The Civil War

The United States Army was involved in a few battles and conflicts of less importance after the war, such as the War of 1812, which was much less successful than the Revolutionary War, yet it was still very changing for the young America. There was also Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion, that caused the army to become involved with battling and attempting to control the natives of the areas the Americans were settling in.

The Civil War, on the other hand, was much more costly and severely impacted the United States Army in many ways. After the secession, the Confederate States’ Army opened attacked Union Fort Sumter and provoked the North into a war. The following two years were deadly for both sides, but the battles were mostly Confederate wins at first. This trend continued until the important battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, which were glorifying Union wins that were followed by a very successful northern campaign deep into southern territory that led to the Confederate surrender at the Appomatox Courthouse in 1865. Roughly 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 in the war died; the war was devastating to both the North and the South. However, in the end, it helped the nation become more unified, even though it temporarily weakened the fighting and economic forces of the nation.