Americans are not strangers to war. The United States was bom of the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), which freed us from British rule. We fought the British again during the War of 1812 (1812-1815). The United States expanded its boundaries after engaging in the Mexican War (1846-1848), which ended not long before the Civil War (1861- 1865). Numerous Indian wars were fought on U.S. soil from long before the Revolutionary War to shortly after the Civil War. Relative peace reigned until the Spanish American War (1898). The 20th century gaveus global conflicts in the form of World, War I (1917-1918) and World War II (1941-1945). The U.S. then got bogged down in Asia in vicious wars in Korea (1950-1953) and Vietnam (1964-1972) before venturing into the desert sands of Iraq in the Gulf War (1990-1991). But no war touched America like the Civil War. It was our only internal war, pitting American against American, brother against brother. It was our bloodiest war by far, with one out of every four soldiers killed or wounded, (The Mexican War had a similar casualty rate, but far fewer soldiers were involved.) The Civil War is recalled by countless memorials, traditions and symbols, including many state flags not just in the South but in the North and west to Nevada. In fact, new states were created during the Civil War.