1861-1865: The problem with numbers…
What casualty counts really tell us

Historical Context: The Civil War, America's bloodiest conflict, cost nearly 1,100,000 casualties and claimed more than 620,000 lives. The campaigning armies left destruction in their wake, particularly in the Southern states that bore the brunt of the fighting. Best estimates place the total number of war-time clashes in excess of 10,000, many of them large scale encounters that resulted in staggering losses for both sides. Engagements such as Gettysburg, Shiloh, the Wilderness and Chickamauga are ranked among the great battles of history; they bear witness to the courage and tenacity with which the Federal and Confederate soldiers fought for their beliefs.

IMAGE ANALYSIS : The Dead at Antietam ; Juan Compos and Robert Guzzo Jr

A New York state of mind
more than any other state…

New York contributed  nearly 360,000 soldiers to the Civil War ( ~50,000 died)

132 won the Medal of Honor 

New York factories provided various war materials including steel, railroad cars, weapons, uniforms, and even horseshoes.

New York provided more horses to the Union army than any other state, which needed to replace 500 per day

Read about Ballston Spa's connection to Sullivan Ballou

THE PRICE IN BLOOD

The Union had between 2,500,000 and 2,750,000 men in arms

Of those, 110,070 died in battle
250, 152 died of disease, etc for a total of

360,222 total Union deaths

13%

The Confederacy had between 750,000 and 1,250,000 men in arms
(Sherman burned so many court houses it's impossible to get an accurate number)

Of those, 94,000 died in battle
164,000 died of disease, etc for a grand total of

258,000 total Confederate deaths

21%

618,222 total (at least)

New Estimate Raises Civil War Death Toll (April 2, 2012)  and Recounting the Dead  (9.21.2012)

The problem with numbers…

David Blight  Professor, Yale University  (learn more about Professor Blight)

Professor Blight’s  course explores the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War, from the 1840s to 1877. The primary goal of the course is to understand the multiple meanings of a transforming event in American history. Those meanings may be defined in many ways: national, sectional, racial, constitutional, individual, social, intellectual, or moral. Four broad themes are closely examined: the crisis of union and disunion in an expanding republic; slavery, race, and emancipation as national problem, personal experience, and social process; the experience of modern, total war for individuals and society; and the political and social challenges of Reconstruction.

Lecture #17  “Homefronts and Battlefronts – the Social Impact of the Civil War” (17:47  to 29:40)