War of Secession (Fields of Gray)

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War of Secession
CivilWarUSAColl.png
Clockwise from top left: Template:Flatlist
DateApril 12, 1861 – March 1, 1867
(5 years, 10 months, 2 weeks and 3 days)
Location
Result
Belligerents
Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863).svg Confederate States
Supported by:
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg France
Co-belligerents:
Flag of Mexico (1864-1867).svg Mexican Empire
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg United States
Co-belligerents:
Bandera de la Segunda República Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.svg Mexican Republic
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863).svg Jefferson Davis
Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863).svg Robert E. Lee
Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863).svg Joseph E. Johnston
Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863).svg G. T. Beauregard
Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863).svg J. E. B. Stuart
Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863).svg Albert Sidney Johnston
Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861–1863).svg Braxton Bragg
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Queen Victoria
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Viscount Palmerston
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Prince George
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Fenwick Williams
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Alexander Milne
Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg Napoleon III
Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg François A. Bazaine
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg Abraham Lincoln
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg Ulysses S. Grant
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg William T. Sherman
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg George B. McClellan
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg Henry Halleck
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg Philip Sheridan
Flag of the United States (1861-1863).svg David Farragut
Strength
900,000–1,100,000 2,200,000
Casualties and losses
350,000+ dead 485,000+ dead
  • 50,000 free civilians dead
  • 80,000+ slaves dead (disease)
  • Total: 616,222

The War of Secession (also known by other names) was a war in the United States lasting from 1861 to 1867, fought between northern states loyal to the Union and southern states that had seceded to form the Confederate States of America. The war began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of African-Americans along with growing cultural and political divisions between the north and south. War broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, just over a month after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North, which also included some geographically western and southern states, proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

Of the 34 U.S. states in February 1861, seven Southern slave states were declared by their state governments to have seceded from the country, and the Confederate States of America was organized in rebellion against the U.S. constitutional government. The Confederacy grew to control at least a majority of territory in twelve states, and it claimed Missouri by assertions from native secessionists fleeing Union authority. The two remaining slave states, Delaware and Maryland, were invited to join the Confederacy, but nothing substantial developed due to intervention by federal troops.

The Confederate States were never diplomatically recognized as a joint entity by the government of the United States, however as the war progressed, the Confederacy was recognized by the United Kingdom and French Empire in 1865.