I can't say this is or isn't true, but it's a first for me. I've never heard the Civil War being the reason for any change of spelling on names unless it were families divided due to the conflict. So far my Stephens I have back to 1827 AL. to 1860 Arkansas. Arkansas was with the south but I have traced his children into 1900 Texas and they used both spellings after the CW. From the time my gr-grandfather married in 1888 Ark. The STEPHENS spelling became permanent spelling. His father's 1865 marriage license uses the STEVENS spelling. Phyllis John from Nebraska I have read that after the Civil War, northerners went by "Stevens" and southerners went by "Stephens". My Ohio "Stephens" are all "Stevens" in the later 1800's.