# Union Army

During the American Civil War, the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the collective Union of the states, was often referred to as the union army, Federal army, or Northern army. It proved essential to the restoration and preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic. The union army was made up of the permanent regular army of the United States, but further fortified, augmented, and strengthened by the many temporary units of dedicated volunteers, as well as including those who were drafted in to service as conscripts.