American Civil War course of four years. Intense combat left 620,000 to 750,000 people dead, more than the number of U.S. military deaths in all other wars combined. The war ended when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House. Confederate generals throughout the southern states followed suit. Much of the South's infrastructure was destroyed, especially the transportation systems. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and four million black slaves were freed. During the Reconstruction Era that followed the war, national unity was slowly restored, the national government expanded its power, and civil rights
Foreign enlistment in the American Civil War Foreign enlistment in the American Civil War Foreign enlistment in the American Civil War largely favored the Union, which was far more successful in attracting international volunteers. Nonetheless, thousands of immigrants and mercenaries served with the Confederacy. Although the Union Army's most significant foreign-born contingents comprised Irish- and German-Americans, regiments such as the 79th New York Highlanders, initially formed in the 1850s, consisted completely of descendants of Scottish immigrants before accepting Irish, English and others into its ranks during the early years of the war. It should be noted that these immigrants had been living in the US for years