Trivia 2-14-20 & Bonus

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1. North Carolina.
I was unsure of where to start with this question because the battle field trust says it’s almost a tie between Virginia and NC. Also as I was researching it appears the numbers are up to interpretation as well because many of the muster rolls were destroyed in the confederacy after the war. There is a research project in NC going on right now that is going individually through each soldier that served from that state and whether or not they were killed wounded or captured. From my research they say it’s the first study of its kind to do this and other states might follow suite.
Source 1
Source 2

Bonus: About 2250 lbs.
100 caps in a can. 180 cans that weigh
12.5 lbs each. Nice little math bonus. Hopefully I read his thread correctly.
Source

Edit - The post given as the official answer was post # 48 in a thread about Confederate scout Lamar Fontaine, who was ordered to bring 18,000 percussion caps to Gen. Pemberton at Vicksburg. Post # 41 asked how much 18,000 caps would weigh, and post # 48 gave the answer as about 10 pounds or, after Package4 used his kitchen scale to get a more exact figure, 12.5 pounds.

Post # 48 isn't entirely clear as to whether 12.5 pounds was the weight of all 18,000 caps or just the weight of one tin. However, post # 2 in that thread says that Fontaine, after receiving his order, put the 18,000 caps in a waterproof saddle bag and rode off with them on his horse. If he had 2,250 pounds of percussion caps in his saddle bag, that was one strong horse. :smile:

My mind still boggles a bit at the idea of piling 18,000 percussion caps onto a kitchen scale, but that's what Package4 claims to have done.

hoosier
 
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North Carolina <most likely> "North Carolina likely did lose the most men. However, if the numbers attributed to the state are wrong, then they are very well just as wrong for other states, as the statistics utilized for most of the other states came from the same traditionally accepted sources." North Carolina Death Study

BONUS: My question. Good luck to all! Many thanks to @Package4 for the actual weight of 18,000 percussion caps (without tins.) Who knew? :thumbsup:
 
In relation to the confusing main question: hoosier, thanks for your editorial remarks.

My online sources (in addition to some reference books I used last Friday):

"...This represents 26 percent of the 74,524-man total battle loss suffered by all Confederate forces in the war (South Carolina had the second highest total with 12,922 battle deaths)." (https://www.ncpedia.org/civil-war)

"North Carolina deaths were more than twice the percentage sustained by the soldiers from any other state." (http://www.thomaslegion.net/confederate.html)

"North Carolina ...suffered the most casualties of any state in the Confederacy, including over 40,000 dead." (https://historicsites.nc.gov/resources/north-carolina-civil-war/wartime-north-carolina)
 
Main Question: North Carolina.

Bonus: 12.5 pounds.
 
Answer: NC
Source: https://historymusings.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/josh-howard-north-carolina-civil-war-historyrewrite/

valentines day bonus: Answer: 12.5 pounds
Source:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/la...vicksburg-supplied.166728/page-3#post-2174112

Edit - I'm accepting either Virginia or North Carolina as a correct answer to the main question, since there seems to be support for both positions.

I'm accepting either 10 pounds or 12.5 pounds as a correct answer to the bonus question, since both figures are quoted in the source supporting the official answer.

hoosier
 
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