reinstated as commander.
Lee Enters Maryland

Encouraged, Pres. Jefferson Davis orders
Gen. Lee into Maryland.
› Victory might gain aid from France/Britain.
› Maryland might join Confederacy.

Incredible good luck:
› McClellan’s forces find a copy of Gen. Lee’s
orders & plans.
› Union forces now know what Lee is planning &
what his army looks like.

But still McClellan hesitates!
Antietam/Sharpsburg
Where: Lee’s forces gather along Antietam
Creek in Sharpsburg, Md.
 When: Sept. 17, 1862

Antietam/Sharpsburg
Antietam/Sharpsburg:
Confederate: Robert
Leadership
E. Lee
Union: George B.
McClellan
Antietam/Sharpsburg

How: McClellan has far superior numbers and
Lee’s forces run out of ammo.
› Lee’s forces retreat to Virginia, but McClellan
makes excuses instead of pursuing.
Antietam/Sharpsburg
Antietam/Sharpsburg

Effects:
› The North is able to stop Lee invading Maryland,
but “America’s bloodiest day” costs 23,000
casualties.
Ambrose Burnside

Lincoln removes
McClellan & replaces
him with Gen.
Ambrose Burnside.

Ambrose Burnside is
Mr. Snow’s favorite
person in the world.
› Here’s why 
› “Burnside” is where we
get the word
“sideburns.” 
Why Was Antietam Vital?

Antietam: crucial Union victory.
› British were ready to intervene as mediator if Lee
had won and may have been ready to recognize
the Confederacy as an independent country if
the North rejected mediation.
 South loses its best chance for international support.
› Army of the Potomac finally gains confidence.
› President Lincoln uses the victory to issue the
Emancipation Proclamation.
Emancipation

But Lincoln was reluctant to end slavery.
› Abolitionists weren’t in charge in North or
Republican Party.
› Lincoln’s original goal: preserve the Union.
› Quote: pg. 593.
› Personal wish: “All men everywhere could be free.”

Early on, Northerners realize ending slavery will
hurt South.
› Slaves: workers/farmers that support South.

1861-1862: Laws free many slaves owned by
Rebel soldiers.
Changing Attitudes

Lincoln becomes aware of shift in opinion.
› Ending slavery will hurt South.
› Britain/France less likely to help South.
› Slaves allow Southern workers to be away & fight.

Lincoln realizes that he, not anti-slavery
Republicans, must end slavery.
› Emancipation Proclamation is created by summer
1862, but he waits for right time.
Antietam and the Proclamation
After Union forces push back Rebels at
Antietam, Lincoln reads the Emancipation
Proclamation, Jan 1st, 1863.
 It applies only to areas of the South “still in
rebellion.”

› Still, it encourages slaves to run away to the North.
› Many join Union.

Northern African-Americans cheer Lincoln at
White House.
450,000 slaves in border states
not affected.
Tennessee & New Orleans,
Louisiana mostly in Union
control by 1863.
48 counties of
Virginia in the
process of
forming West
Virginia.
Small parts of
Virginia in
Union control.
Effects of the Proclamation

Britain & France also dislike slavery.
› Once emancipation is declared, they decide not
to support Confederacy.

1864: Republicans in Congress draft 13th
Amendment, ending slavery.
› Ratified in 1865 by loyal Union states.
African-Americans in the War

At war’s beginning, 1/3 of South’s population
is slaves (~3.5 - 4 million).
› Some serve in army, but few as soldiers—slave
rebellion scares Southerners.
By war’s end, 1/6 of slaves have escaped to
North.
 By 1865, Confederate army is desperate &
enlists slaves to fight for their freedom.

› War ends before this happens.
African-American Soldiers

In the North, African-Americans originally not
allowed to fight in army.
› Navy enlists them, since navy is not technically on
Confed. soil.
› Helpful as guides & spies.
› Harriet Tubman & others spy on Confederates.

1862: Law allows African-Americans in army.
› 200,000 serve by war’s end (10% of army; 15% of
navy).
› Separate regiments with lower pay.
 Protests lead to equal pay in 1864.
Ft. Wagner

54th Massachusetts: one of the most famous
black regiments.
› Led by white commander, Robert Gould Shaw.
› July 18th, 1863: 54th Massachusetts attacks Ft.
Wagner in Charleston, S.C. & loses nearly half.
› Shaw is killed and “buried with his niggers.”
› 54th wins respect for black troops.

White Southerners hated that Union used
former slaves, but Southern slaves rejoiced.
Ft. Wagner*
*It’s right by Ft. Sumter. I didn’t make
a mistake, so SHUT IT! 
Ft. Wagner
The Reality of War

Camp life is boring; war is gruesome.
› Many rush to sign up at first, but not for long.
New rifles fire more accurately (more deaths).
 Medical facilities overwhelmed.

› Most soldiers die of disease & infection/wounds.
~9% of Union/~12.5% of Confed. soldiers
abandon war.
 Southern troops suffer starvation/lack of
supplies.

