The American Civil War

abolish

do away with

abolition

doing away with a system or practice or institution

abolitionist

a reformer who favors putting an end to slavery

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States

amendment

a statement that is added to a proposal or document

American Civil War

civil war in the United States between the North and the South; 1861-1865

antebellum

belonging to a period before a war

arsenal

all the weapons and equipment that a country has

Battle of Bull Run

either of two battles during the American Civil War

Battle of Fredricksburg

an important battle in the American Civil War

Battle of Gettysburg

a battle of the American Civil War

bayonet

a knife fixed to the end of a rifle and used as a weapon

blockade

a war measure isolating an area of importance to the enemy

brigade

army unit smaller than a division

campaign

related operations aimed at achieving a particular goal

canteen

a flask for carrying water; used by soldiers or travelers

carpetbagger

an outsider who seeks power or success presumptuously

casualty

someone injured or killed in a military engagement

cavalry

troops trained to fight on horseback

Chancellors

a major battle in the American Civil War

civil war

a war between factions in the same country

Confederate

of or having to do with the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War

Confederate States of America

the southern states that seceded from the United States in 1861

conscript

enroll into service compulsorily

conscription

compulsory military service

desert

leave in order to join an opposing cause, country, or army

desertion

withdrawing support or help despite allegiance or responsibility

draftee

someone who is drafted into military service

Dred Scott

United States slave who sued for liberty after living in a non-slave state; caused the Supreme Court to declare the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional (1795?-1858)

emancipation

freeing someone from the control of another

expansion

the act of increasing in size or volume or quantity or scope

federal government

a government with strong central powers

Frederick Douglass

United States abolitionist who escaped from slavery and became an influential writer and lecturer in the North (1817-1895)

Gatling gun

an early form of machine gun having several barrels that fire in sequence as they are rotated

Gettysburg Address

a three-minute address by Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War at the dedication of a national cemetery on the site of the Battle of Gettysburg (November 19, 1863)

hardtack

very firm unsalted biscuit or bread

Harper's Ferry

a small town in northeastern West Virginia that was the site of a raid in 1859 by the abolitionist John Brown and his followers who captured an arsenal that was located there

Harriet Tubman

United States abolitionist born a slave on a plantation in Maryland and became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad leading other slaves to freedom in the North (1820-1913)

haversack

a bag carried by a strap on your back or shoulder

Henry Clay

United States politician responsible for the Missouri Compromise between free and slave states (1777-1852)

infantry

an army unit consisting of soldiers who fight on foot

ironclad

sheathed in iron plates for protection

Jefferson Davis

president of the Confederacy during the American Civil War

John Wilkes Booth

United States actor and assassin of President Lincoln

manifest destiny

a policy of imperialist expansion said to be inevitable

Mason-Dixon line

the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania

Missouri Compromise

an agreement in 1820 between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States concerning the extension of slavery into new territories

musket

a muzzle-loading shoulder gun with a long barrel

North

the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line

plantation

an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale

proclamation

a formal public statement

Recontruction

the period after the American Civil War when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union; 1865-1877

rifle

a firearm with a long barrel

Robert E. Lee

American general who led the Confederate Armies in the American Civil War (1807-1870)

secede

withdraw from an organization or polity

Secession

formal separation from an alliance or federation

segregation

a social system with separate facilities for minority groups

Siege of Vicksburg

a decisive battle in the American Civil War

slavery

the practice or system of owning people as property

South

the southern states that seceded from the United States in 1861

Sovereignty

government free from external control

states' rights

a doctrine that federal powers should be curtailed and returned to the individual states

Stonewall Jackson

general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War whose troops at the first Battle of Bull Run stood like a stone wall (1824-1863)

territory

a region marked off for administrative or other purposes

Ulysses S. Grant

18th President of the United States

Underground Railroad

secret aid to help people escape slavery in the U.S.

Union

being of or having to do with the northern United States and those loyal to the Union during the American Civil War

William Tecumseh Sherman

United States general who was commander of all Union troops in the West; he captured Atlanta and led a destructive march to the sea that cut the Confederacy in two (1820-1891)

Yankee

an American who lives in the North