Civil War Unit Vocabulary (Textbook – Unit 4 Chapter 12)
Vocabulary
Word
Book Definition
Writ of Habeas
Corpus
a law that allowed prisoners to petition to a judge
if they believed they had been arrested
unlawfully
Border States
at the time of the Civil War, a state that bordered
both Union and Confederate states, namely
Maryland, Kentucky, Delaware, Missouri, and
West Virginia
Offensive War
a war fought mostly on the enemy's land
Defensive War
a war to protect one’s own land, on familiar
ground, from outside attackers
Anaconda Plan
a military strategy during the Civil War in which
the North planned to set up a blockade around
the southern coast to ruin the South’s economy
and secure ports on the Mississippi River; much
as a huge snake, like an anaconda, crushes its
prey
Promissory Note
a written agreement to pay a person or business
back by a specified date
Greenbacks
paper currency issued by the Union, replacing
the notes of individual banks
Calvary
army troops who fight on horseback
a unit of troops mounted on horseback
Infantry
Foot soldiers
a branch of an army composed of
soldiers trained to fight on foot.
Ironclad
a ship armored with iron plates to protect it from
cannon fire
a steam-propelled warship protected by
iron or steel armor plates.
Fronts
a battle line between armies
Pontoons
a portable, cylindrical float used to build a
temporary bridge
Contraband
an enslaved African American living in the
South who was captured by Union troops and
treated as enemy property during the U.S. Civil
War
Captured enemy property
Freedmen
a formerly enslaved person
A person freed from slavery
In your own words.
A legal rule that means that if you are
arrested, you have the right to make the
government prove to a judge that your
arrest and detainment are justified.
The Border states were those states that
during the American Civil War did not
leave the Union. Included DE, KY,
MD, MO, and WV
A war that is fought on the opposition's
ground, in the Civil War it was the
North
a war where at least one nation is
mainly trying to defend itself from
another, in the Civil War it was the
South.
The Anaconda Plan was called the
Anaconda Plan because, like a snake,
the Union meant to constrict the South.
They would surround the southern
borders, keeping out supplies. Then the
army would split the South in two,
taking control of the Mississippi River.
An agreement to pay someone money
either on demand or at a specific date.
A bill that was first created to finance
the civil war and were called as such
because their backs were printed in
green.
The boundary line between opposing
armies
a bridge that floats on the water and is
held up by large hollow containers
filled with air
Radical
Republicans
Copperheads
Emancipation
Proclamation
Trench Warfare
Conscription
a group of politicians that believed
freed slaves should have political and
social equality with all other citizens
a negative nickname for Democrats who opposed
the name given to Northerners who
emancipation of enslaved people and the draft
sympathized with the Confederate cause
a presidential proclamation and
an 1863 document issued by Abraham Lincoln
executive order issued by United States
that freed all slaves living in Confederate-held
President Abraham Lincoln on January
territory during the American Civil War
1, 1863, during the Civil War.
a form of fighting in which opposing
a type of warfare in which long ditches dug deep sides attack, counterattack, and defend
in the ground provide protection for soldiers
from systems of trenches dug into the
ground
the requirement to enlist for service in a
the orderly selection of people (usually
country’s armed forces
men) for required military service
an abolitionist member of the U.S. Congress who
supported African American rights
Draft
a mandatory term of military service
the choosing of one or more people for
military duty
Exemption
a release from obligations
to release from a requirement that
others must meet.
Confiscate
To take by governmental act
to take by the power of authority.
Scapegoats
an individual or group blamed for the mistakes
or faults of others
one made to bear the blame for the
wrongs of others.
Lynched
to hang someone illegally by mob action
When a mob hangs someone illegally
Batteries
a group of artillery pieces such as cannons
two or more big military guns that are
controlled as a unit
Flanking
Maneuver
a military movement of troops around the side of
an enemy line in the hope of gaining an
advantage
an attack on the sides or rear of an
opposing force
Contingent
a small group that represents a larger group
A small group that represents a larger
majority
Barrage
heavy artillery fire concentrated on a single line
or area
Total War
a war in which all rules and laws of war are
ignored, and all resources are used for defeating
the enemy
Reconstruction
the effort to rebuild and reunite the United States
following the Civil War
Assassination
an act of murder committed for political reasons
the murder of an important or popular
person.
Morphine
a powerful painkiller
a habit-forming drug made from opium
and used to relieve pain.
Veterans
a person who has served in the military
a former member of the armed services
or military
a heavy and continuous firing of
weapons during a battle
military conflict in which the
contenders are willing to make any
sacrifice in lives and other resources to
obtain a complete victory.
The rebuilding of the South after the
Civil War
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