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United States military casualties of war

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 158.140.1.25 (talk) at 16:37, 24 March 2008 (listed us deaths by combat as 4,000. this is total deaths. others list combat deaths only under Wars ranked by combat deaths). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Military casualties suffered by the United States of America in war or deployments:

War or conflict Date Deaths Wounded Total dead
and wounded 		Missing Sources/
notes
combat other total
American Revolutionary War 1775–1783 8,000 17,000 25,000 25,000 50,000 [a]
Quasi-War 1798–1800 20 20 42 62 [citation needed]
Barbary Wars 1801–1815 35 35 65 100 [citation needed]
Other actions against pirates 1800–1900 10 10 21 31 [citation needed]
Northwest Indian War 1785–1795
War of 1812 1812–1815 2,260 ~17,000 ~20,000 4,505 ~25,000 [1]
First Seminole War 1817–1818 30 30
Black Hawk War 1832
Second Seminole War 1835–1842 328 ~1,500
Mexican-American War 1846–1848 1,733 11,550 13,283 4,152 17,435 [2]
Third Seminole War 1855-1858 26 26
Civil War: total 1861–1865 212,938 ~625,000 [b]
Union 140,414 224,097 364,511 281,881 646,392
Confederate 72,524 ~260,000
Indian Wars 1865–1898 919 1,025 [2]
Korean expedition 1871 3 3 13 16 [citation needed]
Spanish-American War 1898 385 2,061 2,446 1,622 4,068 [2]
Philippine War 1898–1902 1,020 3,176 4,196 2,930 7,126 [2]
Boxer Rebellion 1900–1901 37 37 204 [citation needed]
Mexican Revolution 1914–1919 35+ 70 [citation needed]
Occupation of Haiti 1915–1934 146 26+ [citation needed]
World War I 1917–1918 53,402 63,114 116,516 204,002 320,518 3,350 [2][c]
Northern Russian Expedition 1918-1920 424 [3]
World War II 1941–1945 291,557 113,842 405,399 670,846 1,076,245 30,314 [2]
Korean War 1950–1953 33,746 ? 36,516 103,284 ? 8,177 [2]
Vietnam War 1964–1973 47,355 10,796 58,151 153,303 211,454 2,489 [2]
El Salvador Civil War 1980–1992 9 20 35 [citation needed]
Beirut deployment 1982–1984 256 266 169 [4]
Persian Gulf escorts 1987–1988 39 0 39 31 [citation needed]
Invasion of Grenada 1983 18 1 19 119 [4]
Invasion of Panama 1989 23 40 324 [4]
Gulf War 1990–1991 148 151 299 467 1 [5] [2]
Somalia 1992–1993 29 14 43 153 [4]
Haiti 1994–1995 1 4 3 [4]
Bosnian War 1995? 1 12 6 [citation needed]
Afganistan* 2001–present 305 183 488 [1] 7,171 [2] 7,659 [3] [4]
Iraq War 2003–present 3,247 753 4,000 [5] 40,233 [6] 44,233 [7] 4 [d]
  • Afghanistan,Philippines,Horn of Africa and Pankisi Gorge

Wars ranked by total deaths

Rank War Years Deaths Deaths per Day Deaths per Population
1 American Civil War 1861–1865 625,000 599 1.988% (1860)
2 World War II 1941–1945 405,399 416 0.307% (1940)
3 World War I 1917–1918 116,516 279 0.110% (1920)
4 Vietnam War 1964–1973 58,151 26 0.003% (1970)
5 Korean War 1950–1953 36,516 45 0.002% (1950)
6 American Revolutionary War 1775–1783 25,000 11 0.899% (1780)
7 War of 1812 1812–1815 20,000 31 0.345% (1810)
8 Mexican-American War 1846–1848 13,283 29 0.057% (1850)
9 Philippine War 1899–1902 4,196 5 0.006% (1900)
10 Iraq War 2003–present 4,000 2.35 0.001% (2007)

"Deaths per day" are the total number of US military deaths, divided by the number of days between the dates of the commencement and end of hostilities, or until 31 December 2007 in the case of the Iraq War. "Deaths per population" are the total number of US military deaths, divided by the US population of the year indicated.

Wars ranked by combat deaths

Rank War Years Deaths
1 World War II 1941–1945 291,557
2 American Civil War 1861–1865 212,938
3 World War I 1917–1918 53,402
4 Vietnam War 1964–1973 47,355
5 Korean War 1950–1953 33,746
6 American Revolutionary War 1775–1783 8,000
7 Iraq War 2003–present 3,247
8 War of 1812 1812–1815 2,260
9 Mexican-American War 1846–1848 1,733
10 Philippine War 1898–1902 1,020

Notes

a. ^ Revolutionary War: All figures from the Revolutionary War are rounded estimates. Commonly cited casualty figures provided by the Department of Defense are 4,435 killed and 6,188 wounded, although the original government report that generated these numbers warned that the totals were incomplete and far too low.[6] Nevertheless, the numbers are often repeated without this warning, such as on the United States Department of Veteran Affairs website.[7] In 1974, historian Howard Peckham and a team of researchers came up with a total of 6,824 killed in action and 8,445 wounded. Because of incomplete records, Peckham estimated that this new total number of killed in action was still about 1,000 too low.[8] Military historian John Shy subsequently estimated the total killed in action at 8,000, and argued that the number of wounded was probably far higher, about 25,000.[9] The "other" deaths are primarily from disease, including prisoners who died on British prison ships.

b. ^ Civil War: All Union casualty figures, and Confederate killed in action, from The Oxford Companion to American Military History.[2] Estimate of total Confederate dead from James M. McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom (Oxford University Press, 1988), 854.

c. ^ World War I figures include expeditions in North Russia and Siberia. See also World War I casualties

d. ^ Iraq War. See also Casualties of the conflict in Iraq since 2003. Sources:

  • Breakdown of killed in action vs. other deaths [8] (select "US only" tab for current total)
  • Total wounded in action (from "US Wounded" total on [9])

References

  1. ^ The "other" deaths were primarily from disease. Donald R. Hickey, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (University of Illinois Press, 1989), 302–03.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j John W. Chambers, II, ed. in chief, The Oxford Companion to American Military History. (Oxford University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-19-507198-0), 849.
  3. ^ Hudson, Miles (2004). Intervention in Russia 1918–1920: A Cautionary Tale. Pen and Sword. ISBN 1-84415-033-X.
  4. ^ a b c d e Table 13, Worldwide U.S. Active Duty Military Deaths, Selected Military Operations, http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/table13.htm, SAID, U.S. Department of Defense
  5. ^ Initials may offer clue to missing Gulf War pilot
  6. ^ Howard H. Peckham, ed., The Toll of Independence: Engagements & Battle Casualties of the American Revolution (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974), xii.
  7. ^ Fact Sheet: America's Wars, accessed December 2006.
  8. ^ Peckham, Toll of Independence, 131.
  9. ^ John Shy, A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence (revised edition, University of Michigan Press, 1990, ISBN 0-472-06431-2), 249–50.

See also

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