Given the great number of animals that were used, with many being killed during the war, we might expect the overall numbers to fall. But the Census of 1870 showed that the number of horses in the United States rose from 6,249,174 in 1860 to 7,145,370 in 1870. The number of mules and asses fell somewhat, from 1,151,148 in 1860 to 1,125,415 in 1870. The number of milch cows rose from 8,585,735 in 1860 to 8,935,332 in 1870, but the number of working oxen fell considerably, from 2,254,911 in 1860 to 1,319,271 in 1870.