The American Civil War

670,000

estimated total dead

Each dot below represents 1,000 human lives. Scroll to watch the scale unfold.

Military Dead

620,000 soldiers killed in combat, from wounds, or from disease. Each = 1,000 lives.

Union — 365,000 military dead

Confederacy — 255,000 military dead

Civilian Dead

50,000 civilians killed — from violence, famine, disease, and displacement. Wars are not fought only by soldiers.

Civilian dead — 50,000

Deadliest Engagements

Atlanta Campaign68,666

incl. 2,000 civilians

Gettysburg51,112

Vicksburg (siege)38,532

incl. 1,000 civilians

Chickamauga34,624

Chancellorsville30,764

The Wilderness28,791

Shiloh23,746

Antietam22,726

For Perspective

How Civil War's dead compare to other conflicts and events.

Civil War — total dead670,000

American Revolution (all causes)25,000

War of 181215,000

Mexican-American War13,283

U.S. deaths in WWI116,708

U.S. deaths in WWII405,399

U.S. deaths in Vietnam58,220

Milestones of Loss

13,283 dead

Mexican-American War total dead (both sides)

25,000 dead

American Revolution: estimated total deaths

58,220 dead

All U.S. deaths in the Vietnam War

116,708 dead

All U.S. deaths in World War I

365,000 dead

Union dead — more than any other U.S. war until this point

405,399 dead

Passing U.S. deaths in World War II

620,000 dead

Total Civil War dead — equivalent to 7 million Americans today

All figures are historical estimates and vary across sources. The true human cost of war is impossible to fully quantify — these numbers represent the best scholarly consensus. Each number was a person with a name, a family, and a life unlived.