

New military technology combined with old-fashioned tactical doctrine to produce a scale of battle casualties unprecedented in American history.Įven with close to total conscription, the South could not match the North's numerical strength. More American soldiers became casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg than in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 combined. The American Battlefield Trust does not agree with this claim.

Some believe the number is as high as 850,000. The numbers of Civil War dead were not equaled by the combined toll of other American conflicts until the War in Vietnam. The young nation experienced bloodshed of a magnitude that has not been equaled since by any other American conflict. The human cost of the Civil War was beyond anybody's expectations. Taken as a percentage of today's population, the toll would have risen as high as 6 million souls. Roughly 2% of the population, an estimated 620,000 men, lost their lives in the line of duty. Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as were killed in the whole of the Vietnam War.

The unprecedented violence of battles such as Shiloh, Antietam, Stones River, and Gettysburg shocked citizens and international observers alike. The Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict. Saved Land Browse Interactive Map View active campaigns.Help Tell African American Stories of Valor.Help Protect 407 Acres Across Four Sacred Battlefields.Save 150 Endangered Acres at Gaines’ Mill and Cold Harbor.Virtual Tours View All See Antietam now!.National Teacher Institute July 21 - 24, 2022 Learn More.

USS Constitution In 4 Minutes Watch Video.Liberty Trail Explore the Southern Campaigns Learn more.African Americans During the Revolutionary War.The First American President: Setting the Precedent.
