Alva Review-Courier -

The American Civil War lasted from 1861 until 1865. When it started, both sides were optimistic – they thought they would win and that it would be over quickly. As it turned out, of course, the North won but doing so took much longer than expected.

The event that prompted several southern, slave-holding states to secede from the union and set up a separate country was the presidential election of 1860 that Republican Abraham Lincoln won.

Before Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861, seven southern states had seceded, written a constitution, created the Confederate States of America, and sworn i...