Civil War Quiz

The American Civil War: A Nation Divided

The American Civil War (1861 - 1865) was the most destructive conflict in American history, claiming over 620,000 lives (by some estimates over 750,000) - More than all other American wars combined up to that point. The war's root cause was slavery and the question of whether it would be allowed to expand into new territories. Southern states (the Confederacy) seceded from the Union beginning with South Carolina in December 1860, following the election of Abraham Lincoln, whose Republican Party opposed the expansion of slavery. By February 1861, seven states had formed the Confederate States of America.

The war began at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces opened fire on a Union garrison. Key battles include First Bull Run (a Confederate victory that showed this would be a long war), Antietam (September 1862, the bloodiest single day in American military history), Gettysburg (July 1 - 3, 1863, the turning point of the war), and the Siege of Vicksburg (which gave the Union control of the Mississippi River). Try the American History Quiz for broader American history, or explore the Black History Quiz for the Civil Rights context.

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states free. The proclamation changed the war's character - From a war to restore the Union to a war to end slavery - And discouraged European powers from recognizing the Confederacy. Union General Ulysses S. Grant's relentless pressure eventually forced Confederate General Robert E. Lee to surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. Just five days later, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.