The American Civil War was fought during 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864 & 1865. Issues involving the slavery for the North and states rights for the South erupted into a full-scale war following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860.

Eleven southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America, also known as "the Confederacy".

Twenty-Two mostly-Northern states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Rhode Island, Wisconsin) formed the Union.

The Border States (Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri) began with both Union and Confederate Governments till near the end of the war.

The war began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter. and ended on June 22, 1865 with the Confederate raider CSS Shenandoah firing the last shot of the Civil War in the Bering Strait, more than two months after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

The data below comes from Original Documents from the National Archives:

• Civil War records feature everything from personal accounts to historic writings that would shape a nation. Explore vivid details of Civil War battles through maps and photos. Get a personal picture of the war through Union and Confederate soldier service records, pension files, and more.
• Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers
• Compiled Service Records of Confederate General and Staff Officers, and Nonregimental Enlisted Men
• Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 to 1900
• Southern Claims Commission Records
• Case Files of Applications from Former Confederates for Presidential Pardons("Amnesty Papers"), 1865-67
• 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population
• Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, 1861-65
• Mathew B Brady Collection of Civil War Photographs

The data below comes from Ancestry.com:

• Search Civil War Service Records
• American Civil War Soldiers
• U.S. Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1861-1865
• Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 Index
• American Civil War General Officers
• Confederate States Field Officers
• American Civil War Battle Summaries
• American Civil War Battle Regiments
• Civil War Prisoner of War Records, 1861-1865
• Search the War of the Rebellion