Civil War Death Toll

tmh10

Major
Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Location
Pipestem,WV
I found another as of 9/21/2011 estimate of how many deaths as result of the war by historian J. David Hacker.

Hacker looked at the ratio of male survival relative to female survival for each age group. He established a "normal" pattern in survival rates for men and women by looking at the numbers for 1850-1860 and 1870-1880. Then he compared the war decade, 1860-1870, relative to the pattern.
His new estimate of Civil War deaths contains a wide margin: 650,000 to 850,000, with 750,000 as the central figure.
Pulitzer Prize-winner James McPherson, the preeminent living historian of the war, says he finds Hacker's estimate plausible.
"Even if it might not be quite as high as 750,000, I have always been convinced that the consensus figure of 620,000 is too low, and especially that the figure of 260,000 Confederate dead is definitely too low," McPherson says. "My guess is that most of the difference between the estimate of 620,000 and Hacker's higher figure is the result of underreported Confederate deaths."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921120124.htm
 
No. Too many boys went home and died and didn't get reported. Too many civilians were affected by diseases THEY brought home.....and nobody was counting nutritional diseases and their death tolls at all.
 
No. Too many boys went home and died and didn't get reported. Too many civilians were affected by diseases THEY brought home.....and nobody was counting nutritional diseases and their death tolls at all.

Thanks Nate - so from what I gather the 620,000 is the number of officially reported deaths?
 
The census records after the war are not accurate. My great-uncle survived the war and moved to Texas. He doesn't show up anywhere on the 1870 census. I suspect his is not an isolated case.
 
The most alarming part of these high death figures is that two out of three Civil War deaths are from disease rather that battle.
 
We'll never see an accurate death rate in the Civil War. Too many spent time in the glory of war and refrained from studying the incapacity of the Confederacy, particularly, to wage such a massive war.
How can we adequately study death during the war, if starvation and food shortages were too long ignored.



RALEIGH, N. C., December 11, 1862.

His Excellency JEFFERSON DAVIS,

President of the Confederate States of America:

DEAR SIR: The undersigned, senators and representatives from the Tenth Congressional District of North Carolina, now attending the General Assembly, desire to call your attention to the following statement of facts:

The people living in the counties composing the Tenth Congressional District own comparatively but few slaves, and have, therefore, to rely mainly upon white labor for the cultivation of their lands and their supplies of provisions. In nearly all the counties we represent the number of volunteers and conscripts furnished to the Confederate Army is almost equal to our entire voting population. This district is composed of fifteen counties. These counties do not [contain] as many slaves, all told, as some single counties in the middle and eastern divisions of the State. It is manifest, then, that the levies made by the conscript law upon our section have well-night stripped us of our laboring population. We further state that with aid of the conscripts during the last summer we have been unable to produce sufficient supplies for the present winter and coming spring. We hope, however, by the strictest economy and the abandonment of a portion of our live stock to prevent actual starvation. It must be borne in mind, nevertheless, that great privation and suffering are inevitable. We could cite hundreds of instances where three or four families of women, numbering from ten to fifteen children, have been thrown together into one house, not having so much as a boy large enough to go to mill. These noble women or now aided by the few scattering men who remain at home. But if the remaining conscripts, from thirty-five to forty or forty-five, are enrolled and ordered into camp, it can result in nothing short of actual starvation among some of these helpless women and children. Moreover, it will be impossible for the few old men and boys remaining at home to cultivate one half the amount of land that was cultivated last summer in that section, and hence the danger of a general famine through that entire district. This section of the State which we represent is very mountainous and remote from railroad facilities, and cannot, therefore, procure provisions from abroad.

We are free, thought the task is an unpleasant one, to state another fact. Most of the cases of desertion among the soldiers from that section have been produced by the sufferings of their families and parents at home. We challenge the Confederacy to produce a more loyal and brave people than ours, and instance as an example the glorious Sixteenth North Carolina Regiment. Yet with all their loyalty, if the law be enforced and the remaining conscripts be taken, it will produce the deepest discontent and dissatisfaction among the soldiers already in the field form that section. We had reason to expect that you would have exempted that section from any further call.

In view of the foregoing facts we respectfully ask that you will suspend the enforcement of the conscript law in the Tenth Congressional District of North Carolina. We now appeal with confidence to you in behalf of these helpless women and children, believing that you cannot consent to see any one section of our beloved Confederacy reduced to actual starvation while some of our sister States are behind us in furnishing men for the field. So far we have done our duty and leave results to you; and for our official position we refer you to Governor Vance and to our Representative in Congress, A. T. Davidson, and hope that the facts set forth may receive at your hands due consideration.

We are, sir, yours, respectfully,

C. D. SMITH, Senator;

W. M. SHIPP O. DICKERSON, Senator;

S. J. NEAL, Senator;

[AND TWELVE REPRESENTATIVES.] ortages in the South were ignored.
 
The census records after the war are not accurate. My great-uncle survived the war and moved to Texas. He doesn't show up anywhere on the 1870 census. I suspect his is not an isolated case.

That would only skew the figures, though, if significantly more people were missed in the 1870 census than the 1860 census. If, let's say, 2% were missed in both, it wouldn't matter if the same or different people were missed, since the totals would be comparable. And I have no idea which census, if either, would be more accurate.

Edited to add: Just read the blog linked above and saw that he factored in undercounts, which he estimated using microdata. This guy's no dummy. "Census microdata samples created from these returns at the Minnesota Population Center make it possible to estimate undercounts by age and sex in censuses back to 1850 and to construct a Census-based estimate of male deaths caused by the war... The results confirm that, indeed, the 1870 Census was the most poorly enumerated. It was not nearly as bad as Walker feared and as 1890 census officials charged, however: the net undercount was 6.5 percent in 1870, compared to 6.0 percent in 1850, 5.5 percent in 1860, and 3.6 percent in 1880."

It's interesting to speculate what categories would be missed in calculating the dead using the census this way.

The author already noted that civilian deaths weren't significant enough for him to worry about, but his calculations would include male civilian deaths, but not female ones.

If he compared white numbers to white numbers, it would miss USCT and other non-white deaths, or if he included male enslaved people from the 1860 census, it would include excess deaths of those due to the upheaval of the war. Not sure how Indians were counted on both censuses.

