# Facts About the Civil War

FACTS ABOUT
The Civil War
The Lee–Jackson Memorial, Inc. Charlottesville, Virginia
CONTENTS
| CALIFORNIA | CONNECTICUT | DELAWARE | ILLINOIS |
| INDIANA | IOWA | KANSAS | KENTUCKY |
| MAINE | MARYLAND | MASSACHUSETTS | MICHIGAN |
MEANING OF THE FLAGS
The division of the nation during the Sixties was not clearly defined. The Mason–Dixon Line did not mark the geographical dividing point, for no such thing actually existed. Sentiment on the great issues varied in Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and other states. Eastern Tennessee gave strong support to the Union during the war, and the Copperhead movement zigzagged throughout both North and South, confusing the public and bewildering the leaders.
| ALABAMA | ARKANSAS | FLORIDA |
| GEORGIA | LOUISIANA | MISSISSIPPI | NORTH CAROLINA |
| MINNESOTA | MISSOURI | NEVADA | NEW HAMPSHIRE |
| NEW JERSEY | NEW YORK | OHIO | OREGON | PENNSYLVANIA |
| RHODE ISLAND | VERMONT | WEST VIRGINIA | WISCONSIN |
NATIONAL AGENCIES COOPERATE
In planning the Civil War Centennial commemorative program for Americans, the National Commission has benefited greatly through the enthusiastic cooperation offered by many government agencies. These include the Library of Congress, National Archives, Department of Defense, Treasury Department, Post Office Department and others.
| SOUTH CAROLINA | TENNESSEE | TEXAS | VIRGINIA |
| ALASKA | ARIZONA | COLORADO | HAWAII |
“FIRSTS” OF THE CIVIL WAR
The American Civil War was the first war in which
* Railroads were extensively used for the rapid movement of military supplies and of large bodies of troops from one theatre of operation to another.
* Aerial reconnaissance was first effectively used from anchored balloons in military operations.
* The electric telegraph was used in the strategic control of military operations in widely separated theatres and in the tactical direction of troops in battle.
* A multi-manned submarine sank a surface vessel.
* Opposing ironclads engaged in naval battle.
* Naval “torpedoes” (mines) were widely used.
* Medical care of the wounded was systematically organized.
* Participants, sites and equipment were photographed on a large scale.
* Nationwide conscription was used to raise armies in North America.
* A practical machine gun was developed.
* Voting by soldiers and sailors in service was provided for by national laws.
* Rifled artillery came into general use.
* Mobile railroad artillery was used.
* Large-scale coverage was carried on by recognized news correspondents at the front.
* The repeating rifle was used by large troop units.
* Wire entanglements in field fortifications were used.
* The Medal of Honor was awarded.
The facts published in this booklet have been checked by the Department of Defense, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives, the Library of Congress and by a number of famous historians and Civil War experts. We believe the sources of the information to be accurate and reliable.
| IDAHO | MONTANA | NEBRASKA | NEW MEXICO |
THE STARTING LINE-UPS
Armies
The United States (Regular) Army consisted of five regiments of cavalry, four of artillery, ten of infantry, the Corps of Engineers and Topographical Engineers, and administrative departments. Its strength was 16,367 officers and men. Of 198 line companies, 183 were scattered on the Western frontier and the remaining 15 were in garrisons along the Canadian border and on the sea coast. No striking force was available.
The active officer corps numbered 1,080. Of this number 286 resigned or were dismissed, and entered the Confederate service. West Point graduates on the active list numbered 824. Of these, 184 were among the officers who went over to the South. Of the approximately 900 graduates then in civil life, 114 returned to the colors, while 99 others went into the Confederate service.
Enlisted men of the Regular Army, having contracted to serve for a specified length of time, unlike the officers, could not resign.
The Confederate Army, at the start of the war, consisted of some 36,000 volunteers and militia already mustered and in the field; in addition, active recruiting went on after March 6 to obtain the full quota of 100,000 men authorized by the Confederate Congress at that time.
