The continuing struggle over slavery and states’ rights resulted in four years of unrelenting warfare between the North and South. When the Civil War came to an end with the surrender of the Confederate Army in 1865, more than 600,000 men had lost their lives. After four years of secession, the reconstituted United States emerged stronger than before and slavery officially ended with the ratification of the 13th Amendment in December 1865. Here are some websites to help you explore the American Civil War:

Africans in America: Conditions of Antebellum Slavery, 1830 - 1860
Produced under the aegis of the PBS Africans in America series, this article describes living conditions for slaves in the first half of the 19th century.

The American Civil War Homepage
One of the most comprehensive Civil War subject directories, you’ll find links here to sites on Civil War battles, biographies, documents, music, and regimental histories.

Guns on Federal Hill, Baltimore MD. Courtesy of Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Lincoln and his Generals, Courtesy of the National Park Ser

Civil War Battlefield Medicine
Offering statistics as well as primary sources, this very useful site furnishes information on Civil War dentistry as well as medicine and medical terminology.

Civil War Women
Using diaries, letters, and other primary sources, Duke University provides a very interesting perspective on women's experiences during the Civil War.

A House Divided: America in the Age of Lincoln
A product of the Chicago Historical Society, this exhibition explores several themes including slavery, sectionalism, the Civil War, and its aftermath.

How the Civil War Soldiers Lived
Have you ever wondered what everyday life was like for the soldiers of the Union and the Confederacy? This resource uses first person accounts to explore various aspects of daily life including clothing, food, marching, and religion.

Maryland in the Civil War
Because it shared a border with both the North and the South, Maryland was a key state in the struggles of the Civil War. The Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Maryland Department staff has assembled this resource as a guide to Maryland’s role in the Civil War.

The Selected Civil War Photographs Collection
The Library of Congress features this digital exhibit of more than 1,000 Civil War era photographs from its collections, most from the famous photographer Matthew Brady.

Southern Homefront
This resource documents Southern life during the Civil War. Included are more than four hundred digitized contemporary printed works, manuscripts, maps, and photographs.

Teaching the Civil War with Technology: Curriculum
With curriculum supplement and lesson plans ranging from Civil War Music to a Harriet Tubman scavenger hunt and a Virtual Battlefield Field Trip, this resource is perfect for teachers.

The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War
The Valley Project provides us with a fascinating opportunity, through various primary sources, to explore and understand two communities during this time period: Augusta County, Virginia and Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

 Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories

Nearly seven hours of extraordinary recordings of interviews done between 1932 and 1975 with former slaves can be heard through the Library of Congress. Twenty-three people told their stories not just of slavery but of the lives of African Americans born between 1823 and the early 1860s.

Lone Grave, Courtesy of the National Park Service