American Civil War

(1861-65) Military conflict between the slave-owning American south (the breakaway Confederate States of America) and the free industrialized north (fighting to preserve the Union). The north had greater industrial strength but the south had superior generalship. After 1863 the tide turned; under the command of Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman, the northern armies overran the south, forcing the Confederates to surrender in 1865. More than 720,000 soldiers died. The emancipation of the slaves created a social revolution.