Estimate on the overall death during the civil war.

Last summer there was an interesting thread about new estimations for the overall death toll during the American Civil War, at H-net.org.  According to one individual in the discussion, the topic has been discussed and explored several times over the years, most notable in January of 2001.
http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-civwar&month=1204&week=c&msg=vkSmIBiRaDFBd9fCGgN2zg&user=&pw=
One of the main issues with determining the overall death toll during the war was estimating the number based on different demographics, using different methods, such as enlisted men, civilian women aged 18-40, freed blacks, slaves, etc.  Several individuals in the discussion believed that the death toll is often over exaggered or misreported because historians appear to have an unusual fetish with death and misery, especially concerning death in the American Civil War.