Our perceptions of wars are pushed and pulled by myriad forces—their causes, their outcomes, their places in our national narrative, etc. But on the level of the individual, which was the deadliest? Nicholas Hobbes' Essential Militaria breaks down the stats for eleven historic conflicts:

• War of Independence: 2 percent (1 in 50)

• War of 1812: 0.8 percent (1 in 127)

• Indian Wars: 0.9 percent (1 in 106)

• Mexican War: 2.2 percent (1 in 45)

• Civil War: 6.7 percent (1 in 15)

• Spanish-American War: 0.1 percent (1 in 798)

• World War I: 1.1 percent (1 in 89)

• World War II: 1.8 percent (1 in 56)

• Korean War: 0.6 percent (1 in 171)

• Vietnam War: 0.5 percent (1 in 185)

• Persian Gulf War: 0.03 percent (1 in 3,162)


I'm not trying to fight in any war, but if you strapped me in a time machine and made me pick one, I guess I'd go with the Spanish-American War. As long as I don't have to be in Teddy Roosevelt's regiment. [Geekosystem]