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From a tactical history perspective the Civil War marked the true end of the sword as a major battlefield weapon in Western warfare. The increased range accuracy and rate of fire of rifles (like the Springfield Model 1861) meant that closing to sword range was extremely deadly. A famous quote often attributed to a Union soldier goes something like "We don't fear the rebel yell but we do fear the rebel bullet."

That said swords had psychological impact. The sight of flashing sabers in a cavalry charge could break inexperienced troops. They were also crucial for officers to be seen by their men in the smoke-choked battlefield. Many swords from this period are beautiful works of art engraved with patriotic motifs. If you visit museums like the Smithsonian or look at National Park Service collections you'll see dozens of designs. So while not the star of the show they were definitely part of the cast.

Absolutely but you have to understand the context. I'm a Civil War reenactor and we study this closely. Swords were everywhere but they weren't the primary killing tool. An infantry officer might carry a sword but he'd likely use his revolver in actual combat. The sword was for commanding—waving it to direct movements—and for ceremony.

Cavalry still trained with sabers extensively and there are numerous accounts of saber fights especially in the early war. As the war progressed and repeating carbines became more common cavalry often dismounted to fight as dragoons (mounted infantry) making the saber less useful. By the end many cavalrymen saw the saber as outdated and preferred their breech-loading rifles. But they were still issued and used especially in Confederate cavalry which often had less access to modern firearms. So yes used but their era was ending.