THE CIVIL WAR
The American Civil War was the most costly of American wars in
history. A savage war that split the country in half, the Civil War cost the
United States over 600,000 lives, and led to over 1,000,000 casualties. In many
instances the victors were the few left standing on the battlefield. Raging
through the country, it affected everyone in the U.S. and even other countries.
Abolishing slavery was accomplished at the highest price possible, the Civil
War.
In the spring of 1861, decades of simmering tensions between the northern and
southern United States over issues including states' rights versus federal
authority, westward expansion and slavery exploded into the American Civil War
(1861-65). The election of the anti-slavery Republican Abraham Lincoln as
president in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede from the Union to form
the Confederate States of America; four more joined them after the first shots
of the Civil War were fired. Four years of brutal conflict were marked by
historic battles at Bull Run (Manassas), Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg
and Vicksburg, among others.
By the time it ended in Confederate surrender in 1865, the Civil War
proved to be the costliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000
of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and the population and
territory of the South devastated.
history. A savage war that split the country in half, the Civil War cost the
United States over 600,000 lives, and led to over 1,000,000 casualties. In many
instances the victors were the few left standing on the battlefield. Raging
through the country, it affected everyone in the U.S. and even other countries.
Abolishing slavery was accomplished at the highest price possible, the Civil
War.
In the spring of 1861, decades of simmering tensions between the northern and
southern United States over issues including states' rights versus federal
authority, westward expansion and slavery exploded into the American Civil War
(1861-65). The election of the anti-slavery Republican Abraham Lincoln as
president in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede from the Union to form
the Confederate States of America; four more joined them after the first shots
of the Civil War were fired. Four years of brutal conflict were marked by
historic battles at Bull Run (Manassas), Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg
and Vicksburg, among others.
By the time it ended in Confederate surrender in 1865, the Civil War
proved to be the costliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000
of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and the population and
territory of the South devastated.