18 The Amerixan Civil War

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the key military battles, political actions, leaders, and socioeconomic impacts of the American Civil War.

Robert E. Lee and Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson

Key Confederate generals who successfully outmaneuvered hesitant Northern commanders during the early phases of the war ($1860$–$1862$), particularly on Virginia soil.

Battle of Antietam (1862)

An $1862$ battle that resulted in a Union victory (or avoided defeat), which emboldened President Lincoln to pursue a decisive diplomatic maneuver by framing the war around a moral purpose.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

A presidential decree passed in $1863$ that forbade slavery in enemy territories, authorized the legal confiscation of Southern slaves as enemy property, and blocked British and French recognition of the Confederacy.

Black Union Soldiers

Former slaves and free Blacks who enlisted in the Union Army following the Emancipation Proclamation, making up roughly $10\%$ of Union soldiers while serving in segregated units.

Battle of Gettysburg (1863)

A major $1863$ battle in the East where Confederate forces suffered significant losses, causing the Confederacy's hopes for victory to dwindle rapidly.

Battle of Vicksburg (1863)

An $1863$ Union victory that secured Northern control of the Mississippi River, effectively splitting the Confederacy and its supply lines in half.

Sherman's March (1864)

A military campaign in $1864$ involving the sackings of Atlanta and Savannah, during which Union forces wreaked havoc in the Deep South by destroying infrastructure, supplies, and civilian property.

Appomattox Courthouse (1865)

The site in $1865$ where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively marking the conclusion of the Civil War.

Ulysses S. Grant

The Union General who received General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in $1865$.

Impressment (Confederacy)

A policy adopted by the desperate Confederate government to forcefully seize food and supplies from its own citizens in order to sustain the war effort.

Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862

Legislation enacted in $1862$ that provided for the construction of westward railways, enabling Northern citizens to migrate and spread westward during the war.

Homestead Act of 1862

A federal law passed in $1862$ that offered large land grants to migrants who were willing and able to settle and maintain the land.