The American Civil War was fought between 1861-1865 between the Union (Northern states loyal to the U.S. government) and the Confederacy (Southern states that seceded from the Union to uphold slavery). The war began after Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina following Abraham Lincoln's election. Over four years of intense combat that killed over 600,000 soldiers, the Union defeated the Confederacy after General Robert E. Lee surrendered in 1865. The conclusion of the war abolished slavery and initiated Reconstruction to restore national unity and grant freed slaves civil rights across the country.

1. The American Civil War (also knownby
other names) was a war fought in the
United States (U.S.) from 1861 to
1865.[c] The Civil War is the most studied
and written about episode in U.S.
history.[15]
Largely as a result of the long-standing
controversy over the enslavement of
blacks, war broke out in April 1861, when
secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter
in South Carolina, shortly after United
States President Abraham Lincoln was
inaugurated. The loyalists of the Union in
the North proclaimed support for the
Constitution. They faced secessionists of
the Confederate States in the South, who
advocated for states' rights to uphold
slavery.

2. Among the 34 United states in February
1861, seven Southern slave states
individually declaredtheir secession from
the country to form the Confederate
States of America. The Confederacy grew
to include eleven slave states. The
Confederacy was never diplomatically
recognized by the United States
government, nor was it recognized by any
foreigncountry.[d] The states that
remained loyal to the U.S. were known as
the Union.[e]
The Union and Confederacy quickly raised
volunteer and conscriptionarmies that
fought mostly in the South over the
course of four years. Intense combat left
620,000 to 750,000 people dead, more

3. than the number of U.S. military deaths in
all other warscombined.[f]
The Union finally won the war when
General Robert E. Lee surrendered to
General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of
Appomattox Court House, followed with a
series of surrendersby Confederate
generals throughout the southern states.
Much of the South's infrastructure was
destroyed, especially the transportation
systems. The Confederacy collapsed,
slavery was abolished, and 4 million
black slaves were freed.
The Reconstruction Era (1863–1877)
overlapped and followedthe war, with the
processof restoring national unity,
strengthening the national government,

4. and grantingcivil rights to freed black
slaves throughout the country.