The Republican journal., 1898-05-12
The Cost of War.

Enormous Outlay of Men and Money as
| Shown in the Records. Uncle Sam has
Spent Seven Billion Dollars and Lost
Nearly 5000, 900 Men.
On the daybreak of a struggle in which
for the first time in over a half century,
/ the United States has been lined up as a
whole against an opposing foe, it is inter
, esting to glance back to the American
conflicts, and as well to some of the more
| important wars of the century now clos
ing. There has been general impression,
erroneous, to be sure, that Uucle Sans
battle month is April and that he has
always begun his scraps with his neghbor
during the month of showers. This is
not fact, although the Revolution started
April, 10, 1775, the Black Hawk war
April p, 1881, and the rebellion April 10,
/ 1861, although really the first blood shed
was in the streets of Baltimore, when the
| 9th Massachusetts encountered the mob
April 10, while enroute from the Hub to
the capital. Some comparison of the num-
Der of men and the cost of these various
struggles serve to show the growth of the
| country.
The revolution cost in round numbers,
according to the best estimate obtainable,
$135, 173, 703, and in this struggle, which
lasted within eight days of eight years,
there were employed, during the whole
time, 294, 791 men, divided as follows:
Regulars, $50, Ill; militia and volunteers,
165, $50. No accurate figures, as to the
number of men lost can be obtained. The
first battle was at Lexington and Concord,
and the cessation of hostilities came April
II, 1885
The next time that your Uncle Samuel
had occasion to call upon his boys, to
show the stuff they were made of, came
in 1912, war being declared by the Presi-
dent June Is of that year. While there
had been no battles fought previous to
the declaration OF hostilities, yet Great
Britain had angered the young nation by
insisting on its claimed right to impress
into the British navy former subjects of
Great Britain, wherever found. This war
closed on February Il, 1915. There We're
engaged in the strife a total force of AL
622 men, of whom only about s. 900 were
regular soldiers and seamen, the rest be-
ing volunteers. This war Of nearly three
years cost in round numbers S107, 159, 900.
The next could hardly be called a war,
although it is designated in history as the
Black Hawk war. There is no data pre-
served by which an accurate estimate
could be given either as to the cost or the
number of men engaged. The war lasted
little over year, beginning in April,
1881, and ending September 30, 1882. The
Seminole war is hardly worth the name of
more than a series of Scrimmages
1t was fifteen years after the outbreak
with the Black Hawk indians that the
American eagle again became war-like and
plumed itself for battle. President Polk
notified Congress, in May, 1916, that less
than month before IA small detachment
of United States troops had been captured
by the Mexicans. Congress at once de-
clared war, and authorized the President
to raise an army of 80, 600 men and to
spend $40 600 600. From the best records
obtainable i'll the War Department, it is
shown that the United States put into the
field an army of 30, 954 regulars and -,
NC volunteers. This war which ended in
lS4S, cost about 500, 600, 900.
The great struggle, which came in 1861
% was the most expensive the country ever
saw, both from its cost in priceless hui
man life and in the money spent. Reck-
oned as whole, the country spent for
this war no less than 81, 400, 900, 600, of
which the North expended So, 100, 900, 600,
the devoted people of the South the bal
ance in upholding hopeless cause. 1t
is estimated that, during the whole of the
| war, Uncle Sans boys numbered alto
, gether ,, 0l6, 200 men, but the number of
men which the South put into the field
could only be estimated, at best. The
losses sustained by the armies in the wal
OF the rebellion have been stated as high
as 500, 900 men, but Deputy Commits
sioner of Patents Bell states that this is
greatly exaggerated. as the best figures
obtainable show the total losses did not
exceed l01 500. In citing instances of
f tay Z no cniJ -; u
at Gettysburg something like 10 600 men
We're lost, while, as a matter of fact, in
that three days fight the union forces
had killed 1874 men and the Confeder-
ateS Z, 800 men. The battle of the Will
derness, according to this authority had
much greater fatalities, as the union loss
then was 5,591 and the Confederate loss
about 1000. Thus it can be seen that
Uncle sam altogether has spent for wars
81, ~, }52, 100, and has put into the field
in various ways a total of 2 $50, 16S men,
armed and equipped for lighting, not
counting the Indian affairs.
OTHER MODERN WARS.
The cost to other nations of important
wars has not been as large rs this. The
Franco Prussian war was waged at cost
to France of about 50. 800, 900. 600, and
the number of killed. wounded and sick
amounted to 632, 421 men. Germany S
expense was much less, as the war cost
her but $500, 900, 900 and the number of
killed was Co. 600
The Russo Turkish war was compare
lively cheap affair, costing but s125,-
600 600, with total number killed and
disabled, as CLEANED from semi official
sources, 80, 900 men. Much more expen-
sive in money was the war between
Prussia and Austria, which cost $3.50 OOO,-
900 and loss of life of 40, 600 The
Servo Bulgarian war cost $40, 600, 900,
with no approximate estimate of the num-
Der of men lost. The Afghanistan war
SIS, $50, 900, and the African war about
S., TIC, 600 none of them approaching in
cost and fatalities TO the civil war.
1t may not be amiss to schedule the
wars of the century, beginning with our
own trouble with Britain in 1872, the
Grecian war of 1S20-21, the French,
Belgian and Poland revolts of 1880, the
British Chinese opium war of 1910 AZ,
when Britain went to war because Sin,
the great mogul of China demanded the
right of the Chinese to seize opium from
the subjects of Great Britain without pay
the Mexican war of 1916, the Afghanistan
wars of 1916 70 and 1890, the French re-
volution of 1913, the Crimean war, the