Undoubtedly, the Civil War change America forever. With 618,000 causalities, nearly every family in county was affected. Granted, it has been 15 years since I was high school, but I recall much of the focus on the war being initially about slavery and not succession. In fact, the Civil War was in process for two years before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. I was surprised at the number of blacks that fought in the Civil War. I was even more surprised to find out that sixteen black soldiers and 4 black sailors received the Medal of Honor. These men were willing to fight and die for a country that part of believed they should be treated differently, poorly, and harshly because of the color of their skin. That is bravery and a