Also, since he only looked at native-born men in the 1870 census--which makes sense to eliminate the increase due to immigration--everyone who arrived at Castle Garden in late 1860 or afterwards, enlisted and died would be missed.

If there were any unusual epidemics or other demographic causes of death between 1860 and 1870--can't think of any--the victims would also be counted as war dead. Or if by coincidence there were any unusual epidemics in the decades he used for comparison, that didn't occur in the 1860s, that fact would make the number of war dead seem lower.

If only there had been an 1865 census! Because there's also the problem of those five post-war years. That would add to the deaths, by counting those who died of disease or wounds within a few years afterward--which isn't necessarily inaccurate. I'm assuming he accounted for age, to eliminate the possibility of a baby boom when all the soldiers came home.

Other than including male civilian deaths but excluding female civilian deaths--which he notes weren't large enough to skew the figures--and the question of how to count non-whites, it seems like a pretty good way to estimate the total, and he's certainly conservative in giving a wide margin of error.

Edited to add, after reading the blog, this is also a good point: "It excludes, however, men dying from war-related causes who would have died under the normal mortality conditions of the late 19th century. This final group, included in all direct counts of the Civil War dead, represents about 80,000 men." That's the neat thing about statistics like this. You can play god and say, well, since Johnny would have died anyway in 1863 if he'd stayed home, we won't count him as part of the war dead, even though he died from being shot at Gettysburg rather than being kicked by the plowhorse. For better or worse, that's what this method would reflect.

There are really two issues when trying to count the dead, defining what counts as a war-related death, and finding the records. I like the author's definition, since it gets right to the heart of the matter: how many people should we have had alive, who weren't, when the war was over.
 
If he compared white numbers to white numbers, it would miss USCT and other non-white deaths, or if he included male enslaved people from the 1860 census, it would include excess deaths of those due to the upheaval of the war. Not sure how Indians were counted on both censuses.

Also, since he only looked at native-born men in the 1870 census--which makes sense to eliminate the increase due to immigration--everyone who arrived at Castle Garden in late 1860 or afterwards, enlisted and died would be missed.

The USCT and immigrants were not ignored and would be factored in from official records. It uses the native-born men from the 1870 census to arrive at percentages of potential war dead so as to extrapolate an overall total.

The CSA records were inexactly maintained, to say the least, and much were destroyed, so the numbers of war dead has always been stated as an estimate. McPherson's opinion that a new estimate of CSA war dead, based upon modern techniques, would account for most of the upwardly revised totals should not surprise anybody.
 
The USCT and immigrants were not ignored and would be factored in from official records. It uses the native-born men from the 1870 census to arrive at percentages of potential war dead so as to extrapolate an overall total.

I missed that. Where did it say that he added in USCT and immigrant totals to the figures he derived from the census? Honestly, with the margin of error, I don't think they'd actually make a difference; their omission is more theoretical.
 
Hi folks - I got this a while back when researching my ancestor - he died on the USS Port Royal 1862 - typhoid! Was just curious at the time as to the ratio of battle deaths to disease. Don't recall if there were any figures for civilians.

According to the Medical & Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion by Joseph K. Barnes, Surgeon General of the United States Army (1883) the death totals were:

Union - 359,528 (total) - 224,586 (diseases)
Confederate (more than) - 250,000 (total) - 160,000 (diseases)
Combined - 645,528 (total) - 384,586 (diseases)

He states that the Confederate deaths are estimates because of a fire in Richmond (presume this destroyed records).

I doubt there will ever be an accurate total.
 
Hi folks - I got this a while back when researching my ancestor - he died on the USS Port Royal 1862 - typhoid! Was just curious at the time as to the ratio of battle deaths to disease. Don't recall if there were any figures for civilians.

According to the Medical & Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion by Joseph K. Barnes, Surgeon General of the United States Army (1883) the death totals were:

Union - 359,528 (total) - 224,586 (diseases)
Confederate (more than) - 250,000 (total) - 160,000 (diseases)
Combined - 645,528 (total) - 384,586 (diseases)

He states that the Confederate deaths are estimates because of a fire in Richmond (presume this destroyed records).

I doubt there will ever be an accurate total.

One of the problems for the Confederate armies and, I seemed to recall reading for the Federal armies as well, were duplicate and even triplicate records for individuals. If true, estimates for both armies of various categories such as numbers who actually served as opposed to enlistments, casualties from all causes and even desertions should be less not more.

GG Grandfather John M. Carlisle -- Chaplain 7th SC Inf.
GG Uncle James H. Carlisle – signer of SC Ordinance of Secession
G Grandfather Nathaniel L. McCormick—Private, Battery E 40th [3rd] N C Artillery
G Grandfather Thomas M. Bolton – Private, Co. G 19th Va. Inf.
G Uncle Dougald McCormick--Private Co. D 46th NC Inf.
G Uncle Duncan McCormick – Private, NC Home Guard
G Uncle Alexander Mc Cormick –1st Sgt, Co. B 6th Ms Inf.
G Uncle Murdoch McCormick—Private, Ms Home Guard
G Uncle James W. Bolton – Private, Co. B (Rives) Nelson Light Artillery (Va.), 1864 Co. G, 19th Va. Inf.
G Uncle Albert G. Bolton – Private, Co. F 27th Va. Inf.
G Uncle Alexander H. Bolton – Private, Co. D 7th Va. Inf.
G Uncle Lindsey C. Bolton – Private, Co. B. 1st Va. Reserves
G Uncle Thomas D. Boone – Captain,. Co. F 1st NC Inf.
G. Uncle James D. Boone -- Quartermaster sergeant, Co. F 1st NC Inf.
G Uncle John W. Boone -- Private, Co. D 59th (4th Cav.) NC, 1st NC Inf. Co. F
G Uncle Peter Lindsey Breeden—Captain, Co. E, 4th SC Cav.
G Uncle A.J. Breeden – Private, Co. E. 4th SC Cav.
Cousins –Daniel McKinnon, Luther McKinnon, John N. McKinnon, McKay McKinnon, Murdoch McKinnon -- all privates in Company E 40th (3rd) NC artillery [heavy]
 
Regimental Losses In The American Civil War
1861-1865

A Treatise On The Extent And Nature Of The Mortuary Losses In The Union Regiments, With Full And Exhaustive Statistics Compiled From The Official Records On File In The State Military Bureaus And At Washington.

