Civil War

The Civil War is a very well-known war.  It probably was the low point of American History.  More Americans died during this war than in any other.   This war was all about slavery and States rights.  To read more interesting facts, continue with this page.  I guarantee you will learn a lot!

Before 1861, Africans were brought to the United States to be slaves.   The Northern States wanted to abolish slavery, but the Southern States did not.   In 1861, the United States went to war over this issue and many others.   Abraham Lincoln was elected President.  The Southern States broke away from the Northern States and became The Confederate States Of America.  The Confederate States elected Jefferson Davis as their President.  Both Lincoln and Davis were born in Kentucky.

The war began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate States opened fire using fifty canons at Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina.  The Civil War had begun.   The Battle of Gettysburg was a famous battle fought during the Civil War.   Some leading war generals of the North included Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman.  Southern generals included Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.  As you know, armies all have different uniforms.  The Union army war a dark color of blue.  The Confederate army war grey.

The war ended in May of 1865.  The Union captured Jefferson Davis on May 11, 1865.  A month before, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.  Later in May, the remaining Confederate forces surrendered.  The Confederate army had only 50,000 soldiers left.  Half the deaths during the war were caused by disease.  As a result of the Civil War the United States added the 13th amendment to the constitution which abolished slavery throughout the United States.

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