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1861-1865 marks the years of the American Civil War, a major conflict in the United States between the Union and the Confederate States that had seceded from the Union. The war began when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861, and ended with the surrender of the principal Confederate armies in 1865, most famously at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

The belligerents were the United States (the Union) and the Confederate States of America, formed by secessionist states. Core issues included the preservation of the United States as a single nation and the institution of slavery and its expansion into new territories and states. The Confederacy fought for independence, while the Union aimed to reunify the nation and, in practice, to end slavery in areas under rebel control.

Major campaigns and events included the First Battle of Bull Run (1861), the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863), and pivotal Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg (both in 1863). The war continued through 1864 and 1865, with campaigns such as Sherman’s March to the Sea and the Virginia offensives, ultimately leading to Confederate capitulation.

Consequences were substantial, including a high toll of military and civilian casualties, with estimates ranging from 620,000 to 750,000 deaths. Slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment, ratified in December 1865. The period was followed by Reconstruction, which sought to redefine the political and social structure of the former Confederate states and the nation as a whole.