On April 12, 1861 the Confederate army under General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard attacked a United States military base at Fort Sumter, which was located in South Carolina and the Civil War began. After thirty four long hours of being bombed and fired at, the people finally surrendered by waving a white flag.



President Abraham Lincoln responded to this vicious attack by calling upon a large number of Union army volunteers to help defend the North from the Confederate army. The war between the states was born and in many cases brother fought brother and family fought family. This great war tore our beloved nation apart and destroyed a great many states that was in its path of destruction. During the first year of this horrible war, the Union army took control of all the border states and proceeded to establish a naval blockade of the South.

The Confederate army and the Union Army both massed their armies and resources in preparation for the upcoming battles. Casualty numbers in all battles of the Civil War were unprecedented in the history of United States military. The goal of this horrible goal was focused around the Emancipation Proclamation set by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861, which ended the practice of the southern states owning slaves. This upset the southern states and they retaliated by attacking Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Even to this day, there are still people within the southern states who hold the confederate state of mind in their hearts.

Today the collecting of Civil War Collectibles has become one of the most popular hobbies with collectors in the United States. There are a lot of historical artifact that came out of the Civil War period and collectors search endlessly to add as many pieces of this period of Americas history to their possession as possible. Some collectors specialize in the collection of firearms from the Civil War while others will focus their collections on letters, photographs, uniforms, and other valuable items. There are even groups who are so involved with the Civil War that they will stage reenactments for the public to watch.

What ever the reason for collectors wanting to purchase collectibles from the Civil War period, the best way to acquire them is from an auction or from specialized dealer shops. Collectors who purchase collectibles from auction can actually save money instead of purchasing from dealers. The Civil War actually shaped the United States for centuries to come and collectors are fascinated with any item or object that having to due with Civil War, which is why collecting these items has become so popular.

There are a variety of categories of Civil War collectibles in which collectors can collect which include cartridges, bullets, uniforms, artillery, swords, guns, Enfield, 9mm Pinfire cartridge, 44 short cartridges, Spencer Carbine cartridges, Sharps Carbine cartridges, and even a variety of cannonballs. There are several variety of Civil War bottles that collectors enjoy collecting such as medicine bottles, cathedral pickle bottles, ink bottles, ginger beer bottles, and even cologne bottles. Other items that collectors enjoy collecting may include buckets, plates, buttons, pens, and hats.