<P> The Union and Confederacy quickly raised volunteer and conscription armies that fought mostly in the South over four years . The Union finally won the war when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House , followed by a series of surrenders by Confederate generals throughout the southern states . Four years of intense combat left 620,000 to 750,000 people dead , more than the number of U.S. military deaths in all other wars combined ( at least until approximately the Vietnam War ) . Much of the South 's infrastructure was destroyed , especially the transportation systems , railroads , mills , and houses . The Confederacy collapsed , slavery was abolished , and 4 million slaves were freed . The Reconstruction Era ( 1863 -- 1877 ) overlapped and followed the war , with the process of restoring national unity , strengthening the national government , and granting civil rights to freed slaves throughout the country . The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history . </P>
<P> The Union and Confederacy quickly raised volunteer and conscription armies that fought mostly in the South over four years . The Union finally won the war when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House , followed by a series of surrenders by Confederate generals throughout the southern states . Four years of intense combat left 620,000 to 750,000 people dead , more than the number of U.S. military deaths in all other wars combined ( at least until approximately the Vietnam War ) . Much of the South 's infrastructure was destroyed , especially the transportation systems , railroads , mills , and houses . The Confederacy collapsed , slavery was abolished , and 4 million slaves were freed . The Reconstruction Era ( 1863 -- 1877 ) overlapped and followed the war , with the process of restoring national unity , strengthening the national government , and granting civil rights to freed slaves throughout the country . The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history . </P>
who fought the confederates in the american civil war
who fought the confederates in the american civil war
The Union
The Union