Navies
The United States Navy consisted of 90 wooden craft of various categories, of which 42 were in active service; 52 of the total were sailing vessels. Immediately available were but four ships out of a home squadron totalling 12 ships on paper. Personnel strength totalled 8,900. Of 1,300 active officers, 322 resigned or were dismissed and entered the Confederate service. Annapolis graduates in active service numbered 287; sixty of them went South.
Navy enlisted men, like those in the Army, did not have the privilege of an honorable resignation. Only a handful of sailors deserted.
​A Confederate Navy did not exist, except for those officers who had left the U. S. Navy. Ships were purchased and built as the war progressed. By February 1862, 47 vessels of various categories were in service—14 under construction, and others planned. Personnel strength by April 1864 numbered 753 officers and 4,460 enlisted men. At least six large ironclads and ten ocean-going sea raiders actually operated at various times during the war, but the number of improvised gunboats and armed river craft—Confederate Navy, the various State navies and privateers—cannot be accurately enumerated.
Due to the vast inferiority of Confederate naval strength, the scope of its activities was confined to attempts to break the blockade, and to defensive rivers and sounds, and the extensive use of commerce destroyers preying on unarmed Northern commerce. Some naval engagements of note were the attack of the Confederate ironclad Virginia (ex-U. S. S. Merrimack) on a Union blockading squadron, which ended in an indecisive single-ship action with the U. S. S. Monitor, the engagement between U. S. S. Kearsarge and C. S. S. Alabama, ending in the sinking of the latter, and the C. S. S. Tennessee’s action with Admiral Farragut’s force at Mobile Bay.
The United States Navy, on the other hand, played a major role in the Union prosecution of the war. It strangled the South by blockading ports; participated in a number of joint amphibious Army–Navy operations, several squadron actions against fortified places, and river operations which split the Confederacy along the line of the Mississippi. By the end of the war the United States Navy had risen to a strength of 670 ships, more than 60 of them ironclads, and a personnel strength of 6,700 officers and 51,500 men.
| NORTH DAKOTA | OKLAHOMA | SOUTH DAKOTA |
PERTINENT FACTS ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR
According to the U. S. Census, the population of the United States in 1860 numbered 31,443,321 persons. Of these, approximately 23,000,000 were in the 22 Northern states and 9,000,000 in the 11 Southern states. Of the latter total, 3,500,000 were slaves.
At one time or another, the Northern armies numbered 2,100,000 soldiers. The Southern armies were considerably smaller. The total dead on both sides was about 600,000.
Of the 364,000 on the Union side who lost their lives, a third were killed or died of wounds and two-thirds died of disease.
The chance of surviving a wound in Civil War days was 7 to 1; in the Korean War, 50 to 1.
About 15 per cent of the wounded died in the Civil War; about 8 per cent in World War I; about 4 per cent in World War II; about 2 per cent in the Korean War.
There were 6,000,000 cases of disease in the Federal armies, which meant that, on an average, every man was sick at least twice.
The diseases most prevalent were dysentery, typhoid fever, malaria, pneumonia, arthritis, and the acute diseases of childhood, such as measles and malnutrition.
The principal weapon of the war and the one by which 80 per cent of all wounds were produced was a single-shot, muzzle-loading rifle in the hands of foot soldiers.
Most wounds were caused by an elongated bullet made of soft lead, about an inch long, pointed at one end and hollowed out at the base, and called a “minie” ball, having been invented by Capt. Minié of the French army.
​Fully armed, a soldier carried about seven pounds of ammunition. His cartridge pouch contained 40 rounds, and an additional 60 rounds might be conveyed in the pocket if an extensive battle was anticipated.
The muzzle-loading rifle could be loaded at the rate of about two times a minute. Its maximum range was about 1,000 yards.
Most infantry rifles were equipped with bayonets, but very few men wounded by bayonet showed up at hospitals. The conclusion was that the bayonet was not a lethal weapon. The explanation probably lay in the fact that opposing soldiers did not often actually come to grips and, when they did, were prone to use their rifles as clubs.
Artillery was used extensively, but only about 10 per cent of the wounded were the victims of artillery fire.
Besides the rifle and cannon, weapons consisted of revolvers, swords, cutlasses, hand grenades, Greek fire and land mines.
Many doctors who saw service in the Civil War had never been to medical school, but had served an apprenticeship in the office of an established practitioner.
