" Civil War "   Lot no. 4258

This painting was used on the Fleetwood Civil War Collectors Panel.; Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation

The American Civil War lasted almost four years to the day. When it was over, when the sounds of the battlefield were at last stilled, the course of this nation's history was forever altered. The great conflict resulted in the preservation of the Union, the end of slavery, the devastation of the Southern economy and the loss of over 600,000 American lives. Secretary of State William H. Seward, serving under President Abraham Lincoln, referred to the war as "the irrepressible conflict," an inevitable clash between vastly different philosophies and ways of life. The South embodied the nation's simple, agrarian past; the North symbolized the progressive, industrial power the United States would soon become. Ultimately, there could only be one winner in this moral and cultural battle -- and a victor would be determined only by war. Heroes were born and legends were forged in the great battles of The War Between the States.