Unit 6: The Civil War and Reconstruction - Prelude and Early Campaigns

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering Unit 6 of the Civil War lecture, including the Election of 1860, strategies, technological innovations, and the initial campaigns in the Western and Eastern Theaters.

William Seward

An ardent abolitionist considered by the Republican Party for the 1860 presidential nomination before the party chose Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln

A moderate Republican, self-schooled lawyer born in a log cabin in Kentucky, who gained national prominence during debates with Stephen Douglas and won the presidential election of 1860.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

A series of political debates during Abraham Lincoln's unsuccessful Senate campaign against Stephen Douglas that brought Lincoln to national attention.

Stephen Douglas

The Northern Democratic candidate in the 1860 presidential election who advocated for popular sovereignty to resolve the issue of slavery.

Popular Sovereignty

The doctrine supported by Stephen Douglas allowing residents of a territory to decide by vote whether to permit slavery.

John C. Breckinridge

The Southern Democratic candidate nominated on a pro-slavery platform in the presidential election of 1860.

John Bell

The candidate nominated by political moderates in the presidential election of 1860, carrying Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Split of the Democratic Party (1860)

The division of Democrats over the issue of slavery, resulting in separate nominations of Stephen Douglas by Northern Democrats and John C. Breckinridge by Southern Democrats.

Election of 1860 Electoral Map

The electoral results showing Lincoln sweeping the North and West, Breckinridge carrying the Lower South, Bell taking border Upper South states, and Douglas winning Missouri and part of New Jersey.

New York Electoral Vote (1860)

A major Northern prize delivering $35$ electoral votes to Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln.

Pennsylvania Electoral Vote (1860)

A large Mid-Atlantic state casting its $27$ electoral votes for Abraham Lincoln.

Ohio Electoral Vote (1860)

A Midwestern state contributing $23$ electoral votes to Abraham Lincoln's victory.

Missouri Electoral Vote (1860)

The single state won outright by Northern Democrat Stephen Douglas, providing him with $9$ electoral votes.

New Jersey Electoral Split (1860)

A divided outcome where Abraham Lincoln earned $4$ electoral votes and Stephen Douglas earned $3$ electoral votes.

Virginia Electoral Vote (1860)

An Upper South state granting its $15$ electoral votes to moderate candidate John Bell.

Kentucky Electoral Vote (1860)

A border state that delivered its $12$ electoral votes to John Bell.

Tennessee Electoral Vote (1860)

An Upper South state casting its $12$ electoral votes for moderate John Bell.

Confederate States of America

The republic formed by seceding Southern states following the election of Abraham Lincoln.

Southern Secession Viewpoint

The Southern belief that the United States Constitution permits individual states to lawfully secede from the Union.

Northern Secession Viewpoint

The Northern position holding that the Constitution does not allow states to lawfully leave the Union.

Jefferson Davis

The Mississippi politician elected President of the Confederate States of America.

Confederate Central Governance

The decentralized government framework of the Confederacy that lacked strong central authority, complicating coordinated war efforts against the North.

Fort Sumter

A federal fortification in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, whose bombardment marked the military beginning of the Civil War.

General Beauregard (Fort Sumter)

The Confederate general ordered by Jefferson Davis to demand the surrender of Fort Sumter and seize it by force if Union commander Anderson refused.

Major Robert Anderson

The Union commander at Fort Sumter who refused Confederate surrender demands, leading to the Confederate bombardment.

Bombardment of Fort Sumter

The $36$-hour Confederate artillery attack that forced the surrender of Union forces occupying the Charleston Harbor fortress.

Lincoln's Call for Volunteers

President Lincoln's proclamation summoning military volunteers to suppress the rebellion after Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter.

Upper South Secession

The departure of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas from the Union to join the Confederacy following Lincoln's mobilization call.

Secession Timing Map

A geographic record indicating the Lower South states that seceded prior to April 15, 1861, and Upper South states that seceded after April 15, 1861.

Prior to April 15, 1861 Secession

The initial wave of secession consisting of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

Post-April 15, 1861 Secession

The second wave of Southern secession triggered by Lincoln's call for troops, involving Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Lincoln's 1861 Inaugural Pledge on Slavery

Lincoln's explicit statement that he had no lawful right, purpose, or inclination to interfere directly or indirectly with slavery where it already existed.

Lincoln's Initial War Aim

The singular stated objective at the onset of the Civil War to simply maintain and preserve the Union.

