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On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on federal troops at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, launching a bloody four-year conflict that threatened to forever divide the nation. U.S. News & World Report's latest special collector's issue, Secrets of the Civil War, brings you the inside story of the bitter struggle to save the union on the occasion of the war's sesquicentennial. Inside, historians reveal the real Lincoln behind the myths; offer fresh insights into the pivotal battles of Antietam, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg; and examine the complex, often conflicted personalities of Lee and Grant. Also, Bearing Witness: Celebrated Americans who lived through the war poignantly capture its terrible cost in words and pictures, A Nation in Shock: Lincoln's assassination and the aftermath, Losses Beyond Measure: New evidence suggests previous casualty counts were much too low. Escape from Libby-Union soldiers carry out a notorious prison break, A tourist's guide to must-see Civil War sites