Cards Flashcards
Abolitionist
A person who believed in the abolishment or abolition of negro slavery
Artillery
Large, powerful weapons such as cannons and mortars
Assassination
The murder of a prominent person such as President Lincoln
Battery
A unit of four or six cannons, or a fortified position on which they are placed
Battle
Large-scale combat between two armed forces
Blockade
The closing off, using naval forces, of a city or other area to traffic and communication
Border state
Slave owning states that did not secede from the union: Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri
Cartridge box
A leather box in which the soldier carried his rounds or bullets
Casualty
A person killed, wounded, captured, or missing during the war
Cavalry
Soldiers mounted on horseback fighting as a union
Chloroform
The liquid drug used to anesthetize wounded soldiers in the war
CSA
the alliance of 11 southern states to form the confederate states of America
Contraband
Goods illegally traded during wartime. Slaves were sometimes called contraband
Copperhead
A northern democrat who agreed with southern secession and clamored for peace during the war
Deploy
To spread out armies to create a battle line
Desertion
To leave ones military post or to run away from battle often punishable by death
Dixie
Slang term for the confederacy, also a popular southern song
Draft
The selection of citizens for mandatory military service
Drill
The process of instructing recruits how to march and practice the military arts as a unit
Dysentery
An often fatal disease of the human intestines, usually caused by unsanitary conditions of military camps and battle sites
Envelopment
An attack against the flanks of an enemy’s army, in hopes of eventually encircling it
Emancipation
The formal release of slaves from bondage, as it happens in January 1863
Flanks
The sides of an army’s line in battle
Forage
The search for food by soldiers often at the expense of farmers in the battle area
Greenback
Paper money used during the civil war in the north
Hardtack
A 1/4 inch of 1/2 inch thick hard cracker eaten by civil war soldiers. Also known as biscuits, crackers, and army bread
Haversack
Cloth bag used by soldiers to carry rations and food
Infantry
Foot soldiers marching and fighting together. Most of the soldiers in the civil war were infantry
Ironclad
A ship covered in iron plates and used in the civil war, as in the famous Merrimack vs monitor first ever naval battle between ironclads in 1862
Main attack
The big concentrated attack against the enemy’s weak or critical point
Minnie ball
The standard rifle bullet used in the war. Made rifles more accurate and led to staggering casualties
Picket
One or more soldiers responsible for guard duty, always watchful for enemy approach
Rank
Military leadership in order of importance and decision making responsibilities usually prioritized from the the commander in chief, general, Lt. general, major general, brigadier general, colonel, major, captain, lieutenant, 1st sergeant, sergeant, corporal, private
Ration
Military term for food
Rebel
Slang term for a soldier fighting for the south
Recruit
A soldier who has just signed up to be a soldier and is without battle experience
Rifled Musket
The standard infantry weapon used in the war
Salt pork
Most common ration during war. Salted pork to preserve it.
Secede
To withdraw from the union, as 11 southern states did in 1860-1861
Strategy
The art of military command as to an overall plan of war. How and where to deploy troops are components of strategic planning
Sutler
Dry goods salesman who traveled with the northern army. Sold necessary items to soldiers at a raised price
Tactics
The art of maneuvering troops on a battlefield
Torpedo
An underwater mine which explode enemy ships
Turning movement
A military tactic sending troops to an enemy’s flank to attack the line of communications in the rear of the battle
Union
Collection of 23 northern states which fought the rebels during the civil war
Yank
Term for soldier who fought for union
Zouave
Soldiers in colorful uniforms patterned after French infantry soldiers who specialized in precision drilling
