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The Civil War

The American Civil War (1861-1865) was a defining national experience. Texans fought on both sides, but mostly for the Confederacy. Although only a few battles were fought on Texas soil, the war still changed the lives of all Texans as a result of conscription, naval blockades, runaway inflation, and home front unrest. The war’s overall death toll reached to approximately 750,000 men—a staggering 2.5% of the U.S. population. At the end of the war, millions of enslaved African Americans were freed throughout the South. The impacts of the Civil War reverberated for generations, making it one of the most critical periods of history for contemporary study.