The American Civil War was a violent conflict between the Union and Confederate forces that took place between 1861-1865. The Union was the group from the North and the Confederacy was the South. The ultimate cause was over the future of slavery expansion in the United States. The Confederacy was formed after a group of states seceded from the Union. This was the direct result of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery expansion, winning the Presidential race in 1860. The Southern slave states then left the Union to create a new state where they could continue the slave trade. The war began when the Confederacy began to attack and seize U.S. Forts. Violent battles continued over the next couple of years. But the fighting continued to escalate, especially after the creation of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation, which was created in 1863, freed all slaves in the rebel states. Following this were a series of bloody battles, leading up to the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. It was also considered the turning point toward bringing this war to an end. More battles raged for the rest of the year, but the Confederacy was seriously weakened. Their numbers, infrastructure, and morale were deteriorating rapidly. In 1865, General Lee finally surrendered, bringing the war closer to an end. The end of the war resulted in the abolition of slavery and a collapsed Confederacy. Unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated mere days after Lee’s surrender took place, but he was able to see the victory of the Civil War coming to an end. Soldiers gathered at their makeshift kitchen. 1864 A rare moment of peace as soldiers sit and read their letters from home A group gathers to prepare for a field amputation October 3, 1862. President Lincoln visiting General McClellan at Antietam General Grant (leaning over the bench) at a war council meeting Union entrenchments in Georgia A chaplain conducting mass at Fort Corcoran, Washington D.C. Scouts for the Army of the Potomac Soldiers being tended to after the Battle of Chancellorsville near Fredericksburg, Va., May 2, 1863 Soldiers in the trenches before battle, Petersburg, Va., 1865  Seige of Port Hudson, La., 1863. Fort Sumter Soldiers conducting a drill Wounded soldiers at Carver General Hospital Allan Pinkerton, chief of McClellan’s secret service, with his men near Cumberland Landing, Va.,  Ruins of a town after a battle Confederate fortifications Antietam Bridge A regimental fife-and-drum corps.  Harper’s Ferry Christian Commission members gather in the field Captured Confederate soldiers in a prison camp General Meade’s headquarters An army blacksmith at the forge An ambulance caravan assembling The McLean house where General Lee surrendered. Libby Prison, Virginia The 26th U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry Battle between the C.S.S. Virginia and the U.S.S. 1862. A pontoon bridge constructed at Bull Run Confederate ram after being captured, Virginia Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia Federal observation balloon, Intrepid, being inflated. Battle of Fair Oaks, Va., May 1862. 3 Confederate POWs near Gettysburg A refugee family leaving their home with all the belongings they could carry Soldiers gathered in front of their barracks that they’d named “Pine Cottage” Confederate soldiers making war preparations in the South in 1861  A column of cavalry along the Rappahannock River, Va., Soldiers standing outside barracks A regiment of soldiers gathered together More soldiers posing outside of their temporary housing Soliders on the USS Wabash (1855)The post Rare photos of life during the Civil War first appeared on History Defined.