The American civil war was a military conflict between the United States of America (the Union) and the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy) from 1861 to 1865(Encarta 1997 Encyclopedia).

It was 4 years of hell for the whole of America as the war turned brother against brother. It began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate General P.G.T Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, and lasted until May 26, 1865, when the last Confederate army surrendered (Colliers Encyclopedia, 1988, book 5 Pg 216). The war took more than 600,000 lives, destroyed property valued at $5 billion, brought freedom to 4 million black slaves, and opened wounds that have not yet completely healed more than 125 years later (Encarta 1997 Encyclopedia).

The main cause of the Civil War was slavery. Southern states, including t

5. http://www.tulane.edu/~latner/Aftermath/AApr14_1865.html

1. "Civil War, American," Microsoftc Encartac 97 Encyclopedia. c 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Anderson, now sixty years old, had retired because of poor health. He spoke a few words as he raised the tattered flag he had taken with him four years before. The fort barely resembled the structure he had abandoned; intense Union bombardment had reduced much of it to rubble and debris. There were speeches, music, and a prolonged salute of guns, this time without incident, and the ceremony concluded (http://www.tulane.edu/~latner/Aftermath/AApr14_1865.html).

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