General Winfield Scott

The Union commanding general who proposed a comprehensive plan to blockade Southern ports and cut off Confederate trade.

Anaconda Plan

The strategic concept advanced by General Winfield Scott to blockade Southern coastlines and choke the Confederacy economically.

Richmond, Virginia

The capital of the Confederacy and a primary objective of Northern offensive operations in the Eastern Theater.

Northern Industrial Advantage

The superior economic capacity and manufacturing infrastructure of the Union that eventually overwhelmed Southern resistance.

Union Draft

The federal military conscription system instituted to furnish soldiers for Union armies during the Civil War.

Draft Buy-Out

A controversial legal provision enabling drafted men to pay money to commute or secure a substitute for their military service.

New York City Draft Riots

Violent protests occurring in July of 1863 over conscription inequities and buyouts, resulting in the deaths of over $100$ people.

Copperheads

Northern opponents of the war who attempted to discourage support by warning that freed slaves would migrate north and take jobs.

Habeas Corpus Suspension

The wartime suspension of the writ protecting citizens from unlawful imprisonment, enacted by President Lincoln to suppress disloyalty.

Martial Law in Kentucky

The placement of the entire border state of Kentucky under direct military control by the federal government during the war.

Trent Affair Envoy Seizure

The diplomatic incident resulting from a Union warship intercepting two Confederate envoys sent by Jefferson Davis to curry favor in Britain.

British Diplomatic Demand (1861)

Britain's formal demand for the return of the Confederate envoys removed from a British vessel by a Union naval crew.

Southern Strategy

A defensive war strategy aimed at simply outlasting Northern resolve until the Union became weary of war.

War of Attrition (Civil War)

A military approach whereby the Confederacy sought to survive and resist Union armies rather than win through outright conquest.

Southern Military Officer Advantage

The benefit enjoyed by the South from having a large proportion of experienced pre-war military officers resign their commissions to lead Confederate troops.

States' Rights in the Confederacy

The philosophical principle underlying the Confederacy that hindered national mobilization and central war coordination.

Confederate Foreign Recognition

The diplomatic pursuit by Southern leaders to gain formal sovereign recognition from Great Britain and France.

British Confederate Privateers

Commerce-raiding vessels constructed in British shipyards to assist the Confederate war effort against Northern merchant shipping.

British Recognition Outcome

The ultimate diplomatic refusal of the British government to ever formally recognize Confederate independence.

African American Civil War Enlistment

The entry of African Americans into military service, viewing participation in the Civil War as a direct path toward securing freedom.

African American Union Troop Proportion

The demographic reality that by the conclusion of the war, $10\%$ of all Union soldiers were African Americans, many of whom were freed slaves.

Gatling Gun

A rapid-firing military innovation introduced during the Civil War capable of continuous firing through multiple rotating barrels.

Continuous Firing

The mechanical capability demonstrated by the Gatling gun to deliver sustained bursts of projectile fire.

Military Railroad Logistics

The strategic use of rail networks during the Civil War to transport soldiers and war supplies across vast distances.

Ironclad

A warship constructed entirely of iron or protected with heavy iron plating, first pitted against each other in Civil War naval combat.

Conical-Shaped Bullets

Aerodynamic lead projectiles (Minié-style bullets) introduced alongside rifled barrels to increase firing accuracy and lethality.

Rifled Guns

Firearms manufactured with internal spiral grooving that imparted spin to bullets, dramatically improving range and precision.

Civil War Prison Camps

Large, sprawling confinement facilities operated by both the North and South where thousands of captured soldiers were detained.

Andersonville Prison

A Confederate military prison in Georgia where $35,000$ Northern captives were interned under severe and squalid conditions.

Andersonville Daily Mortality Rate

The horrific death toll of approximately $100$ Union prisoners per day dying from starvation and disease inside Andersonville.

Civil War Camp Disease Ratio

The statistical reality that a Union soldier was $3$ times more likely to die in a military camp or hospital than on a battlefield.

Civil War Surgical Sanitation

The primitive standard of medical hygiene under which military surgeons routinely worked for days without washing surgical instruments.

First Battle of Bull Run

The first major land engagement of the war in Virginia, where initial Union success was reversed by a Confederate stand and counterattack.

Stonewall Jackson (Bull Run)

The Confederate commander whose stubborn defensive stand stopped advancing Union forces at the First Battle of Bull Run.

