A catastrophic and ruinous civil war raged across the fledgling United States between 1861 and 1865. The conflict pitted brother against brother, father against son and friend against friend. This book minutely examines the uniforms and equipment of the Union troops of, primarily, the northern United States. "Billy Yanks" were recruited in vast numbers. First, second or third generation European immigrants flooded the ranks of the Union armies. Although they often outnumbered the Confederates, the Union troops were poorly led and trained, yet by force of arms they crushed the rebellion, culminating in Robert E Lee"s surrender at Appomattox in 1865.