In the Peninsular campaign in the spring of 1862, as many as 5,000 wounded were brought into a hospital where there were only one medical man and five hospital stewards to care for them.
The first organized ambulance corps were used in the Peninsular campaign and at Antietam.
In the battle of Gettysburg, 1,100 ambulances were in use. The medical director of the Union army boasted that all the wounded were picked up from the field within 12 hours after the battle was over. This was a far cry from the second battle of Bull Run, when many of the wounded were left on the field in the rain, heat and sun for three or four days.
Eighty per cent of all wounds during the Civil War were in the extremities.
The first U. S. Naval hospital ship, the Red Rover, was used on the inland waters during the Vicksburg campaign.
| UTAH | WASHINGTON | WYOMING |
BATTLES AND LOSSES
Some authorities accredit the 26th North Carolina Regiment with having incurred the greatest loss in a single battle recorded in the Civil War. At the Battle of Gettysburg, it lost 708 of its men, or approximately 85 per cent of its total strength. In one company of 84 men, every man and officer was hit. The orderly sergeant who made out the report had a bullet wound through both legs.
The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery in the assault on Petersburg, June 1864, lost 604 men killed and wounded in less than 20 minutes. This organization did not see action until 1864. In less than one year it lost in killed and wounded 1,283 men out of 2,202.
During the Battle of Stone’s River, the Union artillery fired 20,307 rounds and the infantry exhausted over 2,000,000 rounds. The total weight of the projectiles fired was in excess of 375,000 pounds.
At the Battle of First Bull Run or Manassas, between 8,000 and 10,000 bullets were fired for every man killed or wounded.
At the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, there were 23,700 Union and Confederate casualties.
During the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, “Stonewall” Jackson marched his force of 16,000 men over 600 miles in 39 days, fighting five major battles and defeating four separate armies totaling 63,000.
In the Vicksburg campaign in 1863, Grant won five battles within a period of 18 days, captured 67 field guns, and inflicted casualties of approximately 5,200 on the enemy. He captured 31,600 prisoners, 172 cannon and 60,000 small arms when Vicksburg fell—the greatest military haul ever made in the western hemisphere.
​At Fredericksburg in 1862, the Confederate trenches stretched for a distance of 7 miles. The troop density was 11,000 per mile, or 6 men to the yard.
The greatest cavalry battle ever fought in the Western hemisphere was at Brandy Station, Virginia, on June 9, 1863. Nearly 20,000 cavalrymen were engaged on a relatively confined terrain for more than 12 hours.
The Confederate cruiser Shenandoah sailed completely around the world, raiding Union whalers and commerce vessels. The ship and its crew surrendered to English authorities in Liverpool more than 6 months after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.
The U. S. S. Kearsarge sank the C. S. S. Alabama off the coast of Cherbourg, France, in a fierce engagement. Frenchmen gathered along the beach to witness the engagement, and Manet painted the scene which now hangs in a Philadelphia art gallery.
General Grant’s losses from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor in 1864, a period of 29 days, totalled 54,900.
Approximately 6,000 battles, skirmishes, and engagements were fought during the Civil War.
There were over 2,000 lads 14 years old or younger in the Union ranks. Three hundred were 13 years or less while there were 200,000 no older than 16 years.
The C. S. S. Alabama in 11 months captured 69 Northern prizes valued at $6,500,000.
Besides their captures, Confederate cruisers drove great numbers of U. S. ships under foreign flags for protection, precipitating the decline of the U. S. Merchant Marine.
During the Civil War, one small section of Virginia became America’s bloodiest battle ground. In three neighboring counties, embracing Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor, more than half a million men fought in deadly combat. Here, more men were killed and wounded during the Civil War than were killed and wounded in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the War with Mexico and all of the Indian wars combined. No fewer than 19 generals—10 Union and nine Confederate—met death here.
CIVIL WAR PERSONALITIES
President Lincoln had four brothers-in-law who served in the Confederate Army.