› One reason Gen. Lee invades Maryland in 1862 is
to live off Northern crops.
Women and the War

Women take new positions during war.
› Teachers, office workers, farm managers
Many lose husbands, sons, fathers & brothers.
 Women help war effort, too.

› Roll bandages, weave blankets & make ammo.
› Collect food, medicine & clothing for troops.
› Raise $$ for supplies.
Life at Home

War is mainly in South, so everyday Northern
life is relatively undisrupted.
› Many Northern women receive letters.

Southern life totally disrupted.
› Battles kill crops, cut off supplies, & destroy
Southern property.
› South suffers crippling shortages:




Meat & salt
Animals
Clothing & medicine
Shelter
Women as Spies
Harriet Tubman spies for Union.
 Rose O’Neal Greenhow entertains Union
troops in D.C. & passes info to South.

› Caught & exiled to South.
Belle Boyd informs Rebels of Union
movements in Shenandoah Valley.
 Loretta Janeta Velásquez dresses as man &
fights for South at First Battle of Bull Run.

Treating the Sick & Wounded

At first, women considered unfit to be nurses.
› “Men’s work”
› Women too delicate
› Improper to tend to unknown men

Many women do so anyway:
› Dorothea Dix becomes organizer of
woman nurses.
› Clara Barton (“Angel of the
Battlefield”), Louisa May Alcott, & Mary Todd
Lincoln help Union man throughout war.
› Sally Tompkins sets up Southern hospitals.
Union Prisoners at
Andersonville, Ga.
“Living skeletons”
Conflict With the Copperheads

As war begins, Northern Democrats split:
› One group supports Lincoln’s wartime decisions.
› “Peace Democrats” support negotiating w/
Confederacy.
 Republicans call “Peace Democrats” Copperheads
(poisonous snakes that strike w/out warning).
 When Union loses battles, support for Copperheads
increases.
 Some Republicans suspect Copperheads of aiding
Confederacy.
Lincoln’s Reaction to Protests
Lincoln orders arrest of anyone
interfering w/ war effort (like
discouraging men from
enlisting).
 Suspends habeas corpus several
times.

› Habeas corpus: guarantees
accused people right to hearing
before being jailed.
› Lincoln’s quote, pg. 600.
Draft Laws

Enlistments decline, so both sides try new
techniques.
› 1862: Confederacy enacts draft: all men 18-35
must serve 3 yrs.
› Union offers bounties: payments to volunteers.
› 1863: North also turns to draft: all men 20-45
register; names drawn at random.

Many oppose drafts.
› North: Angry mobs kill 100 in New York City.
› South: Jefferson Davis also suspends habeas
corpus.
War & the Economy

First “modern” war.
› But South lacks manufacturing;
›
›
›
›
factories can’t keep up.
Because war is mainly in South,
Southern farmland & cities are
destroyed; rail lines torn up.
North’s blockade of Southern ports
leads to shortages.
Riots break out in Atlanta.
Inflation, increase in prices, is bad in
South.
The South Takes Control
Quote, pg. 605
 1862-1865: no glory or
glamour—ugly war of
attrition & dedication to
cause.
 1862-1863: Robert E. Lee’s
army seems unstoppable.

Fredericksburg
When: Dec. 11-15, 1862
 Where: Fredericksburg, Va.
 Leadership: Union General Ambrose Burnside/
Confederate General Robert E. Lee
 How: Union army is bigger but Burnside
foolishly attacks a Confederate army that is
entrenched, set up in strong positions on hills.

› Lee easily wins battle.

Effects:
› Southern morale is high.
› Burnside resigns.
Chancellorsville
When: April 30-May 6, 1863
 Where: Chancellorsville, Va.
 Leadership: New Union Gen.
“Fighting” Joe Hooker/
Confederate Gen. Lee
 How: Lee risks dividing his much smaller army
into parts, but Hooker is too timid & Lee wins
his “perfect battle.”
 Effects:

› 2nd bloodiest day of war: May 2, 1863
› Lee seems unstoppable/Jackson is feared in North
› But “Stonewall” Jackson is accidentally shot & dies.
Gettysburg

Lee moves north.
› Victory on Northern soil might finally convince
Britain/France.
When: July 1-3, 1863
 Where: Near Gettysburg, Pa.

Gettysburg
Gettysburg: Leadership
Union:
General George Meade
Confederate:
General Robert E. Lee
Gettysburg

How:
› July 1: Lee’s infantry under A.P. Hill is ambushed
looking for shoes.
› North retreats to Cemetery Ridge & holds out for
two days.
› July 3: Lee tries one last, desperate attack, led by
Gen. George Pickett.
 14,000 men charge
across ½-mile.
 “Pickett’s Charge”
 Barely half return.
Gettysburg

Effects:
› Lee is finally beaten!
 “It’s all my fault.”
› 52,000 casualties
(more than any battle)
› Lee is repulsed from
the North
› Gettysburg marks the
turning point for the
North.
The Siege of Vicksburg

Meanwhile, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant & his
troops lay siege to Lt. Gen. John C.
Pemberton’s forces at Vicksburg, Miss.
› Vicksburg surrenders on July 4, 1863.
› Once the Union takes Port Hudson, Louisiana, they
control the entire Miss. River.
› Texas, Louisiana, & Arkansas (main food producers)
are cut off from Confederacy.

