Federal troops returned the fire. The Civil War had begun. Immediately following the attack, four more states -- Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee -- severed their ties with the Union.

For many Americans, both civilian and military, who lived through the conflict, the Civil War was the monumental event of their lifetime. They collected relics as they adjusted to the immediate ...

The second Sudanese civil war, which lasted from 1983 to 2005, ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). In 2011, nearly 99 percent of South Sudanese voted in favor of the ...