At Lynchburg, Virginia, in June 1864, there were present on the field of battle ex-Vice President of the United States Gen. John C. Breckinridge, C. S. A., and future Presidents Maj. William McKinley and Gen. Rutherford B. Hayes, U. S. A. Other Union Generals who later became President were U. S. Grant, Chester A. Arthur, James A. Garfield and Benjamin Harrison.
General George Custer was the last man in his class at West Point, but he later outranked the other 33 when he was promoted to Major General of Volunteers in 1865. Only one classmate, Adelbert Ames, received an equivalent rank, and he was the last surviving member who died in Ormond, Fla., in 1933—57 years after Custer’s death at Little Big Horn.
Jefferson Davis graduated 23rd in his class at West Point. He served in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, was a Colonel in the Mexican War, and served as Secretary of War in President Pierce’s Cabinet from 1853–1857.
Of the original 26 members of the Confederate Senate, 14 were former United States Congressmen.
Robert E. Lee and P. G. T. Beauregard had both served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. William Tecumseh Sherman was Superintendent of the Louisiana Seminary of Learning and Military Academy (now known as Louisiana State University) on the eve of the Civil War.
Confederate Generals Joseph E. Johnston and Samuel Cooper held high positions in the United States Army in 1861. Johnston was the Quartermaster General and Cooper the Adjutant General. Johnston in later years was a pallbearer at the funerals of General U. S. Grant, Admiral David D. Porter and William T. Sherman. He had faced all three in battle, and his death is said to have been brought on by pneumonia contracted at General Sherman’s funeral.
​Gen. George B. McClellan, “Stonewall” Jackson and Gen. George Pickett were graduated in the same class at West Point. Pickett received his appointment to the Academy through John Todd Stuart, Lincoln’s law partner.
Commodore Franklin Buchanan, first Superintendent of the U. S. Naval Academy and Commander of the Washington Navy Yard when the Civil War began, cast his lot with the South. Later, in command of the C. S. S. Virginia (ex Merrimack), he destroyed the U. S. S. Congress on which his brother was an officer.
Gen. John B. Magruder commanded the 1st United States Artillery which was sent to Washington in 1861 to defend the Capital, but he resigned his commission and joined the Confederacy.
Chatham Roberdeau Wheat, a soldier of fortune and commander of the Louisiana Tigers, had fought in the Mexican War, with Lopez in Cuba, with William Walker in Nicaragua, and under Garibaldi in Italy. He was shot through both lungs at First Bull Run and the following year at Gaines’ Mill, was mortally wounded.
Until his death early in 1862, ex-President of the United States John Tyler was a member of the Confederate Provisional Congress.
Three of Henry Clay’s grandsons were in the Union Army, while four joined the Confederate Army.
David Glasgow Farragut, hero of New Orleans and Mobile Bay, was the first Admiral in the U. S. Navy.
Matthew Fontaine Maury, world famous “pathfinder of the sea,” resigned from the U. S. Navy and played a leading part in the development of underwater mines by the Confederate Navy.
James D. Bulloch, secret agent of the South overseas in the purchase of ships for blockade runners and commerce raiders, was Theodore Roosevelt’s uncle.
STATISTICS ON UNION ARMY
OCCUPATIONS OF UNION SOLDIERS BEFORE ENTERING SERVICE (Expressed in percentages)
Note: Statistics on Confederate Army not available
NATIONALITY OF UNION SOLDIERS (Approximate Numbers and Percentages)
| | | Number | Percentage |
| Native born Americans_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | | 1,600,000 | 76% |
| Foreign born:   Germany_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Ireland_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ British American_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ England_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Other_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | 175,000 150,000 050,000 050,000 075,000 |
| Total foreign born_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | | 0,500,000 | 24% |
Note: Statistics on Confederate Army not available
STATISTICS ON THE CIVIL WAR
Northern Forces
| | Number Serving | Battle Deaths | Other Deaths | Total Deaths |
| Army | 2,128,948 | 138,154 | 221,374 | 359,528 |
| Navy | 0,084,415 | 002,112 | 002,411 | 004,523 |
| Marines | 0,084,415 | 000,148 | 000,312 | 000,460 |
| | 2,213,363 | 140,414 | 224,097 | 364,511 |
Southern Forces
| | Number Serving | Battle Deaths | Other Deaths | Total Deaths |
| Army | * | 94,000 | 164,000 | 258,000 |
| Navy | * | * | * | * |
| Marines | * | * | * | * |
| | 1,000,000 (Est.) | 94,000 | 164,00 | 258,000 |
* Figures not available
COMPARISON WITH RECENT WARS
| | Battle Deaths | Other Deaths | Total Deaths |
| Civil War_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | 234,414 | 388,097 | 622,511 |
| World War I_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | 053,402 | 063,114 | 116,516 |
| World War II_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | 291,557 | 113,842 | 405,399 |
| Korean War_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ | 033,629 | 020,617 | 054,246 |
ESTIMATED COST OF THE WAR
The Secretary of the Treasury in 1866 reported that the Civil War, to that time, had cost the Federal Government $6.19 billion dollars. The National Debt in 1865 stood at $2.85 billion dollars.
