Relatively little consideration of the political, economic, and social history of the period was possible within the limits of this small work. However, the Commission can supply upon request and without charge the following pamphlets treating in part of those subjects: _Emancipation Centennial, 1962: A Brief Anthology of the Preliminary Proclamation_; _Free Homesteads for All Americans: The Homestead Act of 1862_, by Paul W. Gates; _The Origins of the Land-Grant Colleges and State Universities_, by Allan Nevins; and _Our Women of the Sixties_, by Sylvia G. L. Dannett and Katharine M. Jones. The Commission is deeply indebted to the Editorial Advisory Board members, each of whom rendered valuable assistance toward the final draft of the narrative. James I. Robertson, Jr., _Executive Director_ _U. S. Civil War Centennial Commission_ TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE I. Causes of the Civil War 5 II. Advantages of North and South 7 III. Summary of Military Campaigns 11 1861 11 1862 in the West 13 1862 in the East 17 1863 in the West 21 1863 in the East 23 1864 25 1865 30 IV. Losses 35 V. Navies 37 VI. Diplomacy 42 VII. Prisons and Prisoners of War 45 VIII. Arms 48 IX. Leaders 52 X. The Common Soldiers 57 XI. The War’s Legacy 62 XII. Suggested Topics for Further Discussion 64 [Illustration: Construction of the U. S. Capitol was still in progress when civil war began.] I. CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR Historians past and present disagree sharply over the major cause of the Civil War.