4. American Civil War 1861-1865
The American Civil War began on April 14, 1861. South Carolina and its wealthy plantation owners led the charge of secession. After rebel forces fired upon Fort Sumner, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and North Carolina reluctantly joined Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas to form the Confederate States of America (CSA). The border states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri precariously remained in the Union but had stars on the Confederate flag. Yet, just because a state seceded did not mean that all of its citizens agreed. The very personal ideological debate over slavery and states rights created divides between friends, neighbors, and families.
Technology was the only winner during the war. Guns became more accurate with corkscrewed barrels that allowed bullets to spin. Southern women broke out of their forced lady-like roles and became field nurses that provided medical care to wounded men on the battlefields. Plantation and farm buildings became army headquarters and hospitals while farmland was turned into mass graves and cemeteries in the aftermath of battle. Near the end of the war, the Armies began using trench warfare as a new tactic to force surrender.
The devastation caused by the war cannot be understated, particularly for civilians. Millions of women and children were forced from their homes when armies scorched their crops, stole their livestock, confiscated family treasures, and burned their barns and houses. The bloodiest day of the war was September 17, 1862, when over 22,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing at the Battle of Antietam.
In a last-ditch act for victory, the CSA offered slaves their freedom if they fought against the Union. After four years of war, over 620,000 soldiers were dead, millions of civilians had been killed, wounded, or forced to leave their homes.
Check this out: 40 Disturbing Photographs from the Battlefields of the Civil War