List of costliest American Civil War land battles

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This is a list of the costliest land battles of the American Civil War, measured by casualties (killed, wounded, captured, and missing) on both sides. [A]

Contents

Highest casualty battles

BattleCampaignDateNearest town Flag of the United States.svg Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863).svg Total Flag of the United States.svg
Union
Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863).svg
Confederacy
Flag of the United States.svg Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863).svg Total Flag of the United States.svg Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863).svg Total
StrengthCommanderCasualtiesCasualties as % of strength
Gettysburg Gettysburg campaign July 13, 1863 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 93,92171,699165,620 George G. Meade Robert E. Lee 23,04928,06351,11224.54%39.14%30.86%
Chickamauga Chickamauga campaign September 1920, 1863 Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia 60,00065,000125,000 William Rosecrans Braxton Bragg 16,17318,45034,62426.95%28.38%27.70%
Spotsylvania Court House Overland Campaign May 821, 1864 Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia 100,00052,000152,000 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 18,39912,68731,08618.40%24.40%20.45%
Chancellorsville Chancellorsville campaign May 14, 1863 Chancellorsville, Virginia 133,86860,298194,166 Joseph Hooker Robert E. Lee 17,19713,30330,50012.85%22.06%15.71%
The Wilderness Overland Campaign May 57, 1864 Locust Grove, Virginia 101,89561,025162,920 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 17,66611,03328,69917.34%18.08%17.62%
Stones River
(Murfreesboro)
Stones River campaign December 31, 1862  January 2, 1863 Murfreesboro, Tennessee 41,40035,00076,400 William Rosecrans Braxton Bragg 12,90611,73924,64531.17%33.54%32.26%
Shiloh
(Pittsburg Landing)
Federal penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee RiversApril 67, 1862 Shiloh, Tennessee 66,81244,699111,511 Ulysses S. Grant Albert Sidney Johnston 13,04710,69923,74619.53%23.94%21.29%
Antietam
(Sharpsburg)
Maryland campaign September 17, 1862 Sharpsburg, Maryland 75,50038,000113,500 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 12,40110,31622,71716.43%27.15%20.01%
2nd Bull Run
(2nd Manassas)
Northern Virginia campaign August 2930, 1862 Manassas, Virginia 62,00050,000112,000 John Pope Robert E. Lee 10,0008,30018,30016.13%16.60%16.34%
Fredericksburg Fredericksburg campaign December 1115, 1862 Fredericksburg, Virginia 114,00072,500186,500 Ambrose Burnside Robert E. Lee 12,6535,37718,03011.10%7.42%9.67%
Cold Harbor Overland Campaign May 31 June 12, 1864 Mechanicsville, Virginia 108,00059,000167,000 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 12,7374,59517,33211.79%7.79%10.38%
2nd Petersburg Richmond–Petersburg campaign June 1518, 1864 Petersburg, Virginia 62,00038,000100,000 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 11,3864,00015,38618.36%10.53%15.39%
Gaines's Mill Peninsula campaign June 27, 1862 Mechanicsville, Virginia 34,21457,01891,232 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 6,8377,99314,83019.98%14.02%16.26%
Missionary Ridge Chattanooga campaign November 25, 1863 Chattanooga, Tennessee 56,35944,010100,369 Ulysses S. Grant Braxton Bragg 5,8246,66712,49110.33%15.15%12.45%
Atlanta Atlanta campaign July 22, 1864 Atlanta, Georgia 34,86340,43875,301 William T. Sherman John Bell Hood 3,6418,49912,14010.44%21.02%16.12%
Seven Pines
(Fair Oaks)
Peninsula campaign May 31 June 1, 1862 Mechanicsville, Virginia 34,00039,00073,000 George B. McClellan Joseph E. Johnston 5,0316,13411,16514.80%15.73%15.29%
Nashville Franklin–Nashville campaign December 1516, 1864 Nashville, Tennessee 55,00030,00085,000 George H. Thomas John Bell Hood 3,0616,0009,0615.57%20.00%10.66%
Opequon (3rd Winchester) Sheridan's Valley campaign September 19, 1864 Winchester, Virginia 40,00015,51455,514 Philip Sheridan Jubal Early 5,0204,0159,03512.55%25.88%16.28%
Cedar Creek Sheridan's Valley campaign October 19, 1864 Middletown, Virginia 31,61021,10252,712 Philip Sheridan Jubal Early 5,7642,9108,67418.23%13.79%16.46%
Franklin Franklin–Nashville campaign November 30, 1864 Franklin, Tennessee 27,00027,00054,000 John M. Schofield John Bell Hood 2,3266,2528,5788.61%23.16%15.89%
Malvern Hill Peninsula campaign July 1, 1862 Varina, Virginia 54,00055,000109,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 2,1005,6507,7503.89%10.27%7.11%
3rd Petersburg Richmond-Petersburg campaign April 2, 1865 Petersburg, Virginia 76,11358,400134,513 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 3,5004,2507,7504.60%7.28%5.76%
Perryville Kentucky campaign October 8, 1862 Perryville, Kentucky 22,00016,00038,000 Don Carlos Buell Braxton Bragg 4,2763,4017,67719.44%21.26%20.20%
Glendale Peninsula campaign June 30, 1862 Varina, Virginia 40,00045,00085,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 3,7973,6737,4709.49%8.16%8.79%
2nd Corinth Iuka and Corinth OperationsOctober 34, 1862 Corinth, Mississippi 23,00022,00045,000 William S. Rosecrans Earl Van Dorn 2,5204,2336,75310.96%19.24%15.01%
Peachtree Creek Atlanta campaign July 20, 1864 Atlanta, Georgia 21,65520,25041,905 George H. Thomas John Bell Hood 1,7104,7966,5067.90%23.68%15.53%
Champion Hill Vicksburg campaign May 16, 1863 Edwards, Mississippi 32,00022,00054,000 Ulysses S. Grant John C. Pemberton 2,4573,8406,2977.68%17.45%11.66%
The Crater Richmond-Petersburg campaign July 30, 1864 Petersburg, Virginia 8,5006,10014,600 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 3,7981,4915,28944.68%24.44%36.23%
Fort Stedman Richmond-Petersburg campaign March 25, 1865 Petersburg, Virginia 14,89810,00024,898 John G. Parke John B. Gordon 1,0444,0005,0447.01%40.00%20.26%
South Mountain Maryland campaign September 14, 1862 Boonsboro, Maryland 28,00018,00046,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 2,3252,6855,0108.30%14.92%10.89%
1st Bull Run
(1st Manassas)
Manassas campaign July 21, 1861 Manassas, Virginia 35,00034,00069,000 Irvin McDowell P. G. T. Beauregard 2,8961,9824,8788.27%5.83%7.07%

See also

Notes

  1. All strengths and casualties are cited in the named articles. The Siege of Vicksburg (37,532 total casualties), the Battle of Appomattox Court House (28,469), the Siege of Port Hudson (17,500), the Battle of Fort Donelson (16,537), the Battle of Harpers Ferry (12,922), the Battle of Island Number Ten (7,108), and the Battle of Munfordville (4,862) have been omitted from this list because the casualty figures include very high percentages of soldiers surrendered.