<P> The North and South 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 , which triggered a series of surrenders by Confederate generals throughout the southern states . Four years of intense combat left 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers dead , a higher number than the number of American military deaths in all other wars combined . Much of the South 's infrastructure was destroyed , especially the transportation systems . 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 American history . </P>
<P> The North and South 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 , which triggered a series of surrenders by Confederate generals throughout the southern states . Four years of intense combat left 620,000 to 750,000 soldiers dead , a higher number than the number of American military deaths in all other wars combined . Much of the South 's infrastructure was destroyed , especially the transportation systems . 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 American history . </P>
where was the majority of the civil war fought
where was the majority of the civil war fought
the South
the South