By William F. Fox, Lt. Col., U.S. V.

President Of The Society Of The Twelfth Army Corps; Late President Of The 10th N.Y. Veteran
Volunteers' Association; And Member Of The New York Historical Society.

Albany, N.Y.
Albany Publishing Company
1889

COPYRIGHT BY WILLIAM F. FOX 1889
============================================

FOX’S REGIMENTAL LOSSES
CHAPTER XIII.
AGGREGATE OF DEATHS IN THE UNION ARMIES BY STATES--TOTAL ENLISTMENT BY STATES--PERCENTAGES OF MILITARY POPULATION FURNISHED, AND PERCENTAGES OF LOSS--STRENGTH OF THE ARMY AT VARIOUS DATES--CASUALTIES IN THE NAVY.
THE statistics in this chapter, with the exception of the percentages, are compiled largely from the recent official publications of the War Department. They show not only the aggregate mortuary loss of the Union Armies during the War of the Rebellion, but show the losses sustained by each State, together with the various causes of death.

The tables are based upon the statistics prepared in the War Department at Washington, in 1885, by order of General Richard C. Drum, Adjutant-General United States Army, the work being done under the supervision of Mr. Joseph W. Kirkley, the statistician of that department. This work of the War Department was one of immense magnitude; but it was done conscientiously and intelligently, and the extracts given here may be considered not only as official, but final.

The period during which these deaths occurred embraces, in the Regular Army, the time between April 15, 1861, and August 1, 1865; but, in the volunteers, it covers the time from the date of muster-in to the date of final muster-out of each organization. Soldiers who died after they had been discharged or mustered out are not counted, except those who were prisoners of war at the time of their death. Most of the volunteer regiments were mustered out in the summer of 1865; some remained in service until January, 1866, and a few were not discharged until 1867.

In presenting here these important statistics, the figures have been arranged in tables so as to bring out clearly their important features; and, to these have been added various columns of percentages which may be of interest m connection with the matter.

In Table A, Column IV, the official figures for the enlistment, reduced to a three years' standard, are used as a basis in calculating the percentage of loss in the various States. As has already been explained, the terms of enlistment varied in length, and, although the bulk of the army was enlisted for a three years' term of service, many of the regiments were mustered in to serve for three months, six months, nine months, one year, or two years. In some of the calls for troops made by the President these different terms were, at one time or another, specified in the proclamation. Of the '2,778,304 separate enlistments, there were 2,036,700 who enlisted for three years, including the veteran reënlistments; 391,752 who enlisted for one year; 44,400 for two years; 1,042 for four years; 87,588 for nine months; 108,416 for three months; 20,439 for six months; 85,507 for one hundred days; 2,045 for sixty days; 373 for eight months; and 42 for four months. There were also several New York militia regiments which served for thirty days in various emergencies, and bodies of "minute men" from other States, of which no account was made. Reduced to a basis of a three years' term, these various enlistments were equal to 2,326,168 men recruited for three years' service

TABLE A.
TOTAL DEATHS AND PERCENTAGES BY STATES.
I Killed or mortally wounded V % of killed
II Deaths from all other causes. VI % of other deaths
III TOTAL DEATHS VII % of total deaths
IV Troops furnished; three years standard.(*)

STATES. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII.
Maine 3,184 6,214 9,398 49,635 6.4 12.5 18.9
New Hampshire 1,903 2,979 4,882 29,150 6.5 10.2 16.7
Vermont 1,809 3,415 5,224 26,355 6.8 12.9 19.8
Massachusetts 6,115 7,827 13,942 98,803 6.2 7.9 14.1
Rhode Island 460 861 1,321 13,688 3.3 6.3 9.6
Connecticut 1,947 3,407 5,354 45,181 4.3 7.5 11.8
New York 19,085 27,449 46,534 334,784 57 8.1 13.8
New Jersey 2,578 3,176 5,754 44,398 5.8 7.1 12.9
Pennsylvania 15,265 17,918 33,183 214,427 7.1 8.3 15.4
Delaware 383 499 882 7,888 4.8 6.3 11.1
Maryland 909 2,073 2,982 24,954 3.6 8.3 11.9
West Virginia 1,247 2,770 4,017 27,518 4.5 10.0 14.5
Ohio 11,588 23,887 35,475 225,669 5.1 10.6 15.7
Kentucky 2,478 8,296 10,774 43,550 5.7 19.0 24.7
Indiana 7,243 19,429 26,672 150,177 4.8 12.9 17.7
Illinois 9,894 24,940 34,834 210,043 4.7 11.8 16.5
Missouri 3,317 10,568 13,885 78,035 4.2 13.5 17.7
Michigan 4,448 10,305 14,753 76,218 5.8 13.5 19.3
Wisconsin 3,802 8,499 12,301 73,865 5.1 11.5 16.6
Minnesota 626 1,958 2,584 18,554 3.4 10.5 13.9
Iowa 3,540 9,461 13,001 68,118 5.2 13.8 19.0
Kansas 737 1,893 2,630 16,624 4.4 11.4 15.8
District of Columbia 41 249 290 6,546 0.6 3.8 4.4
Colorado 153 170 323 3,697 4.1 4.6 8.7
California 108 465 573 15,725 0.7 2.9 3.6
New Mexico 73 204 277 4,432 1.6 4.6 6.2
(Continued.) I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII.
Nebraska 35 204 239 2,175 1.6 9.3 10.9
Oregon 11 34 45 1,773 0.6 1.9 2.5
Nevada 2 31 33 1,080 0.1 2.9 3.0
Dakota 2 4 6 206 1.0 2.0 3.0
Washington Territory .... 22 22 964 .... 2.2 2.2
Tennessee 744 6,033 6,777 26,394 2.8 22.8 25.6
Arkansas 305 1,408 1,713 7,836 3.9 17.9 21.8
Louisiana 214 731 945 4,654 4.6 15.7 20.3
Alabama 50 295 345 1,611 3.1 18.3 21.4
North Carolina 43 317 360 3,156 1.4 10.0 11.4
Florida 18 197 215 1,290 1.4 15.2 16.6
Texas 12 129 141 1,632 0.7 7.9 8.6
Mississippi 3 75 78 545 0.5 13.8 14.3
Virginia 10 32 42 .... .... .... ....
Georgia .... 15 15 .... .... .... ....
Indian Nations 107 911 1,018 3,530 3.0 25.8 28.8
Colored Troops 2,894 33,953 36,847 178,975 1.6 18.9 20.5
Veteran Reserves(+) 27 1,645 1,672 .... 2.7 2.7 ....
Hancock's Corps(+) 1 105 106 .... .... 0.9 0.9
United States Sharpshooters(+) 263 289 552 .... 10.2 11.2 21.4
United States Volunteer Infantry(+) 12 231 243 .... 0.1 2.7 2.8
Generals and Staff 85 154 239 .... .... .... ....
Miscellaneous, Bands, &c 16 216 232 .... .... .... ....
Regular Army(+) 2,283 3,515 5,798 .... 3.4 5.2 8.6
Totals 110,070 249,458 359,528 2,143,855 5.1 11.6 16.7

