There are Wars, Then there are Wars

The following study is the kind of thing you do when you have too much time on your hands.  You begin to ponder the most inane subjects until you are driven to the internet for answers.  In modern times, no question need be left unanswered if you have a computer.

I got to wondering about all the wars this country has engaged in since the Revolution in 1776, and the relative number of casualties compared to the population at the time.  In my era it was the Viet Nam conflict, and almost everyone knew someone who had lost their life in that war.  It seemed like almost every family in the United States was affected in one way or another.  In my father’s time, it was World War II, and in my grandfather’s time it was WWI.  I guess every generation has its war to deal with.

Anyway, to put things in perspective I will make some comparisons.  The Revolution and WWII were about even in their relative casualty rates with percentages of .21 and .24 respectively.  With the exception of the Civil War, those two wars had the highest casualty rates.  Likewise, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War were similar with rates of .062 and .057 respectively, less than one third of the WWII rate.  Generally, WWI had a high casualty rate, but the United States did not enter the fracas until late in the game and we still suffered a casualty rate of .11 percent of our population at the time, twice that of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War.  All the other wars, the Spanish/American War (.0032%), Korea (.0244%), Viet Nam (.038%), Persian Gulf (.0002%) and Iraq (.0004%) combined only add up to .0602%, about the same as the War of 1812!

Now, ponder if you would, the Civil War.  The Civil War had a casualty rate of 1.6363%, over twice the rate of all the other wars combined, including the Revolution and both World Wars!  Remembering my perception of things during the Viet Nam conflict, I find this number astounding.  I thought the Viet Nam numbers were high, but they are hardly a blip on the radar compared to the Civil War.  The Civil War numbers are 43 times as great!