At the workshop, approximately 25 songwriters were assembled by music publishers to write radio singles for an unnamed band later identified as the country group Gloriana.

[4][5] Looking for a name for the project, Williams came up with the Civil Wars, which has no historical meaning, but rather is based on the quote "be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle" attributed to Ian Maclaren.

[9] On April 8, 2009, Shalom Aberle recorded The Civil Wars' second live show, opening for Will Hoge at Eddie's Attic.

[10] Eight of the songs that were recorded that night were on Live at Eddie's Attic, which was released through Sensibility Music on June 30, 2009 as a free download on The Civil Wars' website.

In November 2009, "Poison & Wine" was used in its entirety as a music bed for a pivotal montage at the end of a sixth-season episode of Grey's Anatomy.

As the video was being put online, Williams and White were watching the Grey's Anatomy episode, and the uploading was completed almost to the second that the last note of the song played.

[15] Williams, White, and Peacock returned to the Art House to record The Civil Wars debut album, Barton Hollow, which was released on February 1, 2011.

Aided in part by a January appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and support from Swift, Hillary Scott of Lady A, and Sara Bareilles, Barton Hollow was the #1 downloaded album on iTunes the week it was released.

What’s certain, though, is that you truly feel it in the here and now," while the New York Daily News wrote "With care and delicacy, they curate their notes, stitching together a sound that's sharp, arch and almost achingly fine.

In February in Los Angeles, The Civil Wars won two Grammy Awards for Barton Hollow: Best Folk Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

[15] On November 6, after a performance at the Roundhouse in London, they announced that they were cancelling the remaining tour dates, due to "internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition.

[38] In February, Williams, White, Swift and Burnett won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written For Visual Media for "Safe & Sound", which was also nominated for a Golden Globe.

The following month, it was announced that The Civil Wars had teamed with Burnett to record the soundtrack for A Place at the Table, a documentary that examined the role hunger plays in the lives of American families.

White remained at his home in Florence, Alabama with his wife and four children, while Williams and Peacock did interviews to support the release.

[40] Between the Bars, a four-song EP that covered Elliott Smith's title track, Portishead's "Sour Times", Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and The Romantics' "Talking in Your Sleep" was released in the late 2013.