It cost the Federal Government nearly $2 million per day from 1861 through 1865 to wage the war.
By 1910 the cost of the war, including pensions and burial of veterans, had reached $11.5 billion dollars.
The value of the Confederate dollar in gold dropped from 90 cents in 1861 to 6 cents in 1864. Most Confederate dollar bills are worth more today than they were in 1865.
| Estimated cost of the war to the Union | $6,190,000,000 |
| Estimated cost of the war to the Confederacy | $3,000,000,000 |
RELATIVE LOSSES
Losses (killed, wounded and missing) in Three Great European Battles and in Certain Civil War Battles.
ARMS
A wide variety of small arms and ordnance was common to both sides. Basic infantry weapon in the beginning was a Springfield rifle musket, calibre .69, muzzle-loading, smooth bores. The Springfield rifle musket, calibre .58, also muzzle-loading, and of which there had been a small quantity in the United States Army at the beginning, became the standard piece of the Union infantry. It fired the famous Minié ball. Both sides also used large numbers of the British Enfield rifle-musket, calibre .577.
Field artillery consisted mainly of bronze Napoleon 12-pounder smooth bores, and the cast-iron Parrott 3″ rifle. Both were muzzle loaders. Older 12-pounder and 6-pounder iron smooth bores were also used, as was a wide variety of other calibres. These were supplemented by limited numbers of breech-loading cannon, the most notable being English-made Armstrong, Blakely and Whitworth pieces.
In addition, large calibre siege guns as well as mortars were in common use.
Union cavalry was at first armed with a Sharps single-shot breech-loading carbine, calibre .52. Later it was provided with the Spencer carbine, calibre .50, a seven-shot repeater. Use of this weapon in 1864 brought the bitter Confederate quip that Northern troopers “loaded on Sunday and fired all week.”
Sabers and revolvers were in general use.
Powerful and scientifically designed Dahlgren guns were in use on board naval ships.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR
(Obviously, it is not possible to list all 6,000 engagements during the Civil War, and only the most important are mentioned.)
1861
| January 9 | First shots fired at steamship "Star of the West," driven out of Charleston, South Carolina, harbor while en route to provision Fort Sumter. |
| January 12 | Navy at Pensacola, Florida, surrendered to Confederates. |
| February 4 | Confederate Government organized in Montgomery, Alabama. |
| February 18 | Jefferson Davis inaugurated as President of Provisional Government, C. S. A. |
| March 4 | Abraham Lincoln first inaugurated as President of the United States. |
| April 12 | Fort Sumter bombarded by Confederate shore batteries and forced to surrender. |
| April 19 | President Lincoln proclaims naval blockade. |
| June 3 | Skirmish at Philippi, Virginia (now West Virginia), resulting in first Union victory. |
| June 10 | Skirmish at Bethel Church, first clash in eastern Virginia. |
| June 17 | Skirmish at Boonville, Missouri, first clash in that state. |
| July 21 | First battle of Manassas (Bull Run). |
| August 10 | Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri. |
| August 28 | Federal joint army–navy expedition to Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, resulting in capture of Forts Hatteras and Clark. |
| September 10 | Battle of Lucas's Bend, Missouri, first engagement of Union's Western Flotilla. |
| October 11 | C. S. S. "Nashville," early Confederate sea raider, escapes to the high seas from Charleston harbor. |
| October 12 | C. S. S. ram "Manassas" attacks Federal, blockading vessels at Head of the Passes in the Mississippi River, damaging the U. S. S. "Richmond." |
| October 21 | Battle of Ball's Bluff, Virginia. |
| November 7 | Battle of Belmont, Missouri. |
| November 7 | Federal amphibious army–navy expedition captures Port Royal, South Carolina. |
| November 8 | "Trent" affair, involving seizure of Confederate Commissioners Mason and Slidell from British mail steamer on the high seas. |