The report of the Provost-Marshal-General shows the combined strength of the Union Armies, at different periods before and during the war, to have been:

Date. Present. Absent. Aggregate.
Jan. 1, 1861 14,663 1,704 (*)16,367
July 1, 1861 183,588 3,163 186,751
Jan. 1, 1862 527,204 48,713 575,917
Mch. 31, 1862 533, 984 103,142 637,126
Jan. 1, 1863 698,802 219,389 918,191
Jan. 1, 1864 611,250 249,487 860,737
Mch. 31, 1865 657,747 322,339 980,086
May 1, 1865 797,807 202,709 1,000,516

t would be impossible to state the number of individuals who served in the war, as so many of the men, after serving a short term, enlisted for a second, and often for a third, time. Then, again, nearly all of the three years' regiments that volunteered in 1861 reënlisted in January, 1864, for another three years' term of service. There were 136,000 of these veterans who reënlisted and were counted twice in the number of troops (2,036,700)reported as enlisted for three years, Many of the three-years' men who were discharged for physical disability or other reasons, enlisted again in other regiments before the war had closed, and thus were counted twice. Over 300,000 men enlisted just before the close of the war, few of whom, if any, participated in any active service. It is doubtful if there were 2,000,000 individual actually in service during the war.

The smaller percentage of killed belonging to some States does not necessarily imply any lack of fighting qualities, but rather that the troops from such. States were more largely assigned to post or garrison duty, and that a smaller proportion of their contingent was engaged at the front. Still, in the heavy percentage of deaths in battle credited to Vermont and New Hampshire, one cannot help but trace a connection with the hard and continuous fighting which fell to the lot of the Vermont Brigade, and the Fifth New Hampshire.

The number of officers and men in the Regular Army among whom the casualties occurred--as stated in Table A--is placed officially at 67,000, and the percentage of deaths is based on that number. But this number includes enlistments after the fighting had ceased,

continued
 
FOX’S REGIMENTAL LOSSES
CHAPTER XIII.
CONTINUED....

TABLE B.
TOTAL DEATHS FROM DISEASE, ACCIDENTS, AND OTHER CAUSES.
I DIED OF DISEASE V % from Disease
II Died of Disease in Confederate Prisons. VI % from Disease in prison
III Deaths from Accidents and Drowning VII % from Accidents and Drowing
IV Deaths from all other causes except Battles. VIII % from all other causes

STATES. I. II. III. IV. V.(*) VI. VII. VIII.

Maine 5,257 541 118 298 10.5 1.1 0.2 0.6
New Hampshire 2,427 294 76 182 8.3 1.0 0.3 0.6
Vermont 2,597 486 70 262 9.8 1.8 0.3 1.0
Massachusetts 5,530 1,483 257 557 5.6 1.4 0.3 0.6
Rhode Island 648 84 69 60 4.7 0.6 0.5 0.4
Connecticut 2,542 526 101 238 5.6 1.2 0.2 0.5
New York 19,835 4,710 914 1,990 5.9 1.4 0.3 0.5
New Jersey 2,415 419 134 208 5.4 0.9 0.3 0.5
Pennsylvania 11,782 4,119 636 1,381 5.5 1.9 0.3 0.6
Delaware 356 75 21 47 4.5 0.9 0.3 0.6
Maryland 1,160 647 98 168 4.6 2.6 0.4 0.7
West Virginia 1,878 617 150 125 6.8 2.2 0.5 0.5
Ohio 19,365 2,356 1,168 998 8.6 1.1 0.5 0.4
Kentucky 6,383 860 454 599 14.6 1.9 1.1 1.4
Indiana 16,633 1,152 791 853 11.1 0.8 0.5 0.5
Illinois 21,065 1,721 1,028 1,126 10.0 0.8 0.5 0.5
Missouri 9,243 225 487 613 11.8 0.3 0.6 0.8
Michigan 8,269 1,268 339 429 10.8 1.7 0.4 0.6
Wisconsin 7,464 604 212 219 10.1 0.8 0.3 0.3
Minnesota 1,677 159 43 79 9.0 0.9 0.2 0.4
Iowa 8,498 515 227 221 12.5 0.7 0.3 0.3
Kansas 1,638 36 104 115 9.9 0.2 0.6 0.7
District of Columbia 150 44 10 45 2.3 0.7 0.1 0.7
Colorado 120 .... 25 25 3.2 .... 0.7 0.7
California 344 .... 62 59 2.2 .... 0.3 0.4
New Mexico 144 .... 19 41 3.3 .... 0.4 0.9
Nevada 29 .... 1 1 2.7 0.1 0.1 ....
Oregon 21 .... 7 6 1.2 0.4 0.3 ....
Nebraska 159 1 23 21 7.3 1.0 1.0 ....
Dakota 4 .... .... .... 2.0 .... .... ....
Washington Territory 12 .... 5 5 1.2 .... 0.5 0.5
Tennessee 4,086 1,150 375 422 15.5 4.3 1.4 1.6
Arkansas 1,254 8 25 121 16.0 0.1 0.3 1.5
North Carolina 216 49 3 49 6.8 1.6 0.1 1.5
Alabama 228 22 5 40 14.1 1.4 0.3 2.5
Florida 189 .... .... 8 14.6 .... .... 0.6
Louisiana 624 15 36 56 13.5 0.3 0.7 1.2
Mississippi 66 .... 1 8 12.1 0.2 1.4 ....
Texas 101 1 6 21 6.2 0.3 1.3 ....
Georgia 13 .... .... 2 .... .... .... ....
Virginia 16 13 2 1 .... .... .... ....
Indian Nations 775 .... 10 126 21.9 .... 0.3 3.6
Colored Troops 29,658 98(*) 576 3,621 16.6 .... 0.3 2.0
Veteran Reserves 1,424 .... 131 90 2.4 .... 0.2 0.1
Hancock's Corps 82 .... 14 9 0.8 .... 0.1 ....
United States Sharpshooters 247 25 6 11 9.6 1.0 0.2 0.4
U.S. Volunteer Infantry 202 .... 11 18 2.3 0.2 0.2 ....
Generals and Staffs 142 1 10 1 .... .... .... ....
Miscellaneous, Bands, &c 200 2 1 13 .... .... .... ....
Regular Army 2,552 540 197 226 3.8 0.8 0.3 0.3
Totals 199,720 24,866 9,058 15,814 9.3 1.2 0.4 0.7