Union Rout at Bull Run

The disorganized and panicked retreat of Northern soldiers toward Washington following their defeat at First Bull Run.

Bull Run Realization

The stark realization for both sides after Bull Run that the conflict would be significantly longer and harder than expected.

First Bull Run Theater Campaign Map

A regional map of Northern Virginia in July 1861 detailing the movements of McDowell, Beauregard, Patterson, and Johnston.

General Irvin McDowell

The Union general commanding $35,000$ troops moving from Washington toward Manassas Junction in July 1861.

General Robert Patterson

The Union commander leading $18,000$ men in the Shenandoah Valley tasked with pinning down Johnston's Confederates.

General Joseph E. Johnston (Shenandoah 1861)

The Confederate general commanding $12,000$ troops at Winchester who slipped away from Patterson to reinforce Beauregard via railroad.

General P.G.T. Beauregard (Manassas 1861)

The Confederate general defending Manassas Junction with $20,000$ troops before receiving reinforcements at Bull Run.

General Theophilus H. Holmes

The Confederate officer positioned near Aquia Creek along the Potomac River with $3,000$ men during the Bull Run campaign.

Manassas Gap Railroad

The strategic rail line connecting the Shenandoah Valley to Manassas Junction that enabled Johnston's forces to reinforce Beauregard.

Centreville, Virginia

The staging base east of Bull Run through which Union forces under McDowell advanced toward Manassas.

Henry House Hill Tactical Map

A battlefield map illustrating the critical fighting positions at Henry House Hill, Chinn Ridge, and Warrenton Pike during First Bull Run.

Henry House Hill

The central elevated battlefield feature where Thomas J. Jackson's Confederate brigade stood firm against Union assaults.

Matthews Hill

An elevation north of Warrenton Pike where early morning combat took place during the First Battle of Bull Run.

Warrenton Pike

The main east-west roadway crossing Bull Run via the Stone Bridge, serving as an axis of movement for Union forces.

Stone Bridge (Bull Run)

A primary bridge over Bull Run stream used by retreating and advancing forces along the Warrenton Pike.

Chinn Ridge

A prominent ridge southwest of Henry House Hill where Union forces under Howard clashed with Confederate reinforcements.

Dogan Ridge

A topographic ridge situated west of Matthews Hill on the First Bull Run battlefield.

General Oliver Otis Howard (Bull Run)

A Union commander whose brigade was engaged on Chinn Ridge during the concluding phases of First Bull Run.

Colonel Erasmus Keyes (Bull Run)

A Union brigade commander who crossed Bull Run near Farm Ford to attack the Confederate right flank along the Warrenton Pike.

J.E.B. Stuart (Bull Run)

The Confederate cavalry commander operating on the Confederate left near Chinn Ridge and Young's Branch.

General Jubal Early (Bull Run)

A Confederate brigade commander who launched a decisive flank attack against Union positions at Chinn Ridge.

Joseph B. Kershaw (Bull Run)

A Confederate commander whose troops deployed alongside Cocke to reinforce the defenses on Henry House Hill.

Philip St. George Cocke

A Confederate officer directing troops on the defensive line anchoring the southern slope of Henry House Hill.

Kirby Smith / Arnold Elzey (Bald Hill)

Confederate commanders leading reinforcements from the Shenandoah Valley via Bald Hill to strike the Union flank.

Young's Branch

A small stream winding between Matthews Hill, Dogan Ridge, and Henry House Hill on the Bull Run battlefield.

Stone House (Bull Run)

A landmark stone dwelling situated at the crossroads near Warrenton Pike and Sudley Road, utilized during combat.

Portici (F. Lewis House)

The plantation house located east of Henry House Hill serving as Confederate headquarters during First Bull Run.

David Farragut

The Union naval officer who led federal gunboats up the Mississippi River to capture vital Confederate port cities in 1862.

Capture of New Orleans (1862)

The seizure of the Confederacy's largest port and trade hub by naval forces under David Farragut.

Capture of Baton Rouge (1862)

The occupation of Louisiana's capital by federal forces advancing northward along the Mississippi River under Farragut.

Capture of Natchez, Mississippi (1862)

The surrender of a crucial Mississippi River town to Union naval commander David Farragut.

Western Theater Campaign Map (1862–65)

An overview map tracing Union riverine invasions, rail campaigns, and major battles across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia.

Forts Henry and Donelson (1862)

Twin Confederate forts along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers captured by Union forces to open central Tennessee.