1862
| January 19 | Battle of Mill Springs (Logan's Cross Roads), Kentucky. |
| February 6 | Fort Henry captured by Flag Officer Foote's gunboats. |
| February 8 | Roanoke Island, North Carolina, captured by Federal amphibious army–navy expedition. |
| February 16 | Fort Donelson captured by Grant after four-day siege and bombardment by naval gunboats under Flag Officer Foote. ​ |
| February 21 | Battle of Valverde, New Mexico. |
| March 7 | Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas. |
| March 8 | C. S. S. "Virginia" destroys U. S. S. "Congress" and U. S. S. "Cumberland." |
| March 9 | U. S. S. "Monitor" and C. S. S. "Virginia" ("Merrimack") meet off Hampton Roads in first naval engagement between ironclad vessels. |
| April 6–7 | Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee. |
| April 7 | Island No. 10, in Mississippi River, surrendered to General John Pope and Flag Officer Foote's gunboats. |
| April 18 [1962] | Medal of Honor ceremony held at Washington Cathedral, District of Columbia. |
| April 24 | Farragut's U. S. Navy squadron runs by Forts Jackson and St. Philip on the Mississippi River and captures New Orleans. |
| May 8 | Battle of McDowell opens Jackson's Shenandoah Valley campaign. (Port Republic, Cross Keys) |
| May 11 | C. S. S. "Virginia" ("Merrimack") destroyed to avoid capture. |
| May 31 | Battle of Seven Pines (Fair Oaks), Virginia. |
| June 26 | Battle of Mechanicsville opens Seven Days' campaign around Richmond. |
| July 4 | Morgan and Forrest, Confederate cavalry leaders, begin raids in Kentucky and Tennessee, hampering Buell. |
| July 15 | C. S. S. ram "Arkansas" runs through entire Federal squadron at Vicksburg. |
| August 9 | Battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia. |
| August 28 | Second battle of Manassas. |
| September 17 | Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg). |
| September 23 | Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation. |
| October 3 | Battle of Corinth, Mississippi. |
| October 8 | Battle of Perryville, Kentucky. |
| December 13 | Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. |
| December 31 | Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro), Tennessee. |
1863
| January 21 | "Battle of the Cotton Clads"—Texas steamers "armored" with cotton—temporarily breaks Federal blockade. |
| March 14 | Admiral Farragut's fleet passes Port Hudson batteries and steams north to blockade Red River. |
| April 16 | Admiral David Dixon Porter's gunboats and transports successfully pass the Vicksburg batteries. |
| April 17 | Grierson's raid begins. |
| May 1 | Battle of Chancellorsville begins. |
| June 9 | Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia. |
| July 1 | Battle of Gettysburg begins. |
| July 4 | Pemberton surrenders Vicksburg to Grant. |
| July 9 | Port Hudson is surrendered to Banks, closing Mississippi River to the Confederacy. |
| July 13 | Bloody draft riots begin in New York City. |
| September 19 | Battle of Chickamauga begins. |
| October 5 | U. S. S. "New Ironsides" heavily damaged by Confederate torpedo boat "David." |
| November 24 | Battle of Chattanooga (Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge). |
1864
| February 17 | U. S. S. "Housatonic" sunk by C. S. S. "H. L. Hunley" off Charleston, first sinking of a surface vessel by a submarine. |
| March 1 | Kilpatrick–Dahlgren Federal cavalry raid on Richmond. |
| April 8 | Battle of Sabine Crossing (Pleasant Hill), Louisiana. |
| April 12 | Forrest captures Fort Pillow, Tennessee. |
| April 19 | C. S. S. ram "Albemarle" attacks Federal squadron in North Carolina sounds and sinks U. S. S. "Southfield." |
| May 5 | Battle of the Wilderness begins. |
| May 8 | Battle of Spotsylvania. |
| May 12 | Battle of Drewry's Bluff. |
| May 14 | Battle of Resaca, Georgia. |
| May 15 | Battle of New Market, Virginia. |
| June 1 | Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia. |
| June 10 | Battle of Brice's Crossroads. |
| June 19 | U. S. S. "Kearsarge" sinks C. S. S. "Alabama" off Cherbourg, France. |