and, though correct as to the percentage of deaths from disease, the actual percentage of killed was much higher than indicated by the figures given. At no time during the period of active hostilities did the Regular Army number, present and absent, over 20,000 officers and men. Its actual strength at various dates was as follows:

Date. Present. Absent. Aggregate.
January 1, 1861 14,663 1,704 16,367
July 1, 1861 14,108 2,314 16,422
January 1, 1862 19,871 2,554 22,425
March 31,. 1862 19,585 3,723 23,308
January 1, 1863 19,169 6,294 25,463
January 1, 1864 17,237 7,399 24,636
January 1, 1865 14,661 7,358 22,019
March 31, 1865 13,880 7,789 21,669

As there were only thirty regiments in the Regular Army, it becomes apparent that their average numerical strength must have been small, and that their losses in action were severe in proportion to their numbers.

The deaths from all causes, aside from battle-- Column II, Table A--are subdivided in Table B so as to show the loss from disease, by itself; also, the additional loss from disease (con’t)

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.
Nevada 29 1 1 2.7 0.1 0.1
Oregon 21 7 6 1.2 0.4 0.3
Nebraska 159 1 23 21 7.3 1.0 1.0
Dakota 4 2.0
Washington Territory 12 5 5 1.2 0.5 0.5
Tennessee 4,086 1,150 375 422 15.5 4.3 1.4 1.6
Arkansas 1,254 8 25 121 16.0 0.1 0.3 1.5
North Carolina 216 49 3 49 6.8 1.6 0.1 1.5
Alabama 228 22 5 40 14.1 1.4 0.3 2.5
Florida 189 8 14.6 0.6
Louisiana 624 15 36 56 13.5 0.3 0.7 1.2
Mississippi 66 1 8 12.1 0.2 1.4
Texas 101 1 6 21 6.2 0.3 1.3
Georgia 13 2
Virginia 16 13 2 1
Indian Nations 775 10 126 21.9 0.3 3.6
Colored Troops 29,658 98(*) 576 3,621 16.6 0.3 2.0
Veteran Reserves 1,424 131 90 2.4 0.2 0.1
Hancock's Corps 82 14 9 0.8 0.1
United States Sharpshooters . 247 25 6 11 9.6 1.0 0.2 0.4
U.S. Volunteer Infantry 202 11 18 2.3 0.2 0.2
Generals and Staffs 142 1 10 1
Miscellaneous, Bands, &c 200 2 1 13
Regular Army 2,552 540 197 226 3.8 0.8 0.3 0.3
Totals 199,720 24,866 9,058 15,814 9.3 1.2 0.4 0.7

which occurred in Confederate prisons. The total deaths among the prisoners were 29,498, divided as follows: from disease, 24,866; died of wounds received in battle, 2,072; accidents, 7; drowned, 7; killed after capture, 104:; executed by the enemy, 64; sunstroke, 20; causes known but unclassified, 319; cause not stated, 2,039. With the exception of the loss from disease, the deaths among prisoners are included in the various classifications of Tables B and C. The loss among prisoners from "cause not stated" (2,039 deaths) was probably due, for the most part, to disease, and might with good reason be added to the 24,866 deaths from disease. Most of the deaths from wounds and executions, among prisoners,--together with some from other causes--occurred while in the enemy's hands, but before arriving at the prison pens. The total deaths among prisoners (29,498) include all who died while in the enemy's hands--whether in prison, or on their way there, or in the field hospitals, or while lying disabled within the enemy's lines.

Since the publication by the War Department, in 1885, of its exhibit of deaths during the late war, additional information has been acquired which has increased the number of deaths among the prisoners until the aggregate has reached a total of 30,156.

Of the 9,058 deaths from accidents -- Table B, Column III -- 4,944 were from drowning. With the latter are included over one thousand who lost their lives in the explosion and sinking of the steamboat Sultana on the Mississippi River; also, those who were lost at sea by the sinking of the steamer General Lyon.

