History 269 The Civil War and Reconstruction
Civil War Battle Casualties
Arlington Cemetery 1865To paraphrase a quote attributed to Nathan Bedford Forrest, "War means fightin' and fightin' means killin'." Casualty figures usually list the number of soldiers wounded, killed or missing in action. The total casualty figure (approx. 700,000) counts each man, wounded or killed, only once. The figures below are estimates derived from the most reliable sources available.
A total of 3 million men served between 1861 and 1865: 2,200,000 for the North and 800,000 for the South (not all at the same time). About 50% of the eligible Northern population served and 80% of the eligible Southern population (young white men). A total of 620,000 men died: 360,000 Federals and 260,000 Confederates. Most of these deaths were due to disease (400,000). A total of 700,000 men were wounded in battle, including 214,900 fatalities. Some were killed outright, but more often they died soon afterwards from shock/trauma, blood loss or infection. Serious head and body wounds were usually fatal, whereas wounded arms and legs, if properly treated (by surgical amputation) usually healed [see Medical Care].
The number of casualties in a particular battle depended on how many men were engaged in the fighting, for how long, and how the battle was fought. The average casualty rate was 20%. Casualties for major combat engagements are listed on the Battle Facts page. In raw numbers, two battles stand out: Antietam and Gettysburg. The bloodiest single day of fighting was at Antietam Creek (Sharpsburg, Maryland), where 26,000 men were killed, wounded or missing. The worst battle of all was Gettysburg: 45,400 casualties in three days (50,000 for the entire Gettysburg campaign). Confederate losses at Gettysburg (38%) were the worst of the war and fatally crippled Lee's army. The ten battles with the most casualties are listed below.
Approximate number killed, wounded or missing in action
Battle, Casualties and Rate N % 1. Gettysburg, PA 50,000 30.5 2. Chickamauga, GA 34,700 28.0 3. Chancellorsville, VA 30,000 15.4 4. The Wilderness, VA 27,000 17.0 5. Spotsylvania, VA 27,000 19.6 6. Antietam (Sharpsburg, MD) 26,000 20.4 7. Second Manassas, VA 25,000 19.4 8. Stone's River (Murfreesboro, TN) 24,700 32.2 9. Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing, TN) 23,000 25.2 10. Fredericksburg, VA 18,000 9.6
