Civil War Vocabulary

Calvary

A unit of soldiers who ride horses

Conscript

Draftee; person forced into military service; V.

Antebellum

Belonging to a period before a war especially the American Civil War

Total War

A war that involves the complete mobilization of resources and people, affecting the lives of all citizens in the warring countries, even those remote from the battlefields.

Mason-Dixie Line

The Mason and Dixon line was perceived as a divider between free and slave states before the Civil War

Border States

Slave states that did not secede

U.S. Sanitary Commission

Organization developed to provide medical supplies and assistance to Union armies in the field

Proviso

A clause or statement that gives instructions for a potential event or situation

Secession

Formal withdrawal of states or regions from a nation

Casualty

A person killed or injured in a war or accident

Emancipation

The act of setting free

Popular Sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people

Rifle-musket

Technological advancements in weaponry led to this weapon being more accurate and having a longer range

Republican Party

1854 - anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats, Free Soilers and reformers from the Northwest met and formed party in order to keep slavery out of the territories

Tributary

A stream or river that flows into a larger river

Habeas Corpus

Constitutional protection against unlawful imprisonment

Anaconda Plan

Union war plan by Winfield Scott, called for blockade of southern coast, capture of Richmond, capture Mississippi R, and to take an army through heart of south

Bounty

Money given as a reward, such as to encourage enlistment in the army