TABLE C.
CLASSIFICATION OF DEATHS FROM MINOR CAUSES (Table B, Column IV).
Key
I Murdered. V Executed by the Enemy.
II Killed after Capture. VI Died from Sunstroke
III Committed Suicide. VII Causes known but not classified
IV Military Executions VIII Causes not stated(*)

STATES. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII.
Maine 13 .... 5 5 .... 16 17 242
New Hampshire 4 .... 3 17 .... 8 18 132
Vermont 3 .... 10 4 8 12 23 202
Massachusetts 8 .... 9 13 .... 18 95 414
Rhode Island 1 .... 1 2 .... 3 8 45
Connecticut 3 .... 12 24 .... 9 35 155
New York 34 3 69 35 .... 57 365 1,427
New Jersey 1 .... 6 9 .... 6 48 138
Pennsylvania 17 4 34 23 .... 27 120 1,156
Delaware 3 .... 1 1 .... 1 11 30
Maryland 8 .... 4 10 1 1 48 96
West Virginia 7 .... 6 2 1 .... 31 78
Ohio 23 13 34 6 9 24 118 771
Kentucky 14 2 8 12 2 2 168 391
Indiana 21 7 11 8 1 20 78 707
Illinois 45 18 33 7 1 13 131 878
Missouri 42 11 30 6 1 8 119 396
Michigan 10 2 10 2 .... 7 73 325
Wisconsin 7 .... 14 1 .... 10 27 160
Minnesota 1 .... 3 .... .... 1 19 55
Iowa 5 3 8 .... 3 12 51 139
Kansas 8 11 3 4 2 1 28 58
District of Columbia .... .... 4 .... .... 1 6 34
Colorado 2 1 1 2 .... 1 10 8
California 10 .... 8 4 .... .... 51 16
New Mexico 13 .... 4 3 .... .... 7 14
Nevada .... .... .... 1 .... .... .... ....
Oregon 1 1 .... 4 .... .... .... ....
Nebraska 6 .... .... 2 12 .... .... ....
Washington Territory 1 3 1 .... .... .... .... ....
Dakota .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
Tennessee 24 1 3 .... 2 4 74 314
Arkansas 24 .... .... 2 13 .... 23 59
North Carolina 4 1 .... .... 16 .... 4 24
Alabama .... .... .... .... .... 2 38 ....
Florida .... .... .... 2 .... 1 5 ....
Louisiana .... 1 1 .... 5 19 30 ....
Mississippi 1 .... .... .... .... 4 3 ....
Texas ' 1 1 1 10 8 .... ....
Georgia .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
Virginia 1 ! 1 .... .... .... .... ....
Indian Nations 11 1 1 1 1 2 111 ....
Colored Troops 106 25 113 52 1 32 86 3,306
Veteran Reserves 15 .... 11 1 .... 5 47 11
Hancock's Corps 1 .... 2 .... .... 1 5 ....
United States Sharpshooters .... .... 1 .... .... 2 8 ....
United States Volunteer Infantry(*) 5 .... 1 : 2 6 4 ....
Generals and Staffs 1 .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
Miscellaneous, Brigade Bands, &c 1 1 12 .... .... .... .... ....
Regular Army 16 1 27 6 7 63 106 ....
Totals 520 104 391 267 64 313 2,034 12,121

continued
 
FOX’S REGIMENTAL LOSSES
CHAPTER XIII.
CONTINUED.....

In Table B, Column 1, it is shown that 199,720 died from disease alone, in camps, hospitals, or at home. An interesting question arises here as to what proportion of this loss was due to army life. What is the normal death rate ? How many of these men would have died had they remained at home ? The tables in use by the actuaries of the life insurance companies show that of a thousand healthy men at the age of twenty-three--selected risks --eight will die within a year. Assuming the average strength of the army to have been 1,000,000 men for four(*) years, and the average age to have been twenty-three, it appears that 32,000 of these deaths would have occurred in time of peace, and that the excess was due solely to the fatal vicissitudes of a soldier's life.

In Table C, a subdivision is made of the number represented by Column IV, Table B. The 2,034 deaths in Column VII, Table C-- Causes known but not classified- include those "resulting from quarrels, riots, and the like, and which are not definitely reported as murder; from being shot for insubordination, or by provost-guards or sentinels in attempting to escape, or pass the lines; from exhaustion or exposure; killed while depredating upon the property of citizens; and all other causes not embraced in the preceding columns."(+)

After accounting for all known causes of death, there still remain -- Table C, Column VIII 12.121 cases of cause unknown In these cases the name of the dead soldier is borne on the muster-out roll, or "final statement," with the marginal remark, "Died ;" but with no further statement to show the cause of his death. Undoubtedly, the most of these men, or nearly all, died from disease; and although they cannot be so included in any statistical exhibit, they should be borne in mind as a probable addition to the number of deaths from that cause.

Many will deem it strange that, with over 2,300,000 three-year enlistments, the total strength of the army, present and absent, never reached half that number. This can be partly explained by the large number discharged for physical disability incurred in the service. Over 250,000 men were honorably discharged for disabilities arising from wounds or diseases which unfitted them for further service.

Another serious cause of depletion was the remarkably large number of desertions. The reported desertions during the war numbered 268,530. The Provost Marshal General estimated that 25 per cent. of these were wrongly reported; that these men were absent unintentionally or unavoidably,-- and placed the number of actual desertions at 201,397.(*) Of this number, 76,526 were arrested and sent to their regiments.

The desertions were most frequent in the Regular Army, 16,365 men having deserted from that arm of the service during the war, a loss of over 24 per cent., while in the volunteer

II White Troops. V Indian Nations.
III Sailors and Marines. VI Aggregate.
IV Colored Troops. T Total Deaths, all causes.

