On April 12, 1861, the Civil War of the United States began when the Confederate States of America fired on Fort Sumter. The war officially lasted until April 9, 1865. Between the beginning and the end of this turbulent time in the United States, many families were torn asunder. Brother fought brother, neighbor fought against neighbor; it was a sorry chapter in America's history. It was a time of hard feelings and feuds between families and relatives, and it was one of the most costly wars in lives America has ever seen. And this wasn't the end of the bloodshed. Thousands of civilians, mostly in the South, died at the hands of the armies and carpetbaggers that infested the South during and after the war ended. This is the story of one of those families forced to live through the trials and tribulations of the time.