<p>The American Civil War, which took place between April 12, 1861 and May 26, 1865, took place in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the former. At the beginning of the war, both sides believed that a major battle would decide the conflict. The Confederacy failed in developing a general strategy for the entire war. A more aggressive strateg...