STATES, TERRITORIES, ETC.
I. II. III. IV. V. VI. T
Alabama 2,576 .... .... .... 2,576 345
Arkansas 8,289 .... .... .... 8,289 1,713
California 15,725 .... .... .... 15,725 573
Colorado 4,903 .... .... .... 4,903 323
Connecticut 51,937 2,163 1,764 .... 55,864 5,354
Dakota 206 .... .... .... 206 6
Delaware 11,236 94 954 .... 12,284 882
District of Columbia 11,912 1,353 3,269 .... 16,534
Florida 1,290 .... .... .... 1,290 215
Georgia .... .... .... .... .... 15
Illinois 255,057 2,224 1,811 .... 259,092 34,834
Indiana 193,748 1,078 1,537 .... 196,363 26,672
Iowa 75,797 5 440 .... 76,242 13,001
Kansas 18,069 .... 2,080 .... 20,149 2,630
Kentucky 51,743 314 23,703 .... 75,760 10,774
Louisiana 5,224 .... .... .... 5,224 945
Maine 64,973 5,030 104 .... 70,107 9,398
Maryland 33,995 3,925 8,718 .... 46,638 2,982
Massachusetts 122,781 19,983 3,966 .... 146,730 13,942
Michigan 85,479 498 1,387 .... 87,364 14,753
Minnesota 23,913 3 104 .... 24,020 2,584
Mississippi 545 .... .... .... 545 78
Missouri 100,616 151 8,344 .... 109,111 13,885
Nebraska 3,157 .... .... .... 3,157 239
Nevada 1,080 .... .... .... 1,080 33
New Hampshire 32,930 882 125 .... 33,937 4,882
New Jersey 67,500 8,129 1,185 .... 76,814 5,754
New Mexico 6,561 .... .... .... 6,561 277
New York 409,561 35,164 4,125 .... 448,850 46,534
North Carolina 3,156 .... .... .... 3,156 360
Ohio 304,814 3,274 5,092 .... 313,180 35,475
Oregon 1,810 .... 1,810 .... 45 ....
Pennsylvania 315,017 14,307 8,612 .... 337,936 33,183
Rhode Island 19,521 1,878 1,837 .... 23,236 1,321
Tennessee 31,092 .... .... .... 31,092 6,777
Texas 1,965 .... .... .... 1,965 141
Vermont 32,549 619 120 .... 33,288 5,224
Virginia .... .... .... .... .... 42
Washington Territory 964 .... .... .... 964 22
West Virginia 31,872 .... 196 .... 32,068 4,017
Wisconsin 91,029 133 165 .... 91,327 12,30l
Indian Nations .... .... .... 3,530 3,530 1,018
Colored Troops .... .... 99,337 .... 99,337 36,847
Veteran Reserve Corps .... .... .... .... .... 1,672
U.S. Vet. Vols. (Hancock's Corps) .... .... .... .... .... 106
U.S. Sharpshooters and Engineers .... .... .... .... .... 552
U.S. Volunteer Infantry .... .... .... .... .... 243
Generals and Staffs (Vols .... .... .... .... .... 239
Miscellaneous, Brigade Bands, &c .... .... .... .... .... 232
Regular Army .... .... .... .... .... 5,798
Totals 2,494,592 101,207 178,975 3,530 2,778,304 359,528

service the average rate was 6 per cent. In the Kansas troops the desertions exceeded 11 per cent. of the enrollment, the percentage being the highest of any State.

In addition to the deserters, there were thousands of other absentees. In March, 1863, the returns of the Army of the Potomac showed that 2,922 officers and 81,964 enlisted men were absent, the majority of whom were absent without any known cause; and in December, 1862, a return of the Army of the Cumberland showed that with 76,725 present there were 46,677 absent.

Desertions were frequent among the drafted men, for their service was compulsory; but there were not many of this class in the ranks. The Union Army was essentially a volunteer army. True, a conscription act was enforced; but its provisions for exemption were so lenient that the number of drafted men actually held to service was only 52,068, a small number as compared with the total enlistment. In addition to the drafted men held to service, there were 75,429 conscripts who sent substitutes. These substitutes have generally been classed as mercenaries; but they were men who went to the war without compulsion, and if they received money for the act it should be remembered that all the volunteers who enlisted during the latter part of the war received large bounties.

Besides the substitutes just mentioned, there were 42,581 men who enlisted as substitutes for men who, although not drafted, were enrolled under the Conscription Act and were liable to future drafts, but who secured exemption therefrom by sending men to the field in their place. There were, also, 86,724 drafted men who received exemption upon the payment of $300.00 each, in commutation. The best result of the Conscription Act was the stimulus which it gave to volunteering, rather than the number of men directly obtained by its enforcement.

[excerpt]

CASUALTIES IN THE NAVY.
The number of men in the naval service during the war was 132,554, of whom 7,600 were already in the service at the outbreak of hostilities. There were 1,804 killed and mortally wounded in battle. This includes 342 who were scalded to death, while in action, by escaping steam from boilers which had been pierced by the enemy's shot; also, 308 men drowned in action. The latter were men who went down with their ships,--their flag flying, and their guns firing defiantly from port-holes level with the waves. In addition to the 1,804 who lost their lives in battle, there were 2,226 wounded who survived their injuries.

The deaths in the navy from disease and accidents numbered 3,000. This includes 71 deaths from accidents; 265 from accidental drowning; 37 scalded; and 95 deaths in Confederate prisons. Unlike the army, the mortality from disease was, apparently, not in excess of the normal death rate of civil life.

Subjoined will be found a tabulation of the principal naval losses in action during the war. If some of the casualties appear trivial, let it be remembered that on most of the vessels named the crews were small; and that the loss of life, in proportion to the number engaged, was as serious as at Trafalgar or the Nile.

The losses in many cases include men who were scalded to death, and men who were drowned; but losses from such causes belong properly with the casualties, as much so as wounds from shot or shell. They were among the dire probabilities in every action,--deadly and terrible dangers which had to be confronted as well as the guns of the enemy. The changes in the methods of naval warfare, first introduced in the American War, brought a class of casualties hitherto unknown in naval combats. Our sailors fought in previous wars without the terrible danger from exploding boilers and escaping steam; and when their slowly-sinking wooden ships went down in action, there were opportunities for escape far different from any offered on an iron-clad sent rushing to the bottom by the explosion of a modern torpedo. In the action at St. Charles, the gunboat Mound City lost 150 men, killed or wounded, out of a crew of 175, but 3 officers and 22 men escaping uninjured; 82 were killed by gunshot wounds, or scalded(*) to death, and 43 others were drowned, or shot while struggling in the water. When the iron-clad Tecumseh led the column of monitors across the torpedo line at Mobile, (+) it moved as a forlorn hope which would not have been necessary in the naval combats of previous wars. In all that grand drama of heroism incidental to the Civil War, the Navy played no secondary part.

