Arlington National Cemetery

Deaths throughout U.S. history from Independence Day to Iraqi Freedom

Here is a listing of the estimates or totals thus far of U.S. casualties in the various conflicts that have been a part of our country’s history provided by the U.S. Army Military History Institute. The statistics reflect only reported war deaths and exclude those wounded and/or missing. “The Civil War still maintains the highest American casualty total of any conflict. Interesting to note the staggering number of losses in World War Two when compared to that of World War One – the former being the so-called ‘War to End All Wars.’ Then there’s the ‘Forgotten War’ in Korea – this nickname despite the near-37,000 reported casualties in the conflict.

“In its first 100 years of existence, more than 683,000 Americans lost their lives, with the Civil War accounting for 623,026 of that total (91.2%). Comparatively, in the next 100 years, a further 626,000 Americans died through two World Wars and several more localized conflicts (with World War Two representing 65% of that total). Using this comparison, the Civil War might very well be the most important war that America has ever fought.”

Major Conflicts and Totals

War of Independence    (1775-1783)    25,000
War of 1812     (1812-1815)    20,000
Mexican-American War    (1846-1848)    13,283
Civil War     (1861-1865)    623,026
World War One     (1917-1918)    116,708
World War Two     (1941-1945)    407,316
Korean War     (1950-1953)    36,914
Vietnam War (1964-1973)    58,169
Afghanistan     (2002-2010)    1,084 and counting…
Iraq     (2003-2010)    4,400 and counting…