The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or the South, was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 5, 1865. The Confederacy was composed of eleven U.S. states that declared secession; South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina; they warred against the United States during the American Civil War.
The Confederate Army, also known as the Confederate States Army or the Southern Army, was the military force of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War (1861–1865). The army's goals were to gain independence for the Southern states and to maintain and expand slavery. The Confederate Army was defeated by the Union Army after four years of fighting.