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Nov. 12th, 2009 11:05 pmI'm reading an article on Arlington Cemetary (which article is quite fascinating, and which I will address itself later), and it mentions just briefly in passing that in in the month of Grant's 1864 offensive that resulted in the battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Petersburg, the USA and CSA suffered 82,000 casualties.
In one month.
The US has suffered 31,557 wounded and 4.362 dead in Iraq since the invasion in 2003. In Afghanistan, 4,434 US servicemembers have been wounded since 2001 and 918 killed.
In other words, in eight years of war in two countries, the United States has taken roughly the same losses that the US Army alone (setting aside our Confederate brothers) took in ONE MONTH of combat in the Civil War.
Just a reminder: our population today is 304 million. In 1864, it was around 31 million. We have nearly ten times as many people today as we did then.
As always when I am struck by these sorts of numbers, I am not meaning by any means to denigrate the loss of any man or woman serving in our armed forces today. Every life is precious, especially those of people who are willing to go into harm's way for our country.
No, I am more struck by how irresolute and easily cowed I feel as if our country is today.
On D-Day alone, over 6,600 US personnel were killed or wounded. In the Second Battle of the Marne in 1917, in three weeks, the American Expeditionary Force took over 12,000 casualties. Recently the news media were wringing their hands because the US lost (I think it was) 14 soldiers and airmen in one week, repeating over and over again that it was the most grievous loss we had suffered in that campaign. Yes, that's true. It's also infinitesimal compared to actual losses we have taken in real wars. Those are 14 deaths that are tragic, 14 lives that can never be lived out and fully shared with their families and friends. But there's also a sense of proportion that I feel has been lost, a sense of understanding that I think seems to have passed.
We are at war. We are fighting enemies that, quite seriously, wish our destruction and will do everything in their considerable, if asymmetric power, to carry it out. Why do we think this will be cheap and easy? Why are we so willing to shrink from a loss that, devastating as it is individually, is so little compared to what we have withstood in other causes when we were, arguably, less threatened?
In one month.
The US has suffered 31,557 wounded and 4.362 dead in Iraq since the invasion in 2003. In Afghanistan, 4,434 US servicemembers have been wounded since 2001 and 918 killed.
In other words, in eight years of war in two countries, the United States has taken roughly the same losses that the US Army alone (setting aside our Confederate brothers) took in ONE MONTH of combat in the Civil War.
Just a reminder: our population today is 304 million. In 1864, it was around 31 million. We have nearly ten times as many people today as we did then.
As always when I am struck by these sorts of numbers, I am not meaning by any means to denigrate the loss of any man or woman serving in our armed forces today. Every life is precious, especially those of people who are willing to go into harm's way for our country.
No, I am more struck by how irresolute and easily cowed I feel as if our country is today.
On D-Day alone, over 6,600 US personnel were killed or wounded. In the Second Battle of the Marne in 1917, in three weeks, the American Expeditionary Force took over 12,000 casualties. Recently the news media were wringing their hands because the US lost (I think it was) 14 soldiers and airmen in one week, repeating over and over again that it was the most grievous loss we had suffered in that campaign. Yes, that's true. It's also infinitesimal compared to actual losses we have taken in real wars. Those are 14 deaths that are tragic, 14 lives that can never be lived out and fully shared with their families and friends. But there's also a sense of proportion that I feel has been lost, a sense of understanding that I think seems to have passed.
We are at war. We are fighting enemies that, quite seriously, wish our destruction and will do everything in their considerable, if asymmetric power, to carry it out. Why do we think this will be cheap and easy? Why are we so willing to shrink from a loss that, devastating as it is individually, is so little compared to what we have withstood in other causes when we were, arguably, less threatened?
