In 1861, the delegates from the southern states who had seceded from the Union met to draft a new constitution for their newly formed nation, which they called the Confederate States of America (CSA). The CSA was a federal union of 11 southern states that seceded from the United States in the lead-up to the American Civil War. The states that formed the CSA were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The Confederate States of America was established in February 1861 and existed until the end of the Civil War in 1865.