Some Civil War Facts

In honor of this weekend's Civil War Encampment at the Hayes Presidential Center's grounds, I thought I would share a few related facts. 

1. Ohio sent 313,180 to fight for the Union Cause. 

2. Only New York and Pennsylvania furnished more men to the Grand Army of the Republic than Ohio.

3. More Ohioans died from disease than were killed in battle. (19,365 died of disease and another 11,588 were killed or mortally wounded.) 

4. The deadliest disease for the Union Army (with more than 44,500 deaths) was diarrhea. 

5. The Union enacted a draft on March 3, 1863 for men between the ages of 18 and 45. Each state was given a quota of troops to fulfill. If the number of volunteers was sufficient to meet the quota then no one was drafted.

6. The Confederacy's first draft law was enacted on April 16, 1862, called the Conscription Act. All healthy white men between the ages of 18 and 35 for a three-year term of service. 

7. In September of 1862 the age limit was raised to 45 in the Confederate States 

8. In February of 1864, the Confederacy again extended the age range from 17 to 50.

9. The state where the most battles were fought was the state of Virginia, which was the site of 2,154 battles.

10. Approximately 30,000 Union soldiers died in Confederate prisons. 

11. Approximately 26,000 Confederate soldiers died in Union prisons. 

12. The 72 Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized in Fremont in the fall of 1861. 900 men left for Camp Chase on January 24, 1862. The following are those from the Regiment who died in Andersonville Prison.

Pvt. Alexander Almond 

Sgt. William Baumgartner 

Pvt. Simeon Blackman 

Pvt. Michael Burns

Pvt. Patrick Donohue 

Pvt. Eugene Frankenberg 

Pvt. John Gullenback

1st Sgt. Daniel I. Haggerty 

Cpl. Niles S. Haines

Pvt. William Hinton 

Pvt. Owen Hudnell 

Cpl. Edwin L. Hyde 

Sgt. Sherman A. Jackson

Pvt. Robert Kelvington 

Cpl. Martin S. Lochner 

Pvt. George W. Lowe

Pvt. Noble Perrin 

Cpl. Henry J. Potter 

Pvt. John Purcell 

Pvt. John H. Ross

Pvt. Conrad Sheller

Pvt. Henry Shook

Pvt. Platt Soper

Pvt. Solomon Stage 

Pvt. Martin J. Staner 

Cpl. Ferdinand Statler

Pvt. Warren Sturtevant

Pvt. Michael Weaver

Pvt. Luther Wentworth 

Pvt. Eli Whitaker 

Cpl. Andrew J. Zink

13. By 1864, Andersonville housed 33,000 prisoners. It was the fifth largest city in the South. 

14. The last battle of the Civil War took place at Palmito Ranch, Texas on May 13, 1865 — a month after Lee's surrender. The Confederate side won the encounter. 

Until Next Time … 

Note: Facts and Statistics were taken from the following Web sites: CJ's Civil War Home Page: (He lists his source as Atlas Editions; Civil War Cards) Shotgun's Home of the Civil War: The Civil War Home Page: http://www.civil-war.net/ http://www.udata.com/users/hsbaker/ohio72.htm PBS's The Civil War: Note this post first published online, October 5, 2007, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

©5 Oct 2007, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder