Monday, July 4, 2016

Happy 4th of July! Some thoughts on the Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783)

Happy 4th of July!

The Revolutionary War, fought between 1775 and 1783, created our new country at a very high price in terms of casualties. The total number of American deaths in that war for freedom from the British was about 25,000, 8,000 in combat and the rest from other causes including disease.

The total number of deaths in the Civil War was about 750,000 and WWII was about 405,000. At first glance, it appears that the Revolutionary War was inexpensive in human terms by comparison. However, when one takes the totals as a percentage of the population, the number is staggering; it is second only to the bloody Civil War.

War         Deaths      % of Population at the time 
Civil War 750,00      2.385% (1860)  
Rev          25,000     0.899% (1780)
WWII      405,000     0.307% (1940)

I'm grateful to be an American and thankful for those who've come before us to create this great country.