Civil War fun facts: April 10th, 2015
For the next round of fact-a-day, we’ll be covering the Civil War!
1: The oldest soldier in the Civil War was 80 years old, and the youngest was 9.
2: The odds of a soldier surviving the war was about 1 in 4.
3: Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, and Rutherford B. Hayes all fought in the war.
4: The average soldier was 23 years old, weighed 143 pounds, and was 5 feet 8 inches tall.
5: Almost all soldiers marched 15-20 miles a day.
6: The first state to secede from the Union was South Carolina. It seceded on December 20th, 1860
7: The Battle of Gettysburg was the largest battle ever fought in North America.
8: There were approximately 60,ooo partial or complete amputations during the war.
9: The national divorce rate went up 150% percent in the 20 years after the war.
10: The body of a Union soldier was found in Antietam, Maryland in 2008.