LOSSES IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY, 1861-65.
Date Vessel. Commander. Battle. Killed Wounded Missing. Aggregate
1861
Sept. 14 Colorado Russell Pensacola 3 9 -- 12
Nov. 7 Fleet Dupont Port Royal 8 23 -- 31
" 7 Tyler Walke Belmont 1 2 -- 3
1862
Feb. 2 Essex Porter (W. D.) Fort Henry 7 20 5 32
" 2 Cincinnati Stembel Fort Henry 1 7 -- 8
" 8 Fleet Goldsborough Roanoke Island 6 17 -- 23
" 15 St. Louis Paulding Fort Donelson 2 8 -- 10
" 15 Louisville Dove Fort Donelson 4 5 -- 9
" 15 Pittsburg Thompson Fort Donelson -- 2 -- 2
" 15 Carondelet Walke Fort Donelson 4 31 -- 35
Mch. 8 Cumberland Morris Hampton Roads 121
Congress Smith Hampton Roads 129
" 14 Fleet Rowan New Berne 2 11 -- 13
April 24 Fleet Farragut New Orleans 37 147 -- 184
" 24 Iroquois(*) De Camp New Orleans 8 24 -- 32
" 24 Richmond(*) Alden New Orleans 2 4 -- 6
" 24 Winona(*) Nichols New Orleans 3 5 -- 8
" 24 Pinola(*) Crosby New Orleans 3 8 -- 11
May 15 Galena Rodgers Drewry's Bluff 13 11 -- 24
June 6 Flotilla Davis Memphis -- 3 -- 3
" 17 Mound City Kilty White River 125
" 28 Fleet Farragut Vicksburg 15 30 -- 45
July 15 Carondelet Walke Vicksburg(+) 4 10 -- 14
" 15 Tyler Gwin Vicksburg(+) 8 16 - -
Hartford Wainwright Vicksburg(+) 3 6 -- 9
" 15 Wissahickon De Camp Vicksburg(+) 1 4 -- 5
" 15 Winona Nichols Vicksburg(+) 1 2 -- 3
" 15 Sciota Lowry Vicksburg(+) -- 2 -- 2
" 15 Richmond Alden Vicksburg(+) -- 2 -- 2
Oct. 3 Commodore Perry Flusser Blackwater 2 11 -- 13
Dec. 27 Benton Gwin Drumgold's Bluff 2 8 -- 10
1863.
Jan. 1 Fleet Renshaw Galveston -- -- -- 150
" 10 Louisville Owen Arkansas Post } 6 25 -- 31
" 10 De Kalb Walker Arkansas Post
11 Hatteras Blake Alabama 2 5 -- 7
" 30 Isaac Smith Conover John's Island 8 17 -- 25
Feb. 24 Indianola Brown New Carthage 1 1 7 9
Mch. 14 Hartford Palmer Port Hudson 1 2 1 4
" 14 Richmond Alden Port Hudson } 3 12 -- 15
" 14 Genesee Macomb Port Hudson
" 14 Monongahela McKinstry Port Hudson 6 21 -- 27
" 14 Mississippi Smith Port Hudson 25 39 -- 64
Date Vessel. Commander. Battle. Killed Wounded Missing. Aggregate
1863.
Mch. 19 Hartford Palmer Grand Gulf } 2 6 8 --
"19 Albatross Hart Grand Gulf -- -- -- --
"11 Chillicothe Foster Fort Pemberton 2 11 -- 13
"16 Chillicothe Foster Fort Pemberton 4 16 -- 20
"16 De Kalb Walker Fort Pemberton 3 3 -- 6
April 16 Fleet Porter Vicksburg -- 13 - - 13
" 29 Benton Greer Grand Gulf 9 19 -- 28
" 29 Tuscumbia Shirk Grand Gulf 6 24 -- 30
" 29 Pittsburg Heel Grand Gulf 6 13 -- 19
" 29 Lafayette Walke Grand Gulf -- 1 -- 1
Albatross Hart Fort De Russy 2 4 -- 6
“ 27
Cincinnati(*) Bache Vicksburg 5 14 15 34
July 7 Monongahela Read Mississippi 2 4 - - 6
Sept. 7 Clifton Crocker Sabine Pass 10 9 -- 19
" 7 Sachem Johnson Sabine Pass 7 (+) -- 7
1864.
Feb. 1 Underwriter Westervelt Neuse River 9 20 19 48
April '26 Cricket Gorringe Red River 12 19 -- 31
" 26 Hindman Pearce Red River 3 5 -- 8
" 26 Juliet Shaw Red River -- -- -- 15
Covington Lord Red River -- -- -- 44
" 31 Water Witch Pendergrast Ogeechee River 2 12 -- 14
June 19 Kearsarge Winslow Cherbourg 1 2 -- 3
" 24 Queen City Goudy White River 2 8 -- 10
'" 24 Tyler Bache White River }
" 24 Naumkeag Rogers White River 3 15 -- 18
" 24 Fawn Grove White River
25
Aug. 5 Hartford(§) Drayton Mobile Bay 28 -- 53
" 5 Brooklyn Alden Mobile Bay 11 43 -- 54
" 5 Lackawanna Marchand Mobile Bay 4 35 -- 39
" 5 Oneida Mullany Mobile Bay 8 30 -- 38
" 5 Monongahela Strong Mobile Bay -- 6 -- 6
" 5 Metacomet Jouett Mobile Bay 1 2 -- 3
" 5 Ossipee Le Roy Mobile Bay 1 7 -- 8
Richmond Jenkins Mobile Bay -- 2 -- 2
" 5 Galena Wells Mobile Bay -- 1 -- 1
" 5 Octorara Greene Mobile Bay 1 10 -- 11
" 5 Kennebec McCann Mobile Bay 1 6 -- 7
" 5 Tecumseh(||) Craven Mobile Bay -- -- -- 79
1865.
Jan. 15 Fleet Porter Fort Fisher 74 289 20 383
Mch. 29 Osage(**) Gamble Mobile Bay 3 8 -- 11
April -- Rodolph(**) Dyer Mobile Bay 4 11 -- 15
" -- Launch(**) Mobile Bay 3 -- -- 3
" -- Althea(**) Boyle Mobile Bay 2 2 -- 4
" -- Sciota(**) Magune Mobile Bay 4 6 -- 10
" -- Ida(**) Kent Mobile Bay 2 3 -- 5

========================================
Statistics are often missing the Marines and Sailors in the discussion--be aware that these men need to be remembered as much as land troops.

M. E. Wolf
 
Back
Top