The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 between the United States, or the Union, and southern slave states that seceded to form the Confederacy, with slavery, especially its extension into western territories, at the center of the conflict. After four years of bloody combat that left over 600,000 soldiers dead and destroyed much of the South's infrastructure, the Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and Reconstruction began to restore national unity and guarantee rights to freed slaves. Although many Native Americans faced oppression, Oneida men stood with the United States against slavery, beginning their participation in 1863. Because the Oneidas were not United States citizens and could not be drafted, many non-Oneida men who had been drafted offered Oneida men a $300 bonus to serve in their place after President Lincoln allowed that payment to encourage enlistment. About 1/10th of the Oneida population between the ages of 17 and 45 served, including fathers and sons, while women remained at home to do the farming. The memorial's design draws on Oneida and Iroquois symbolism: a wampum belt pattern inspired the back wall, whose 50 diamonds represent the 50 chiefs of the Iroquois Confederacy; the eagle symbolizes a sacred protective presence and the Oneida philosophy that today's words and actions affect the next seven generations; plates beneath each granite slab are 12 inches long to represent one year of war; the colored concrete wall signifies permanence and serves as a timeline of every war since the American Revolution, with small holes representing the imperfections of war; and the paver pattern signifies eagle feathers.