Memorial Day was once known as Decoration day. It is dedicated to men and women who died while in military service to the United States. Military actions in which the United States suffered casualties:
American Revolutionary War (1775 – 1783): 25,000
Quasi War with France (1798 – 1800): 20
Barbary Wars (1801 – 1815): 35
Various Pirate Actions (1800 – 1900): 10
Northwest Indian War (1785 – 1795): 1,221
War of 1812 (1812 – 1815): 20,000
First Seminole War (1817 – 1818): 30
Black Hawk War (1832): 60
Second Seminole War (1835 – 1842): 1,500
Mexican-American War (1846 – 1848): 13,283
Third Seminole War (1855 – 1858): 26
Civil War (1861 – 1865): 364,511 (Union only)
Indian Wars (1865 – 1898): 919
Korean Expedition (1871): 3
Spanish American War (1898): 2,446
Phillipine War (1898 – 1902): 4,196
Boxer Rebellion (1900 – 1901): 37
Mexican Revolution (1914 – 1919): 35
Occupation of Haiti (1915 – 1934): 146
World War I (1917 – 1918): 116,516
Northern Russia (1918 – 1920): 424
China (1918 – 1937): 5
Nicaragua (1927 – 1933): 48
World War II (1941 – 1945): 405,399
China (1945 – 1947): 13
Berlin (1948 – 1949): 31
Korean War (1950 – 1953): 36,516
Russia – Cold War (1950 – 1955): 32
China (1956): 16
Bay of Pigs (1961): 4
Vietnam War (1957 – 1973): 58,209
Dominican Republic (1965 -1966): 13
El Salvador Civil War (1980 – 1992): 20
Beirut (1982 – 1984): 266
Grenda (1983): 19
Persian Gulf escorts (1987 -1988): 39
Panama (1989): 40
Gulf War (1990 – 1991): 299
Somalia (1992 – 1993): 43
Haiti (1994 – 1995): 4
Bosnia (1995): 12
Afghanistan (2001 – present): 505
Iraq (2003 – present): 4,079
Ranked by combat deaths, the top 10 most costly wars have been: 1) World War II; 2) Civil War; 3) World War I; 4) Vietnam; 5) Korea; 6) Revolutionary War; 7) Iraq; 8) War of 1812; 9) Mexican-American; and 10) Phillipine War.
In terms of usefulness, I’d say that numbers 1, 2, 6, 8, and to some extent 9 did the U.S. some good. Regardless of usefulness, however, we owe thanks to all of the soldiers who died in service to our country. They don’t pick the policies; they just serve and sometimes die.
The civil war resulted in fewer combat deaths than WWII only if you exclude those who died fighting for the confederacy, which I think is kind of silly. Included, you get something like 650,000 combat deaths.
I think it’s silly to include Confederate deaths among those honored for fighting on behalf of the United States. The Confederates were actively fighting *against* the United States. It’d be like including British deaths among the Revolutionary War combat deaths.
Totally see your point Doug if you are looking at “men and women who died while in military service to the United States.” However, as “military actions in which the United States suffered casualties” you have to count both sides (as the copuntry was not legally dissoved, the confederates were always members of the United States).
Here’s a pointless hypothetical: Should the losses of the American Revolutionaries be counted as British casualties?
With the Declaration of Independence we severed all political connection between us Great Britain, so I would say no.
and it stuck
that last bit being the difference… the Confederates *tried* but it didn’t stick
OK, I’m going to get technical – quite apart from the fact that I have my own opinions about Wikipedia.
King William’s War 1689-1697
Queen Anne’s War 1702 – 1713
King George’s War 1744 – 1748
French and Indian War 1754- 1763
Do the dead from these wars not count?
King Philip’s War, 1676 was on a percentage basis, the bloodiest war ever in our history, with 10% of whites killed and even more of the Indians.
I’d put that in the British History column. Otherwise, maybe we could start moving into the various atrocities of the likes of Coronado and DeSoto.
When you look at the casualties of wars before WWII; a number of those casualties were caused by dysentery, gangrene, trench foot, post-surgery infectons, etc. I want to say that I read somewhere (probably in my “Epidemics in History” class at IU) that between 1/4 and 1/3 of all deaths in the Civil War were caused by illness; not war wounds. I also recall reading about the Lutheran seminary at Gettysburg being filled with men agonizingly dying of blood poisoning from their wounds; the bodies being stacked up outside the doors until they could be properly buried. In the latter parts of the 20th century, with antibiotics and more sterile surgery settings, deaths are almost always attributed to catastrophic war injuries. I’d be interested to see how the casualties of war added up when you take that into consideration; especially where that places Iraq in the rankings. Not that I think that a man or woman dying of dysentery served their country any less than one who was shot on the battlefield.
Incidentally, my oldest son went with his Cub Scout pack to place flags on the graves of veterans this weekend. He has a better understanding of what this day is about.
Other way around, Rev.AJB.
Total numbers for the Confederacy are hard to substantiate due to loss of records, but non-battle deaths comprised more like 2/3 of all deaths in the Civil War.
If I were time travelling back to 1861, I would want to bring a water filter and some soap.
Thanks! Guess I had the “black plague” numbers stuck in my head. For some reason I was thinking those numbers were higher, but was too lazy to look it up. I seem to recall that the unofficial numbers among the Confederate soldiers was much higher due to malaria, yellow fever and cholera being prevalent in the south.
FWIW I remember in that “Epidemics in History” class one of the big deals with WW I was that a “magic bullet” drug had been discovered (I want to say it was Sulfa drugs) that would treat syphillis. So no longer would those men be bringing home “death” to their faithful, virginal American girlfiends/wives from those ugly, skeletal, disease-ridden French whores. Seems like they did stress condom usage; which I thought was quite avant-garde for the time! We watched some training films (silent films of course) that talked more about the dangers of “loose women” than the dangers of trench foot and other war realities.
T-I would also bring some strong antibiotics and make sure that every last immunization I could have-even for “wiped out” diseases-was up to date. I would have a tetanus shot. Plus I’d do like the ancients and drink the beer and the wine and stay away from the water;-) And I’d bring along a good doctor with me…just in case…Are you busy right now?
I’d also bring a comfortable pair of shoes.