Question

Read the excerpt from The Dark Game: True Spy Stories from Invisible Ink to CIA Moles.

Yet, by the time Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses Grant at Appomattox, Virginia, some four years later, about 620,000 soldiers had died on the battlefields, more than American battle deaths in all other wars from the Revolution through the Vietnam War.

What is the author’s primary purpose for including this detail?

to inform readers about the differences between three military conflicts
to persuade readers of the seriousness of the American Civil War
to entertain readers with tales from behind the lines of battle
to encourage readers to visit battlegrounds in Appomattox, Virginia

Answer 1

to persuade readers of the seriousness of the American Civil War

The statistic (620,000 dead — more than in all other U.S. wars combined from the Revolution through Vietnam) emphasizes the war’s scale and severity, underscoring how devastating and significant the Civil War was.