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.[A]

Highest casualty battles

Battle Campaign Date Nearest town Total
Union
Confederacy 		Total Total
Strength Commander Casualties Casualties as % of Strength
Gettysburg Gettysburg campaign July 1–3, 1863 Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 93,921 71,699 165,620 George G. Meade Robert E. Lee 23,049 28,063 51,112 24.54% 39.14% 30.86%
Chickamauga Chickamauga campaign September 19–20, 1863 Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia 60,000 65,000 125,000 William Rosecrans Braxton Bragg 16,173 18,450 34,624 26.95% 28.38% 27.70%
Spotsylvania Court House Overland Campaign May 8–21, 1864 Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia 100,000 52,000 152,000 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 18,399 12,687 31,086 18.40% 24.40% 20.45%
Chancellorsville Chancellorsville campaign May 1–4, 1863 Chancellorsville, Virginia 133,868 60,298 194,166 Joseph Hooker Robert E. Lee 17,197 13,303 30,500 12.85% 22.06% 15.71%
The Wilderness Overland Campaign May 5–7, 1864 Locust Grove, Virginia 101,895 61,025 162,920 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 17,666 11,033 28,699 17.34% 18.08% 17.62%
Stones River
(Murfreesboro) 		Stones River campaign December 31, 1862 – January 2, 1863 Murfreesboro, Tennessee 41,400 35,000 76,400 William Rosecrans Braxton Bragg 12,906 11,739 24,645 31.17% 33.54% 32.26%
Shiloh
(Pittsburg Landing) 		Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers April 6–7, 1862 Shiloh, Tennessee 66,812 44,699 111,511 Ulysses S. Grant Albert Sidney Johnston 13,047 10,699 23,746 19.53% 23.94% 21.29%
Antietam
(Sharpsburg) 		Maryland campaign September 17, 1862 Sharpsburg, Maryland 75,500 38,000 113,500 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 12,401 10,316 22,717 16.43% 27.15% 20.01%
2nd Bull Run
(2nd Manassas) 		Northern Virginia campaign August 29–30, 1862 Manassas, Virginia 62,000 50,000 112,000 John Pope Robert E. Lee 10,000 8,300 18,300 16.13% 16.60% 16.34%
Fredericksburg Fredericksburg campaign December 11–15, 1862 Fredericksburg, Virginia 114,000 72,500 186,500 Ambrose Burnside Robert E. Lee 12,653 5,377 18,030 11.10% 7.42% 9.67%
Cold Harbor Overland Campaign May 31 – June 12, 1864 Mechanicsville, Virginia 108,000 59,000 167,000 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 12,737 4,595 17,332 11.79% 7.79% 10.38%
2nd Petersburg Richmond–Petersburg campaign June 15–18, 1864 Petersburg, Virginia 62,000 38,000 100,000 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 11,386 4,000 15,386 18.36% 10.53% 15.39%
Gaines's Mill Peninsula campaign June 27, 1862 Mechanicsville, Virginia 34,214 57,018 91,232 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 6,837 7,993 14,830 19.98% 14.02% 16.26%
Missionary Ridge Chattanooga campaign November 25, 1863 Chattanooga, Tennessee 56,359 44,010 100,369 Ulysses S. Grant Braxton Bragg 5,824 6,667 12,491 10.33% 15.15% 12.45%
Atlanta Atlanta campaign July 22, 1864 Atlanta, Georgia 34,863 40,438 75,301 William T. Sherman John Bell Hood 3,641 8,499 12,140 10.44% 21.02% 16.12%
Seven Pines
(Fair Oaks) 		Peninsula campaign May 31 – June 1, 1862 Mechanicsville, Virginia 34,000 39,000 73,000 George B. McClellan Joseph E. Johnston 5,031 6,134 11,165 14.80% 15.73% 15.29%
Nashville Franklin–Nashville campaign December 15–16, 1864 Nashville, Tennessee 55,000 30,000 85,000 George H. Thomas John Bell Hood 3,061 6,000 9,061 5.57% 20.00% 10.66%
Opequon (3rd Winchester) Sheridan's Valley campaign September 19, 1864 Winchester, Virginia 40,000 15,514 55,514 Philip Sheridan Jubal Early 5,020 4,015 9,035 12.55% 25.88% 16.28%
Cedar Creek Sheridan's Valley campaign October 19, 1864 Middletown, Virginia 31,610 21,102 52,712 Philip Sheridan Jubal Early 5,764 2,910 8,674 18.23% 13.79% 16.46%
Franklin Franklin–Nashville campaign November 30, 1864 Franklin, Tennessee 27,000 27,000 54,000 John M. Schofield John Bell Hood 2,326 6,252 8,578 8.61% 23.16% 15.89%
Malvern Hill Peninsula campaign July 1, 1862 Varina, Virginia 54,000 55,000 109,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 2,100 5,650 7,750 3.89% 10.27% 7.11%
3rd Petersburg Richmond-Petersburg campaign April 2, 1865 Petersburg, Virginia 76,113 58,400 134,513 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 3,500 4,250 7,750 4.60% 7.28% 5.76%
Perryville Kentucky campaign October 8, 1862 Perryville, Kentucky 22,000 16,000 38,000 Don Carlos Buell Braxton Bragg 4,276 3,401 7,677 19.44% 21.26% 20.20%
Glendale Peninsula campaign June 30, 1862 Varina, Virginia 40,000 45,000 85,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 3,797 3,673 7,470 9.49% 8.16% 8.79%
2nd Corinth Iuka and Corinth Operations October 3–4, 1862 Corinth, Mississippi 23,000 22,000 45,000 William S. Rosecrans Earl Van Dorn 2,520 4,233 6,753 10.96% 19.24% 15.01%
Peachtree Creek Atlanta campaign July 20, 1864 Atlanta, Georgia 21,655 20,250 41,905 George H. Thomas John Bell Hood 1,710 4,796 6,506 7.90% 23.68% 15.53%
Champion Hill Vicksburg campaign May 16, 1863 Edwards, Mississippi 32,000 22,000 54,000 Ulysses S. Grant John C. Pemberton 2,457 3,840 6,297 7.68% 17.45% 11.66%
The Crater Richmond-Petersburg campaign July 30, 1864 Petersburg, Virginia 8,500 6,100 14,600 Ulysses S. Grant Robert E. Lee 3,798 1,491 5,289 44.68% 24.44% 36.23%
Fort Stedman Richmond-Petersburg campaign March 25, 1865 Petersburg, Virginia 14,898 10,000 24,898 John G. Parke John B. Gordon 1,044 4,000 5,044 7.01% 40.00% 20.26%
South Mountain Maryland campaign September 14, 1862 Boonsboro, Maryland 28,000 18,000 46,000 George B. McClellan Robert E. Lee 2,325 2,685 5,010 8.30% 14.92% 10.89%
1st Bull Run
(1st Manassas) 		Manassas campaign July 21, 1861 Manassas, Virginia 35,000 34,000 69,000 Irvin McDowell P. G. T. Beauregard 2,896 1,982 4,878 8.27% 5.83% 7.07%

See also

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.
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