Memory Monday: How Far Was a Mile in the 1860s?

My Great-Grandfather in the Civil War

HOW FAR WAS A MILE IN THE CIVIL WAR?

Until recently, I always that a mile was a set distance. And then I found an interesting item in a book, The Ready Advisor and Family Guide  from 1866—the year after the American Civil War ended. Now before you look at the information below, think about the people living in America leading up to the Civil War. They were from lots of different countries. I just didn’t realize that measurements were different in many of those countries. Just think— if a scout (or whatever they were called) reported that the enemy was five miles ahead, but he was from Sweden, and he was reporting to someone who had recently emigrated from Scotland, and that man sent word to someone whose family had come from England years before. Where would the enemy be?

To better understand what I am saying, look at the chart below. It is from the book I mentioned above.

MILE.—The following exhibit of the number of yards contained in a mile in different countries, will often prove a matter of useful reference to readers:

A mile in England or America,   1760 yards.

Russia,                                  1100    "

Italy,                                                1476      "

Scotland and Ireland,              2200     "

Poland,                                  4400    "

Spain,                                                5028      "

Germany,                                         5066      "

Sweden and Denmark,              7228     "

Hungary,                                 8800    "

Now you have a better idea what I was trying to describe. Oh, the confusion that could cause. Hmm, I wonder if it is the same today, or if a mile is the same distance in all the countries. No wait—a mile is a mile in America, all the rest use kilometers, don’t they?