| June 27 | Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. |
| July 11 | Jubal Early makes attack on Washington, D. C. |
| July 20 | Battle of Peachtree Creek, Georgia. |
| July 22 | Battle of Atlanta. |
| July 28 | Battle of Ezra Church, Georgia. |
| August 5 | Battle of Mobile Bay. |
| August 31 | Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia. |
| September 19 | Battle of Winchester, Virginia. |
| September 22 | Battle of Fisher's Hill, Virginia. |
| October 19 | Battle of Cedar Creek. |
| October 27 | C. S. S. ram "Albemarle" destroyed by Federal torpedo off Plymouth, North Carolina. |
| November 30 | Battle of Franklin, Tennessee. |
| December 15 | Battle of Nashville. |
| December 24 | Federal joint army–navy operation repulsed at Fort Fisher, North Carolina. |
1865
| January 15 | Fort Fisher falls to renewed Federal army–navy attack. |
| February 17 | Columbia, South Carolina, captured by Sherman, and burned. |
| February 17 | Charleston, South Carolina evacuated. |
| March 4 | Second Lincoln inaugural. |
| March 19 | Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. |
| April 1 | Battle of Five Forks, Virginia. |
| April 2 | Battle of Selma, Alabama, Forrest's last stand. |
| April 6 | Battle of Sayler's Creek, Virginia. |
| April 9 | Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox. |
| April 14 | President Lincoln assassinated. |
| April 26 | Johnson surrenders to Sherman at Durham, North Carolina. |
| May 4 | Taylor surrenders all remaining Confederate troops east of the Mississippi at Citronelle, Alabama. |
| May 26 | Kirby Smith surrenders Trans-Mississippi area to Canny, ending organized resistance. |
| November 6 | C. S. S. "Shenandoah," last of sea raiders, surrenders to British authorities at Liverpool, England. |
​The Lee–Jackson Memorial, Inc., a non-profit educational corporation, owns and makes available to the public seven historic shrines throughout Virginia.
In the area of the State made famous by Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign, the Memorial owns the General’s home in Lexington—the only home he ever owned—and his military headquarters during the winter of 1861–62 in Winchester. The Winchester headquarters has been designated by the Department of the Interior as a Registered National Historic Landmark, and the home in Lexington is listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register. These two shrines are open daily. The Memorial also owns 258 strategic acres at McDowell, Cross Keys and Port Republic Battlefields. Museums on these battlefields are open daily April through October and there is no admission charge.
In addition to the Jackson shrines the Memorial also owns two Robert E. Lee homes. At 607 Oronoco Street in Alexandria is the magnificent Georgian house in which Lee spent nine of his first 18 years. Young Lee left this home in 1825 when he began his military career at West Point. Many important people, including the Washington, Fitzhugh and Custis families, and the Marquis de Lafayette, are associated with this house. It is open daily. “Derwent,” the little cottage in the Powhatan County woods, is also owned by the Memorial. This is the home that General Lee chose for his family after his military career had ended at Appomattox. It was while living at “Derwent” that Lee was offered and accepted the Presidency of Washington College. The “little cottage in the woods” is open April through October.
The Lee–Jackson Memorial is interested in acquiring relics and memorabilia of Jackson and Lee and their lieutenants for display at these shrines. They are also interested in acquiring any Union material as it pertains to Jackson and Lee. Communications should be addressed to:
THE LEE–JACKSON MEMORIAL, INC. 405 Citizens Commonwealth Building Charlottesville, Virginia
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) between 1929 and 1977 (inclusive) without a copyright notice.
This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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