Martin Van Buren Bates is often cited as the tallest soldier on record. Standing at 7 feet 9 inches (2.36 m) tall, Bates served in the Confederate States Army, joining the 5th Kentucky Infantry when the war broke out.
This guy was around 475 pounds. Born in Kentucky in 1837, Bates served in the 5th Kentucky Infantry, rising to the rank of captain. His height was well-documented, and he, too, became a circus performer post-war, often alongside his equally tall wife, Anna Haining Swan.
It really is a testament to how inaccurate civil war weapons really were.
So consider this...
The average height of a Civil War soldier was about 5 feet 8 inches for Union soldiers and slightly less, around 5 feet 7 inches, for Confederate soldiers. Weight averaged approximately 143 pounds for Union soldiers and around 140 pounds for Confederates, though these figures varied due to malnutrition, disease, and inconsistent record-keeping. Data comes from military records and studies like those by historian Benjamin Gould, who analyzed Union soldiers’ physical stats.
Some real David and Goliath shit. I wonder how he would have been remembered in an era before gunpowder. Put that man in armor and you've created a human tank of the time. Giants indeed.
Martin Van Buren Bates is often cited as the tallest soldier on record. Standing at 7 feet 9 inches (2.36 m) tall, Bates served in the Confederate States Army, joining the 5th Kentucky Infantry when the war broke out.
This guy was around 475 pounds. Born in Kentucky in 1837, Bates served in the 5th Kentucky Infantry, rising to the rank of captain. His height was well-documented, and he, too, became a circus performer post-war, often alongside his equally tall wife, Anna Haining Swan.
It really is a testament to how inaccurate civil war weapons really were.
So consider this...
>The average height of a Civil War soldier was about 5 feet 8 inches for Union soldiers and slightly less, around 5 feet 7 inches, for Confederate soldiers. Weight averaged approximately 143 pounds for Union soldiers and around 140 pounds for Confederates, though these figures varied due to malnutrition, disease, and inconsistent record-keeping. Data comes from military records and studies like those by historian Benjamin Gould, who analyzed Union soldiers’ physical stats.
Some real David and Goliath shit. I wonder how he would have been remembered in an era before gunpowder. Put that man in armor and you've created a human tank of the time. Giants indeed.
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