when was the american civil war

The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina. It lasted until the spring of 1865, with the last major Confederate army surrendering on April 9, 1865, and the conflict effectively ending by May 26, 1865. The war was fought between the Union (the North) and the Confederate States (the South) over issues including the expansion of slavery into western territories and states' rights.