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Confederate States of America: Quick Facts

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The Confederate States of America was the government of 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union in 1860–61, carrying on all the affairs of a separate government and conducting a major war (the American Civil War) until defeated in the spring of 1865.

Facts

Also Known As Confederacy • C.S.A.
Date 1860 - 1865

Top Questions

How did the Confederate States of America form?
After Abraham Lincoln's election, many states carried out their threats to secede from the United States. By February 1861, seven Southern states had seceded. On February 4, 1861, representatives from South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana met in Montgomery, Alabama (with representatives from Texas arriving later) to form the Confederate States of America.

Photos and Videos

Granite relief carving at Stone Mountain, Georgia, depicting Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Stonewall Jackson on horseback.
Map of the United States during the Civil War, color-coded to show Union free states, Union slave states, Confederate states that seceded before and after April 1861, and West Virginia, which joined the Union in 1863. The map also marks federal and unorganized Indian territories, with the Confederacy highlighted in green and border slave states in orange.
Confederate Battle Flag
Lithograph depicting George Washington standing with another man in a field, surrounded by enslaved African-American workers harvesting grain, with Mount Vernon visible in the background.
reward for returning a fugitive slave
slavery
Auction of enslaved persons
Missouri Compromise
Three historical maps of the United States show how the extension of slavery into new territories changed with major compromises: the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Each map uses color coding to indicate areas where slavery was prohibited, permitted, or left to territorial decision, highlighting shifting boundaries and key states or territories affected by each law.
Martin Van Buren: 1848 U.S. presidential campaign poster
Learn how prisoners of war were treated during the American Civil War
Explore the differences between the Union and the Confederate armies that fought in the American Civil War
Learn about the personal and political life of Jefferson Davis from his great-great-grandson Bertram Hayes-Davis
Learn about North Carolina's contribution to the Confederate causes during the American Civil War
Learn why railroads were so important during the American Civil War
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics

Major Events

Battle of Gettysburg
American Civil War
Granite relief carving at Stone Mountain, Georgia, depicting Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Stonewall Jackson on horseback.
Lost Cause
American Civil War: Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
American Civil War: Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
African American male suffrage
Reconstruction
Battle of Antietam: Confederate dead
Battle of Antietam
ruins of an Atlanta depot
Battle of Atlanta
Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
Wood engraving depicting the Fort Pillow Massacre.
Fort Pillow Massacre
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
assassination of Abraham Lincoln
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
Fort Sumter
Battle of Fort Sumter
Nashville, Tennessee
Battle of Nashville
Appomattox Court House surrender
Battle of Appomattox Court House
Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
Early, Jubal A.
Battle of Monocacy
default image
Richmond Bread Riot
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack
Grant at Cold Harbor
Battle of Cold Harbor
American Civil War: Vicksburg Campaign
Vicksburg Campaign

Key People

Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Confederate general
Portrait of Jefferson Davis wearing a dark suit and bow tie, with short wavy hair and a pointed beard, set against a blue oval background.
Jefferson Davis
president of Confederate States of America
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Confederate general
Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
Confederate general
Albert Pike
Albert Pike
Confederate general
Albert Sidney Johnston, c. 1860-62
Albert Sidney Johnston
Confederate general
Jubal Early
Jubal A. Early
Confederate general
Jeb Stuart
Jeb Stuart
Confederate officer
Wade Hampton
Wade Hampton
Confederate general
Belle Boyd
Belle Boyd
Confederate spy
William Lowndes Yancey
William Lowndes Yancey
American politician
Robert Augustus Toombs
Robert A. Toombs
American politician
John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
vice president of United States
John Singleton Mosby
John Singleton Mosby
Confederate military officer and statesman
Mary Boykin Chesnut
Mary Boykin Chesnut
American writer
Joseph E. Johnston
Joseph E. Johnston
Confederate general
Elizabeth Van Lew
Elizabeth Van Lew
American Civil War agent
Matthew Fontaine Maury
Matthew Fontaine Maury
American hydrographer
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan
Confederate general
Christopher Memminger
Christopher Memminger
Confederate treasurer

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