American Civil War Overview

Fought 1861-1865, the American Civil War was the result of decades of sectional tensions between the North and South. Focused on slavery and states rights, these issues came to a head following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Over the next several months eleven southern states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. During...

The American Civil War was the result of a variety of causes ranging from slavery and states rights to industrialization and societal change. These, combined with the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, touched off the American Civil War.

The American Civil War first began when Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Following this attack, President Lincoln called for volunteer troops to put down the rebellion. The American Civil War began in earnest in July at the First Battle of Bull Run.

The first two years of the American Civil War in the east were marked by a string of Confederate victories and the rise of Robert E. Lee. The Union employed a succession of generals in numerous attempts to capture Richmond and achieve victory in the Civil War.

The early years of the American Civil War in the West focused on Union efforts to capture the Mississippi River. Unlike their counterparts in the East, the Union generals in the West won several key victories between 1861 and 1863.

The two victories at Gettysburg, PA and Vicksburg, MS, turned the Civil War in the Union's favor. Culminating within a day of each other, Gettysburg and Vicksburg respectively put Lee on the defensive in the East and opened the Mississippi in the West, paving the way for the South's ultimate defeat.

The American Civil War in the West between 1863 and 1865 was dominated by the Union. Following a defeat at Chickamauga, Union troops advanced capturing Atlanta and Savannah, before marching north into the Carolinas where the Civil War in the West ended at Durham Station.

The last two years of the American Civil War in the Eastern Theater were largely focused on the struggle between Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Beginning in May 1864, Grant launched the brutal Overland Campaign designed to capture Richmond and grind down Lee's army.