The American Civil War is a civil war of 1861-1865 between the Union of 20 states and 4 border slave states of the North, remaining in the Union, on the one hand, and the Confederation of 11 slave states of the South.
The fighting began with the shelling of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, and ended with the surrender of the remnants of the army of the Confederates under the command of General Stand Waitey on June 23, 1865. During the war, about 2 thousand small and large battles took place. More US citizens died in this war than in any other war in which the US participated, including World War II.