The numbers behind the war remain staggering even by modern standards - the conflict cost more American lives than any other.
Neither side of the American Civil War escaped struggle, loss and hardship. Beyond battlefield deaths, disease ran rampant in make-shift hospitals and prisons where scores would die from non-combat causes. Beyond the human price was the economical price which led to decades of recovery required, particularly for the battered industry of the South. With slavery abolished, the South would have to look to new ways to become financially viable once more - a mission left unfulfilled until the arrival of the 20th Century.
Populations:
Union: 18.5 million
Confederacy: 9 million (3.6 million slaves)
Border States: 2.5 million (500,000 slaves)
