South Soldier        North Soldier

Have you ever wanted something really badly? That's how both sides of our country felt a long time ago. The people in the North didn't want slaves but the people in the south did.

Slavery was a big issue while Abraham Lincoln was President. The South got really mad at the North because they were trying to get rid of slavery and the south wanted slaves for their plantations.

Abraham Lincoln

Soon the South got so mad that eleven states including, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia left the United States of America. 

They formed a new country called the Confederate States of America.

Confederate States of America flag

Now the North was mad because they didn't want the South to leave. Soon they began fighting because the North wanted the South to come back.

The first battle happened at Fort Sumter in South Carolina when Abraham Lincoln tried to give the fort supplies and the Confederacy attacked them.  

Fort Sumter 

Ulysses S. Grant was the commanding general for the Union or the United States of America. He won many battles and eventually became President.

The South had Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson as some of their generals who were some of the greatest generals of their time.

Robert E. Lee                   Stonewall Jackson  

Even though a lot of bad things some good things did happen like the American Red Cross being formed by the famous nurse Clara Barton. The Red Cross is still around today, and it helps people in disasters.