The war brought seismic changes for African Americans. Slavery—under which more than 4 million black people lived and suffered when the war erupted—ended. This lecture examines the experiences of African Americans on both sides, addressing, among other topics, black soldiers in U.S. military forces, the experience of hundreds of thousands of black refugees in the South, the weakening of the bonds of slavery in much of the Confederacy, and Confederate debates over emancipation late in the conflict.