I think the best example of a "true" civil war is probably the Chinese Civil War. I say that because it was fought across the entire geography, for a long time,

I think the best example of a "true" civil war is probably the Chinese Civil War. I say that because it was fought across the entire geography, for a long time, where the belligerents were never sure who was friend and who was foe. The US civil war, relatively speaking, is pretty boring. When it started, everyone was already on "their" side of the line. So you didn't have kidnappings, murders, other horror show stuff that's common in civil wars throughout history.