List of costliest American Civil War land battles

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.[upper-alpha 1]

Highest casualty battles

Battle Campaign Date Nearest Town
Union

Confederacy
Total
Strength Commander Casualties
Gettysburg Gettysburg Campaign July 13, 1863 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 93,921 71,699 George G. Meade Robert E. Lee 23,055 23,231 46,286
Chickamauga Chickamauga Campaign September 1920, 1863 Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia 60,000 65,000 William Rosecrans Braxton Bragg 16,170 18,454 34,624
Spotsylvania Court House Overland Campaign May 821, 1864 Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia 100,000 52,000 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 18,399 13,421 31,820
Chancellorsville Chancellorsville Campaign May 14, 1863 Chancellorsville, Virginia 133,868 60,892 Joseph Hooker Robert E. Lee 17,197 13,303 30,500
The Wilderness Overland Campaign May 57, 1864 Locust Grove, Virginia 101,895 61,025 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 17,666 11,125 28,791
Stones River
(Murfreesboro)
Stones River Campaign December 31, 1862  January 2, 1863 Murfreesboro, Tennessee 41,400 35,000 William Rosecrans Braxton Bragg 12,906 11,739 24,645
Shiloh
(Pittsburg Landing)
Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers April 67, 1862 Shiloh, Tennessee 66,812 44,699 Ulysses S. Grant Albert Sidney Johnston 13,047 10,699 23,746
Antietam
(Sharpsburg)
Maryland Campaign September 17, 1862 Sharpsburg, Maryland 75,500 38,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 12,401 10,316 22,717
2nd Bull Run
(2nd Manassas)
Northern Virginia Campaign August 2930, 1862 Manassas, Virginia 62,000 50,000 John Pope Robert E. Lee 10,000 8,300 18,300
Fredericksburg Fredericksburg Campaign December 1115, 1862 Fredericksburg, Virginia 114,000 72,500 Ambrose Burnside Robert E. Lee 12,653 5,377 18,030
Cold Harbor Overland Campaign May 31 June 12, 1864 Mechanicsville, Virginia 108,000 59,000 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 12,737 4,595 17,332
2nd Petersburg Richmond–Petersburg Campaign June 1518, 1864 Petersburg, Virginia 62,000 38,000 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 11,386 4,000 15,386
Gaines's Mill Peninsula Campaign June 27, 1862 Mechanicsville, Virginia 34,214 57,018 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 6,837 7,993 14,830
Missionary Ridge Chattanooga Campaign November 25, 1863 Chattanooga, Tennessee 56,359 44,010 Ulysses S. Grant Braxton Bragg 5,824 6,667 12,491
Atlanta Atlanta Campaign July 22, 1864 Atlanta, Georgia 34,863 40,438 William T. Sherman John Bell Hood 3,641 8,499 12,140
Seven Pines
(Fair Oaks)
Peninsula Campaign May 31 June 1, 1862 Mechanicsville, Virginia 34,000 39,000 George B. McClellan Joseph E. Johnston 5,031 6,134 11,165
Nashville Franklin–Nashville Campaign December 1516, 1864 Nashville, Tennessee 55,000 30,000 George H. Thomas John Bell Hood 3,061 6,000 9,061
Cedar Creek Sheridan's Valley Campaign October 19, 1864 Middletown, Virginia 31,610 21,102 Philip Sheridan Jubal Early 5,764 2,910 8,674
Opequon Sheridan's Valley Campaign September 19, 1864 Winchester, Virginia 40,000 12,000 Philip Sheridan Jubal Early 5,020 3,610 8,630
Franklin Franklin-Nashville Campaign November 30, 1864 Franklin, Tennessee 27,000 27,000 John M. Schofield John Bell Hood 2,326 6,252 8,578
Malvern Hill Peninsula Campaign July 1, 1862 Varina, Virginia 54,000 55,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 2,100 5,650 7,750
3rd Petersburg Richmond-Petersburg Campaign April 2, 1865 Petersburg, Virginia 76,113 58,400 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 3,500 4,250 7,750
Perryville Kentucky Campaign October 8, 1862 Perryville, Kentucky 22,000 16,000 Don Carlos Buell Braxton Bragg 4,276 3,401 7,677
Glendale Peninsula Campaign June 30, 1862 Varina, Virginia 40,000 45,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 3,797 3,673 7,470
2nd Corinth Iuka and Corinth Operations October 34, 1862 Corinth, Mississippi 23,000 22,000 William S. Rosecrans Earl Van Dorn 2,520 4,233 6,753
Peachtree Creek Atlanta Campaign July 20, 1864 Atlanta, Georgia 21,655 20,250 George H. Thomas John Bell Hood 1,710 4,796 6,506
Champion Hill Vicksburg Campaign May 16, 1863 Edwards, Mississippi 32,000 22,000 Ulysses S. Grant John C. Pemberton 2,457 3,840 6,297
Richmond, Kentucky Kentucky Campaign August 2930, 1862 Richmond, Kentucky 6,850 6,500 William "Bull" Nelson Edmund K. Smith 5,353 451 5,804
The Crater Richmond-Petersburg Campaign July 30, 1864 Petersburg, Virginia 8,500 6,100 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 3,798 1,491 5,289
Fort Stedman Richmond-Petersburg Campaign March 25, 1865 Petersburg, Virginia 14,898 10,000 John G. Parke John B. Gordon 1,044 4,000 5,044
South Mountain Maryland Campaign September 14, 1862 Boonsboro, Maryland 28,000 18,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 2,325 2,685 5,010
1st Bull Run
(1st Manassas)
Manassas Campaign July 21, 1861 Manassas, Virginia 35,000 34,000 Irvin McDowell P. G. T. Beauregard 2,896 1,982 4,878

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.

See also

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