Purpose
If you have ever visited one of the Civil War National Battlefield Parks, you’ve seen the many markers and monuments that tell the story of the battle that occurred on this historic and hallowed land.
The goal of this website is to document all of the markers across the U.S. that tell the stories of the many battles
fought during the American Civil War. Some of the battlefields have been preserved and may have 100s of monuments, while others
have disappeared from memory and now lay under homes, businesses and the asphalt of our streets. These lost battlefields may be marked by one lone monument or historic
marker or be completely lost.
The goal of this site is to not only document all of the markers located on the National Battlefields but also those monuments that stand hidden on our city streets.
This site does not include the monuments that can be found in many city squares that are dedicated to all those that fought and served
during the American Civil War, but rather those monuments that are dedicated to specific
battles, whether that monument is located on a National Battlefield, along the roadside, or hidden on one of our city streets.
The American Civil War
The Battles of the American Civil War were fought between April 12, 1861, and May 12–13, 1865, in 23 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia), the District of Columbia, as well as the
following territories (Colorado Territory, Dakota Territory, Indian Territory (Oklahoma), New Mexico Territory (Arizona and New Mexico), and Washington Territory (Idaho). There were also several battles fought at sea. Thyere were no land battles fought in Maine, New York or Vermont, all of the actions in the state were at sea.
Are you a Civil War buff?
Do you enjoy exploring America’s Civil War battlefields, either preserved or hiding on our cities street? If you do, consider uploading your discoveries
to this site. Even if someone else beat you to the submission, you can still add a fresh photo, better directions, or some additional insight into the subject described.
What do you get in return? We’ll credit each submission by publishing your name on that page, unless, of course, you wish to remain anonymous.
You can add monuments yourself. It's easy! Check out the web page “How you can contribute to CWBFM” to get a feel for the layout
of the site. Then check the monument submission guidelines. Adding photos, links, battles, parks and books is easy.
Aftermath of the American Civil War
From: BBC News Magazine: Who, What, Why: How many soldiers died in the US Civil War? Published April 4, 2012
A study suggests a previously widely accepted death toll of the US Civil War may actually be way under the mark. How many did perish in this conflict, fought before the era of modern record-keeping and DNA identification?
... Some text omitted..
The Civil War ended in 1865 with the surrender of the southern or Confederate forces, to the Union army; slavery was officially abolished by constitutional amendment that year.
The war devastated the economy and society of the agrarian southern states where most of the fighting occurred, and killed so many Americans it was impossible directly to tally the dead.
" The Civil War left a culture of death, a culture of mourning, beyond anything Americans had ever experienced or imagined," says David Blight, a Civil War historian at Yale University.
" It left a degree of family and social devastation unprecedented for any Western society."
Full Article: BBC News: Who, What, Why: How many soldiers died in the US Civil War?
Honor all that have served
“Those who fell here — those who have fallen before or since — those who linger, yet a little longer, soon to follow; all are mustered into one great company.“
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Dedication of the 20 th Maine Monument, Gettysburg 1889
Honor our soldiers – past and present
Georgia Scenes
Georgia Scenes pictures 95 historic or unusual scenes in Georgia.  The first 56 images are of historic houses; many of them have never appeared in books and are well
off the standard tourist routes. Most are antebellum, built prior to 1865, with the earliest built prior to 1865. For more on this exciting and well photographed book, see
Georgia Scenes.
Statistics
Initial issue: Version 1.0.0 - June 1, 2014
Version 2.0.0.0 issued May 14, 2017
Current Version 2.3.2.0
Number of monuments | 904 |
Number of battles | 18 |
Number of cannons | 31 |
Number of parks | 7 |
Number of books | 18 |
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The Battlefield Sites
There were 384 principal battles during the Civil War fought in 26 states. The states where fifteen or more battles took place are:
Virginia (123), Tennessee (38), Missouri (29), Georgia (28), Louisiana (23), North Carolina (20), Arkansas (17), and Mississippi (16).
Source: CWSAC Battle Summary - The Battlefield Sites
Though the number of killed and wounded in the Civil War is not known precisely, most sources agree that the total number killed was between 640,000 and 700,000.
American Battlefields Trust: Civil War Casualties
PBS: The Civil War By the Numbers
Strength |
| Union | Confederate |
| 2,100,000 | 1,064,000 |
Casualties |
| Union | Confederate |
Killed in action | 67,088 | 72,524 |
Mortally wounded | 43,012 | 21,476 |
Total dead as the result of battle | 110,100 | 94,000 |
Died of disease | 224,580 | 164,000 |
Died as prisoners of war | 30,192 | 31,000 |
All Other causes | 24,881 | - |
Total dead | 389,753 | 289,000 |
Wounded in action | 275,175 | 194,026 |
Total killed and wounded |
| Union | Confederate |
| 664,928 31.66% | 483,026 45.39% |
• Not all sources agree with the above statistics.
Sources: Civil War Statistics - "Army Casualties" - Not available
Metapedia - "American Civil War" - - Not available
Both sites orginally used to build this table are no Longer available.
Comparison of Union and CSA, 1860
|
Union |
CSA |
Population |
22,100,000 (71%) |
9,100,000 (29%) |
Free |
21,700,000 (81%) |
5,600,000 (19%) |
Slave |
400,000 (11%) |
3,500,000 (89%) |
Soldiers |
2,100,000 (67%) |
1,064,000 (33%) |
Railroad miles |
21,800 (71%) |
8,800 (29%) |
Manufacturers’ |
90% |
10% |
Arms production |
97% |
3% |
Exports |
30% |
70% |
Source: Wikipedia - American Civil War
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Resources
NPS
Battlefields
Cannons
Regiments
Official Records
Maps
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