when was civil war

The American Civil War was fought from April 12, 1861, to spring 1865, with major hostilities effectively ending after General Robert E. Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865.

Quick Scoop: When was the Civil War?

• The war is generally dated April 12, 1861 – April 26, 1865.

• It began when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861.

• The key surrender was Lee’s to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, which effectively broke major Confederate resistance.

• Some Confederate forces continued to surrender over the following weeks, and a commonly cited final date is April 26, 1865; the last battle occurred in May 1865.

Mini timeline

1. November 1860 – Abraham Lincoln elected president, deepening sectional crisis over slavery and states’ rights.

2. December 1860–February 1861 – Eleven Southern states secede and form the Confederacy.

3. April 12, 1861 – Firing on Fort Sumter marks the official start of the Civil War.

4. 1861–1864 – Four years of large-scale fighting across the United States, including battles such as Antietam and Gettysburg.

5. April 9, 1865 – Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House.

6. April 26, 1865 and after – Remaining Confederate forces surrender; organized resistance ends.

In everyday usage, when people ask “when was the Civil War,” they almost always mean the American Civil War of 1861–1865.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.