American Civil War Clockwise from top: Battle of Gettysburg, Union Captain John Tidball 's artillery, Confederate prisoners, ironclad USS Atlanta, ruins of Richmond, Virginia, Battle of Franklin Date April 12, 1861 -- May 9, 1865 (4 years, 3 weeks and 6 days) Location Southern United States, Northeastern United States, Western United States, Atlantic Ocean Result Union victory: Dissolution of the Confederate States U.S. territorial integrity preserved Slavery abolished Beginning of the Reconstruction Era Belligerents United States Confederate States Commanders and leaders Abraham Lincoln Ulysses S. Grant William T. Sherman David Farragut George B. McClellan Henry Halleck George Meade and others... Jefferson Davis Robert E. Lee J.E. Johnston G.T. Beauregard A.S. Johnston † Braxton Bragg and others... Strength 2,200,000: Union Army Union Marines Union Navy Revenue Service 698,000 (peak) 750,000 -- 1,000,000: Confederate Army Confederate Marines Confederate Navy 360,000 (peak) Casualties and losses 110,000 + killed in action / died of wounds 230,000 + accident / disease deaths 25,000 -- 30,000 died in Confederate prisons 365,000 + total dead 282,000 + wounded 181,193 captured Total: 828,000 + casualties 94,000 + killed in action / died of wounds 26,000 -- 31,000 died in Union prisons 290,000 + total dead 137,000 + wounded 436,658 captured Total: 864,000 + casualties 50,000 free civilians dead 80,000 + slaves dead Total: 785,000 -- 1,000,000 + dead
when did the us civil war take place
April 12, 1861 -- May 9, 1865