North America · Animated schematic fronts
American Civil War
A war over secession and the continuation of slavery; organised resistance ended in May 1865.
This west-to-east line links the western and eastern theatres in one simplified picture of changing control. The war involved separate armies, river corridors, coastal occupations and contested rear areas, not a single continuous front. The Mississippi curve of 1863 and Georgia curve of 1864 stand for routes and local footholds, not occupation of all adjacent land. From 1862 New Orleans is a separate Union foothold, graphically connected only in 1863. Texas, Florida, the blockade and later surrenders are not fully represented. Closing edges and transitions are schematic.
Estimates & margins
- Military deaths650,000 – 750,000(most cited: 700,000)
Recent demographic re-estimates place military deaths around 750,000; older conventional totals are lower.
New Estimate Raises Civil War Death Toll · American Civil War
Historians disagree on exact figures; the range shown reflects the scholarly literature.
The border states largely remain in the Union in 1861, but Missouri and Kentucky are contested. The line schematises the southern edge of the border states and the fighting in Virginia; it is not a constitutional secession boundary.
- Union
- Confederacy