The American Civil War

The Civil War was a fight between the Union which was led by George Brinton McClellan, and the Confederate States of America, which were led by Joseph E. Johnston. More than 3 million Americans fought and 2 percent died in it from 1861 to 1865.

This war was the most important event in the life of the nation. It was the watershed of a new political and economic order and it saw the end of slavery and the downfall of a southern planter aristocracy.

What began as a dispute over Union and States' Rights, ended as a struggle over the meaning of freedom in America. At Gettysburg in 1863, Abraham Lincoln made an important speech to honour the fallen soldiers from the fight at Gettysburg.