The Civil War (1861-65) was fought between the Union and the Confederacy – respectively the free states in the North and the slave states in the South. The South comprised 11 states that wanted to secede from the United States, and from its president Abraham Lincoln.

The war began when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, and ended with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E Lee at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. The North’s victory preserved the Union and led to the abolition of slavery.

Amazing forts that shaped the American Civil War

Historic American maps show how the country developed