They tried to count them, but they gave up!
In the Union army, there were the Bounty-jumpers - the bad Northern draft system effectively encouraged this.
The Confederates suffered endless desertions, partly because the poor white trash were naturally lawless people. But in the second half of the war, the Confederates were largely barefoot and starving. And Lee's army in Virginia included many regiments raised in Georgia. When these men heard about Sherman's March to the Sea, they felt they were needed at home, and they deserted, virtually 'en bloc'.
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disease
about 500 men per platoon fought in the war
5,873
They deserted the armies because they were afraid, hungry, or because of sickness.
The Mexican War (1846-48). Many men who were Civil War generals were junior officers in the Mexican War.