Civil War: Blood on the Battlefields

A three-part examination of the U.S. Civil War (1861-65) begins in the spring of 1861 with the rending of the American democratic experiment and the start of hostilities

Part 2 of 3. The American Civil War enters its second year in the summer of 1862, becoming a more brutal conflict than anyone ever imagined. The death toll continues to rise on both sides by the summer of 1862, destroying any notion that the conflict would end quickly.

More than 200,000 soldiers are killed or wounded as the American Civil War enters its third year; the conflict's bloodiest days are still to come.