Blog #4: Revolution Article



Emanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware, one of the many Revolution paintings that neglected to show battle scenes.

1. Artwork depicting the American Revolution often neglects to show battle scenes, which contributes to the belief that the war was more violent than often perceived
2. 1 of every 4 Continental Army soldier died, while 1 of 5 regulars died in the Civil War
3. The percentage of Continental prisoners who died exceeded the percentage of Union troops who died in the Andersonville prison, and is comparable to the number of US soldiers who died in Japanese internment camps during WWII
4. Countless civilians also died during the Revolution from diseases spread by soldiers
5. 0.5% of the civilian population died of war causes in both the Civil War and the American Revolution

Abraham Lincoln

Like the American Revolution, the Civil War is also commonly misunderstood. The Revolution is misunderstood in terms of how violent it was, whereas the Civil War is misunderstood for why Abraham Lincoln chose to fight the war. Lincoln did not choose to fight the Civil War to end slavery, as is commonly believed. Rather, Lincoln chose to fight the war to prevent the southern states from seceding so the Union was preserved, which he believed was one of his duties as President.