Gettysburg & Vicksburg are the turning points,
though war continues for 2 years.
Vicksburg
Final Phases of the War

Nov. 1863: Union wins again
at Chattanooga, Tenn.
under Grant & Gen. William
Tecumseh Sherman.
› 1864: Grant is named
commander of all Union
forces.
› Grant & Sherman attack
South on all fronts, but lose @
Spotsylvania Court House &
are crushed @ Cold Harbor.
› Grant begins 9 mo. siege at
Petersburg, Virginia.
The Election of 1864
North is weary of war.
 Lincoln’s reelection chances
look slim.

› Runs vs. George McClellan!
› But in Aug. 1864, Adm. David
Farragut captures Mobile Bay &
gains control of Gulf of Mexico.
› Then Gen. Sherman captures
Atlanta.

Flush with victories, Lincoln gets
55% of vote.
Total War

After capturing Atlanta, William Tecumseh
Sherman devises a bold plan:
› “March to the Sea” from Atlanta  Savannah, Ga.
(Nov. 15-Dec. 21, 1864).
› As Union soldiers march, they live off farmlands,
tear up railroads & fields, and destroy everything
useful to South.
 Atlanta & Savannah destroyed.
Total War

This destructive type
of war is called
“total war.”
› 1865: Sherman’s
troops march
through & destroy
South Carolina en
route to trap Lee @
Richmond, Va.
 S. Carolina’s capitol,
Columbia, is totally
destroyed.
Path of
Sherman’s
“March to the
Sea”
“Sherman’s Neckties”
Animated
map
[click]
Victory for the North!
April 2, 1865: Petersburg, the last defense
before Richmond, finally falls to Grant’s siege.
 Caught between Grant & Sherman, the
Confederate capital of Richmond falls to
Union forces.

› Southerners burn city as they flee.
April 4, 1865: Lee tries to link up with the rest of
the Confederate army, but is cut off.
 April 9, 1865: Lee surrenders to Grant in
Appomattox Court House, VA.

The Civil War Ends at Last

Grant’s terms of
surrender are generous.
› Horses retained, food
sent to soldiers, soldiers
allowed to go home.
May 10: Jefferson Davis
captured as he flees.
 The Civil War is finally
over…

Lincoln Is Assassinated

However, before Davis is captured, Lincoln is
assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14,
1865.
› Ford’s Theatre,
D.C. @ a play
› Booth = Confed.
Sympathizer and
actor.
› “Semper sic
tyrannus!”
A New President

Lincoln’s death stuns North
and South.
› Lincoln seen as the only
person who could “bind up
the nation’s wounds.”

Lincoln’s V.P., Andrew
Johnson, takes over.
› Tennessee Senator who
stayed loyal to Union when
Tenn. seceded.
› Disastrous presidency (first
pres. impeached).
Results of the War

Civil War = bloodiest war in American history.
› ~1 million total casualties
› ~625,000-750,000 dead.

Billions of dollars in damage, mostly in South.
› Southern economy in collapse.
› 2/3 of Southern transportation ruined.
Generations of Southern bitterness.
 Union saved and federal govt. strengthened.
 Millions of slaves freed.
 Many questions still remain…

= 1,000 deaths
Now let’s shrink those numbers down…
…and compare.
Afghanistan (2003- )
= ~2,200 deaths so far…*
* as of 2014
Iraq (2003-2011)
= 4,486 deaths
Mexican-American War (18461848): 13,283
= 13,283 deaths
War of 1812 (1812-1815)
= ~20,000 deaths
American Revolution (1775-1783)
= ~25,000 deaths
Korean War (1950-1953): 36,516
= 36,516 deaths
Vietnam War (1955-1975)
= 58,209 deaths
World War I (1917-1918)
= 116,516 deaths
World War II (1941-1945)
= 405,339 deaths
Civil War (1861-1865)
}
debated
= 625,000 800,000+ deaths(?)
= 2.5% of American
population
To put that in context…
Amer. Rev.:
25,000
War of 1812: 20,000
Mex-Amer.:
13,283
WWI:
116,516
WWII:
405,399
Korea:
36,516
Vietnam:
58,209
Iraq:
4,486
Afghanistan:
2,200
+
_____________________
1775 thru 2013, not
including Civil War:
681,609

Civil War (1861-1865):
____________________
625,000- 800,000+
Vietnam War
Civilcasualties
War
World War
II WWI
Total U.S.
(1775-2013):
~ 1,321,612
All other American combat: Korean
War, Revolutionary War, War of
1812, Mexican-American War, Wars
on Terror, Indian Wars, etc.
Civil War (1861-1865)
}
debated
= Deaths from
disease (assuming
the larger number
of casualties)