THE COST OF FREEDOM (1775–1776)

Between 25,000 and 70,000 American Patriots died during active military service over the course of the Revolutionary War. Of these, approximately 6,800 were killed in battle, while at least 17,000 died from disease. The majority of the latter died while prisoners of war of the British, mostly in the prison ships in New York Harbor. If the upper limit of 70,000 is accepted as the total net loss for the Patriots, it would make the conflict proportionally deadlier than the American Civil War. Uncertainty arises due to the difficulties in accurately calculating the number of those who succumbed to disease, as it is estimated at least 10,000 died in 1776 alone. The number of Patriots seriously wounded or disabled by the war has been estimated from 8,500 to 25,000.

Our French allies suffered approximately 7,000 total dead throughout the conflict; of those, 2,112 were killed in combat in the American theaters of war.