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
Names of the American Civil War used the terms "the present civil war between the United States and the so called Confederate States", as well as "the civil war such as that now waged between the Northern and Southern States". English-speaking historians outside the United States usually refer to the conflict as the "American Civil War". These variations are also used in the United States in cases in which the war might otherwise be confused with another historical event (such as the English Civil War, the Irish Civil War or the Spanish Civil War). The term "War Between the States" was rarely used during the war