Overview

CivilWar.com is divided into categories. Each category subdivides into sub-categories to bring the information to you with a minimal number of clicks and browsing, in a logical, concise manner.

The Overview is designed to present a quick look at the war in general. The causes of the war, a summary of the war, a look at the life of a soldier and the timeline of events are the primary content here. More in depth information may be found in the other categories.

Subcategories

About Us

CivilWar.com is brought to you by Premier Internet, Inc., a for profit business that has been providing Internet Services since early 1995. The domain CivilWar.com was registered by Premier as one it’s first domains. Simply put, the owners have always held a fascination with the American Civil War and registered the name because they wanted to create a virtual monument to the Civil War.

Despite in house military and teaching experience as well as talented programmers and designers, Premier recognized a need to involve others in CivilWar.com to best present the resources of the American Civil War. To further this effort this site will be receiving input from an Advisory Committee, comprised of College Professors, Librarians, Historians, Civil War Re-enactors, other Military Professionals and Secondary School Educators.

You will also see advertising throughout CivilWar.com. We have to pay for the development of this site. For over ten years Premier Internet was the sole sponsor of the site. There is, however, a mountain of information about the Civil War and we have, we think, many good ideas which require monetary support from the site to implement. The bandwidth alone is a sizeable monthly outlay.

It is our desire to present the history of the Civil War accurately and in a compelling way which honors all Americans.

We hope you will find this site as enjoyable to use as we have to build. We have a vision for CivilWar.com. If you would like to share in this vision, please do not hesitate to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Causes

Nearly 150 years have passed since the largest armed conflict on American soil began. Yet the reasons for what began as political disputes errupting in what eventually became a "Total War" are still hotly debated.

Partisans from each side of the conflict, then as now, have provided reasons for the Civil War which are contradictory.

This section does not attempt to resolve the differences. What you will find here are the reasons given by both sides. An understanding of the Civil War, in our opinion, is obtained through understanding the societal influences of patriotism, human rights, economics, religion and politics in America in the early to mid 1800's. The primal emotions leading to war were therefore rooted in the differences of opinion and belief between North and South with respect to those influences.

The root causes of the Civil War can be broken down into States Rights, Slavery, Political and Economic considerations. Slavery, while listed as a separate cause, had significant influence on the other three. An understanding of the above influences of the time will reveal, however, that slavery, while factoring into the various causes in different degrees, should not be considered the sole cause of the Civil War.

Weapons

There were many changes to the armament and science of war warfare that occurred during the American Civil War. In this section you will find information about then new weapons, such as Iron Clad ships, the Gatling Gun, Observation Balloons, repeating rifles, and the submarine. You will also find information about the older weapons, or weaponry modified during the war, such as the Minié Ball

Soldier Life in the Civil War

content provided by the national park service www.nps.gov
author: John Heiser - Gettysburg National Military Park - May 1, 1998

The life of a soldier in the 1860's was difficult and for the thousands of young Americans who left home to fight for their cause, it was an experience none of them would ever forget. Military service meant many months away from home and loved ones, long hours of drill, often inadequate food or shelter, disease, and many days spent marching on hot, dusty roads or in a driving rainstorm burdened with everything a man needed to be a soldier as well as baggage enough to make his life as comfortable as possible. There were long stretches of boredom in camp interspersed with moments of sheer terror experienced on the battlefield. For these civilians turned soldiers, it was very difficult to get used to the rigors and demands of army life.

Use the links below to explore the life of soldiers in the American Civil War.

Abolition and Slavery

The documents linked provide an overview of Slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War. This is an overview of documents on the subject. For more detail on this topic, explore the section on Slavery from the Main Menu, as well as the Resources.