The American Civil War lasted from 12 April 1861 to 9 April 1865 under U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. It began when 11 Southern states, demanding stronger state rights, seceded and formed the Confederate States of America led by Jefferson Davis. The Union under Lincoln opposed both slavery and any right of secession. Fighting opened when Confederate forces attacked a Federal fort at the battle of Fort Sumter. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery and helped ensure that Britain and France would not assist the Confederacy, although General Robert E. Lee won a series of Confederate victories. Losses at the Battle of Gettysburg and the Battle of Vicksburg ultimately split the Confederacy. The war ended when General Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in 1865, ending slavery and bringing the most devastating war on American soil to a close, after which the reconstruction of a new "United States of America" began. Andrews veteran Andrew Jackson Williams served in this war. The Spanish American War lasted from 21 April 1898 to 4 July 1902 under U.S. President William McKinley. It was fought for the liberation of Cuba after the American battleship Maine was destroyed in Havana Harbor on 15 February 1898. Americans became aware of a greater world around them and of the need for the U.S. to play its part in the war as a "crusade" against an evil regime. McKinley demanded Spain's withdrawal from Cuba and declared war on 24 April 1898. Forces sent to Cuba were under Major General Shafter, whose earlier distinguished service on the Staked Plains of West Texas led to Shafter Lake in Andrews County being named in his honor. Commodore George Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay in the Philippines in May. Armed forces did not arrive until August, and Manila surrendered on 13 August 1898 after only a minor battle, proving the U.S. as a great power. The Treaty of Paris was signed on 10 December 1898, with Spain relinquishing its claims to Cuba, while Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were ceded to the U.S. for payment of 20 million dollars. Andrews veterans Dorsie Montgomery Pinnell, Sr. served in this war.