The war that decided the fate of the Union and ended slavery in America. Explore its causes, every major battle, the people who fought it, and the world it left behind.
How slavery, sectionalism, and a half-century of crises drove the nation to war.
Explore →An illustrated chronology of the war, 1861–1865 — from Fort Sumter to Appomattox.
Explore →Life on the home front, North and South, during four years of total war.
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The soldiers, leaders, and ordinary people who lived and fought through the conflict.
Explore →Biographies of the generals who fought to preserve the Union.
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Biographies of the commanders of the Confederate armies.
Explore →How the two economies mobilized — industry, cotton, blockade, and finance.
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The war at sea and on the rivers — ironclads, blockade, and gunboats.
Explore →The Black Americans whose intelligence work aided the Union cause.
Explore →A narrated overview of the conflict from secession to surrender.
Watch →Read the documents, letters, and firsthand accounts of the war.
Explore →Take HistoryCentral with you. Our apps put American history and centuries of the human story in your pocket.