United States military casualties of war (Redirected from Relative costs of American wars)
The following is a tabulation of United States military casualties of war.
Overview
Note: "Total casualties" includes wounded, combat and non-combat deaths but not missing in action. "Deaths – other" includes all non-combat deaths including those from bombing, massacres, disease, suicide, and murder.
War or conflict | Date | Total U.S. deaths | Wounded | Total U.S. casualties |
Missing | Sources and notes | Deaths as percentage of total population | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Combat | Other | Total | |||||||
American Revolutionary War | 1775-1783 | 6,800 | 63,200 | 70,000 | 8,500+ | 75,000+ | |||
Northwest Indian War | 1785–1796 | 1,056+ | 1,056+ | 825+ | 1,881+ | ||||
Quasi-War | 1798–1800 | 20 | 494 | 514 | 42 | 556 | |||
First Barbary War | 1801–1805 | 35 | 39 | 74 | 64 | 138 | : 25–27 | ||
Other actions against pirates | 1800–1900 | 36 | 158+: 42 | 194+ | 100+ | 294+ | |||
Chesapeake–Leopard affair | 1807 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 21 | |||
War of 1812 | 1812–1815 | 2,260 | 12,740~ | 15,000~ | 4,505 | 20,000~ | 0.21% | ||
Nuku Hiva Campaign | 1813–1814 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 16 | : 34–38 | ||
Creek War | 1813–1814 | 575 | 575 | ||||||
Second Barbary War | 1815 | 4 | 134 | 138~ | 10 | 148 | |||
First Seminole War | 1817–1818 | 47 | 0 | 47 | 36 | 83 | |||
First Sumatran expedition | 1832 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 13 | ||||
Black Hawk War | 1832 | 47 | 258 | 305 | 85 | 390 | |||
Second Seminole War | 1835–1842 | 328 | 1,207 | 1,535 | 1,535 | ||||
Mexican–American War | 1846–1848 | 1,733 | 11,550 | 13,283 | 4,152 | 17,435 | 0.06% | ||
Cayuse War | 1847–1856 | 40 | 1 | 41 | 74 | 115 | |||
Rogue River Wars | 1851–1856 | 190 | 6 | 196 | 293 | 489 | |||
Yakima War | 1855–1856 | 32 | 2 | 34 | 92 | 126 | |||
Third Seminole War | 1855–1858 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 53 | ||||
Second Opium War | 1856–1860 | 12 | 12 | 39 | 51 | ||||
Coeur d'Alene War | 1858 | 36 | 36 | 60 | 96 | ||||
American Civil War: total | 1861–1865 | 214,938 | 450,000~ | 655,000~ | 2.1% | ||||
American Civil War: Union casualties | 140,414 | 224,097 | 364,511 | 281,881 | 646,392 | ||||
American Civil War: Confederate casualties | 94,000 | 195,000+ | 290,000+ | 194,026 | 483,026 | ||||
Dakota War of 1862 | 1862 | 70–113 | 70–113 | 150 | 220–263 | ||||
Shimonoseki campaign | 1863 | 4–5 | 0 | 4–5 | 6 | 10 | |||
Snake War | 1864–1868 | 30 | 30 | 128 | 158 | ||||
American Indian Wars | 1865–1898 | 919 | 919~ | 1,025 | 1,944 | ||||
Red Cloud's War | 1866–1868 | 126 | 126 | 100 | 226 | ||||
United States expedition to Korea | 1871 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 12 | ||||
Modoc War | 1872–1873 | 56 | 56 | 88 | 144 | ||||
Great Sioux War | 1875–1877 | 314 | 314 | 211 | 525 | ||||
Nez Perce War | 1877 | 134 | 134 | 157 | 291 | ||||
Bannock War | 1878 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 22 | 34 | |||
Ute War | 1879 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 52 | 67 | |||
Sheepeater Indian War | 1879 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 11 | ||||
Samoan crisis | 1887–1889 | 0 | 62 | 62 | 62 | ||||
Ghost Dance War | 1890–1891 | 35 | 35 | 64 | 99 | ||||
Battle of Sugar Point | 1898 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 23 | |||
Spanish–American War | 1898 | 385 | 2,061 | 2,446 | 1,622 | 4,068 | |||
Philippine–American War | 1898–1913 | 1,020 | 3,176 | 4,196 | 2,930 | 7,126 | |||
Boxer Rebellion | 1900–1901 | 68 | 63 | 131 | 204 | 335 | |||
Santo Domingo Affair | 1904 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
United States occupation of Nicaragua | 1910, 1912–1925, 1927–1933 | 90 | 69 | 159 | 290 | 449 | |||
Mexican Revolution | 1914–1919 | 120 | 61 | 181 | 319 | 500 | |||
United States occupation of Haiti | 1915–1934 | 10 | 138 | 148 | 26+ | 184+ | |||
World War I | 1914–1918 | 53,402 | 63,114 | 116,516 | 204,002 | 320,518 | 3,350 | 0.11% | |
North Russia intervention: total | 1918–1920 | 424 | 424 | ||||||
North Russia intervention: American Expeditionary Force, Siberia casualties | 1918–1920 | 160 | 168 | 328 | 52+ | 380+ | : 228 | ||
Warlord Era Chinese Civil War |
1918; 1921; 1926–1927; 1930; 1937 | 5 | 78 | 83 | |||||
World War II | 1939–1945 | 291,557 | 113,842 | 405,399 | 670,846 | 1,076,245 | 72,491 | See Note DA below | 0.39% |
