The American Civil War was one of the deadliest, bloodiest wars America has ever fought. A civil war is when a country turns against itself and goes to war. America was split down the middle; the North and the South.
The Southern citizens of America had different culture than the North, and the new president of the South, Jefferson Davis, said they needed to fight for their culture and lives. They renamed themselves the "Confederacy" and receded from America.
The rest of America, led by president Abraham Lincoln, called themselves the Union, and knew that they would have to fight. But Lincoln also knew that the Confederacy had advantage, since they had better generals with more experience. Also, they had slaves that could keep them thriving while they battled.
At first, the Union and the Confederacy had varieties of clothing as their uniform, but this was confusing on the battlefield. Soldiers often shot at men on their side. Eventually, both sides adopted official uniforms; the Confederacy wore grey shirts, pants and caps, and the Union wore them blue.
After realizing his disadvantage, Lincoln made the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in the Confederacy. Since the slaves weren't citizens of America, they were still under the control of the Union. Slaves came rushing to the North to fight for the people who freed them. Slavery in the Union had already been abolished.
With the end of the war turning in the Union's favor (thanks to the slaves), Jefferson Davis realized that they couldn't go on any farther without losing many, many, many more soldiers. Robert E. Lee finally surrendered the last army after about four years of fighting.
America sealed itself back together after that, hoping they would never have to battle in such a bloody war ever again. Today, we live as one country in peace, and as one of the greatest countries in the world.
Comments