American Civil War American Civil War The American Civil War (also known by other names) was a war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history. Primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people, war broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate
Campaigns of the American Civil War with blue and gray. Units that received campaign credit as a Confederate unit (only applicable to some current Army National Guard units from Southern states) use the same ribbon with the colors reversed. Blue refers to Federal service and gray to Confederate. Joined together they represent the unification of the country after the Civil War. The following inscriptions in yellow, shown in all capital letters, are authorized on the streamers: Campaigns of the American Civil War The campaigns of the American Civil War are categorized in various ways. The U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry has identified 25 campaigns that are