Greek Civil War | 1944–1949 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | ||||
Chinese Civil War | 1945–1950 | 14 | 150 | 164 | 51 | 215 | |||
Berlin Blockade | 1948–1949 | 31 | 31 | 31 | |||||
Korean War | 1950–1953 | 33,686 | 2,830 | 36,516 | 92,134 | 128,650 | 7,564 | See Note E below | |
Cold War with the Soviet Union | 1947–1991 | 32 | 32 | 12 | 44 | 126 | |||
Cold War with China | 1950–1972 | 16 | 16 | 16 | |||||
Vietnam War | 1955–1975 | 47,434 | 10,786 | 58,220 | 153,303 | 211,454 | 1,584 | ||
1958 Lebanon crisis | 1958 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1+ | 7+ | |||
Bay of Pigs Invasion | 1961 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 25 | ||||
Cuban Missile Crisis | 1962 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 20 | ||||
Dominican Civil War | 1965–1966 | 27 | 20 | 47 | 283 | 330 | |||
Korean DMZ Conflict | 1966-1969 | 75 | 6 | 81 | 111 | 192 | |||
USS Liberty incident | 1967 | 0 | 34 | 34 | 171 | 205 | |||
Operation Eagle Claw | 1980 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 12 | |||
Salvadoran Civil War | 1980–1992 | 22 | 15 | 37 | 35 | 72 | |||
1982 Lebanon War | 1982–1984 | 256 | 10 | 266 | 169 | 435 | |||
Operation Earnest Will | 1987–1988 | 39 | 0 | 39 | 31 | 100 | |||
United States invasion of Grenada | 1983 | 18 | 1 | 19 | 119 | 138 | |||
1986 United States bombing of Libya | 1986 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |||
United States invasion of Panama | 1989 | 23 | 40 | 324 | 364 | ||||
Gulf War | 1990–1991 | 149 | 145 | 294 | 849 | 1,143 | 2 | ||
Operation Provide Comfort | 1991–1996 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 4 | 23 | |||
Operation Restore Hope | 1992–1993 | 29 | 14 | 43 | 153 | 196 | |||
Operation Uphold Democracy | 1994–1995 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | |||
Colombian conflict | 1994–present | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | ||||
Bosnian War | 1992–1995 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 12 | ||||
Kosovo War | 1998–1999 | 4 | 14 | 18 | N/A | 18+ | |||
War in Afghanistan | 2001-2021 | 1,910 | 415 | 2,325 | 20,093 | 22,311 | |||
Iraq War | 2003–2011 | 3,519 | 973 | 4,492 | 32,222 | 36,710 | 3 | ||
Operation Inherent Resolve | 2014–present | 16 | 60 | 76 | 81 | 157 | |||
Raid on Yakla | 2017 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||
Total | 1775–2019 | 666,441+ | 673,929+ | 1,354,664+ | 1,498,240+ | 2,852,901+ | 40,031+ |
Wars ranked by U.S. battle deaths
Rank | War | Years | Deaths |
---|---|---|---|
1 | World War II | 1941–1945 | 291,557 |
2 | American Civil War | 1861–1865 | 214,938 |
3 | World War I | 1917–1918 | 53,402 |
4 | Vietnam War | 1955–1975 | 47,434 |
5 | Korean War | 1950–1953 | 33,686 |
6 | American Revolutionary War | 1775–1783 | 8,000 |
7 | Iraq War | 2003–2011 | 4,424 |
8 | War of 1812 | 1812–1815 | 2,260 |
9 | War in Afghanistan | 2001–2021 | 1,833 |
10 | Mexican–American War | 1846–1848 | 1,733 |
Wars ranked by total number of U.S. military deaths
Rank | War | Years | Deaths | Deaths per day | U.S. population in first year of war |
Deaths as percentage of population |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | American Civil War | 1861–1865 | 655,000 (est.)(U.S./Confederate) | 449 | 31,443,000 | 2.083% (1860) |
2 | World War II | 1941–1945 | 405,399 | 297 | 133,402,000 | 0.307% (1940) |
3 | World War I | 1917–1918 | 116,516 | 200 | 103,268,000 | 0.110% (1920) |
4 | Vietnam War | 1961–1975 | 58,209 | 11 | 179,323,175 | 0.032% (1970) |
5 | Korean War | 1950–1953 | 36,574 | 30 | 151,325,000 | 0.024% (1950) |
6 | American Revolutionary War | 1775–1783 | 25,000 | 11 | 2,500,000 | 1.00% (1780) |
7 | War of 1812 | 1812–1815 | 15,000 | 15 | 8,000,000 | 0.207% (1810) |
8 | Mexican–American War | 1846–1848 | 13,283 | 29 | 21,406,000 | 0.057% (1850) |
9 | Iraq War | 2003–2011 | 4,576 | 2 | 294,043,000 | 0.002% (2010) |
10 | Philippine–American War | 1899–1902 | 4,196 | 3.8 | 72,129,001 | 0.006% (1900) |
11 | War in Afghanistan | 2001–2021 | 2,432 | 0.4 | 294,043,000 | 0.001% (2010) |
12 | Spanish–American War | 1898 | 2,246 | 9.6 | 62,022,250 | 0.004% (1890) |
"Deaths per day" is the total number of Americans killed in military service, divided by the number of days between the commencement and end of hostilities. "Deaths per population" is the total number of deaths in military service, divided by the U.S. population of the year indicated.