A To Z Civil War History

Abraham Lincoln was 16 th

president of the
United States. He was commander-in-chief of
the Union army during the Civil War. He rose
from his early childhood poverty by becoming
self-taught. His election to the position of
President is what partly caused the southern
states to secede. His most famous speeches
are the Gettysburg Address and his Second
Inaugural Address

Border States were slave states that did not

support the Confederacy during the Civil War.
They lay in between the North and South. The
states were Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, and
Maryland.

Confederate States of America was the

name given to the 11 states the seceded from
the United States, immediately after Abraham
Lincoln was elected President. The eleven
states were Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
and Virginia.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman

to receive a license to practice medicine. She
organized a group that pressured President
Lincoln to form the U.S. Sanitary Commission
in June 1861.

Emancipation Proclamation was a military

order issued by President Abraham Lincoln
that freed slaves in areas controlled by the
Confederacy. He issued it on September 22nd,
1862 and it went into effect on January 1st,
1863.

Fort Sumter was a federal outpost in

Charleston, South Carolina. It was the spark
and start of the Civil War, when Confederate
troops surrounding the fort fired at the Union
base.

Gettysburg Address was a speech given by

Abraham Lincoln following the Battle of
Gettysburg. In it, he praised the bravery of
the Union soldiers and renewed his
commitment to winning the Civil War.

Henry Bellows was an American clergymen

that served as the president of the United
States Sanitary Commission.

Ironclads were steam-propelled warships that

were heavily armored with steel or iron plates.
Both the Confederacy and the Union had their
own ironclad, the C.S.S. Virginia and the
U.S.S. Monitor.

Jefferson Davis was the first and only

president of the Confederate States of
America. He was previously a Democratic U.S.
Representative and Senator from Mississippi,
as well as the 23rd Secretary of War.

Kennesaw Mountain was a battle fought as

part of the Wilderness Campaign. The battle
ended in a defeat for the Union, but this battle
threatened the Confederates left flank and
removed the current general of that army.
Little Round Top was a hill in the Battle of
Gettysburg that the Confederates desperately
tried to take control of. Eventually, the Union
forced the Confederate troops to pull back
from Little Round Top.

Mansas was an important railroad junction

in Virginia and it was where the First and
Second Battle of Bull Run/Mansas occurred. In
both battles, the Confederates won major
victories.

Naval war was very crucial to this war. The

North quickly organized a blockade of
southern ports. Two ironclads, the
Confederate Virginia and the Union Monitor
battled at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The U.S.S
Monitor won and thus, allowed the blockade
to continue successfully.

Oblique order is a military tactic in which an

attacking army focuses the majority of its
forces on an enemy flank. This tactic allowed
a smaller force to potentially destroy a larger
enemy force.

Picketts Charge was a failed Confederate

attack on the center of the Unions defensive
position in the Battle of Gettysburg. Nearly
15,000 men took place in Picketts Charge,
but fewer than half of them survived.

Quaker guns were a deception tactic that

was commonly used by the Confederates to
fool the Union that a position was more
fortified than it actually was. It was actually a
wooden log painted black.

Robert E. Lee was a general in the

Confederate army. He led many key attacks
for the South in the beginning of the Civil War.
In the end, Lee surrendered to General Grant
at Appomattox Courthouse.

Stonewall Jackson was a general in the

Confederacy and General Lees right handed
man. He earned the nickname Stonewall at
the First Battle of Bull Run. He was mortally
wounded by his own troops at the Battle of
Chancellorsville and died a few days later.

Total war is a type of war in which an army

destroys an opponents ability to fight by
destroying civilian and economic resources, as
well as military resources. Union General
Sherman used this tactic in his March to the
Sea.

Ulysses S. Grant was the Union armys

greatest general. His success in the western
campaign of the war made him be transferred
to the East. He eventually cornered General
Lees army and Lee surrendered to Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse.

Vicksburg was an important city in the West,

as it was the key to control of the Mississippi
River. General Grant laid siege to the well
protected city. Vicksburgs residents were
forced to hide in caves as a result of relentless
shelling. Vicksburg fell to Grant on July 4th,
1863.

Wilderness Campaign was a series of

attacks on the Confederates, through which
the Union hoped to capture the Confederate
capital of Richmond, Virginia. Most of these
battles were fought in the woods near
Richmond.

Appomatto x Courthouse was the small town

where General Lee surrendered to General
Grant. This essentially ended the Civil War.

Yankees were mostly Northerners, or people

loyal to the Federal government. Some people
in the South were also Yankees.

Zouaves were volunteer units in the Civil

War. Both sides had them. Most units wore
bright, colorful uniforms, including baggy
trousers, a vest, and headgear. They were
named after French African troops who were
known for their bravery.