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

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 (skirmishes and engagements are smaller scaled and briefer)

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, 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 unit

Chloroform
The Liquid drug used to anesthetize (put to sleep) wounded soldiers in the war

Confederacy or 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 during the war

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 one's military post, or to run away from battles, often punishable by death

Dixie
Slang term for the Confederacy, also a popular Southern song

Draft of Conscription
The selection of citizens for mandatory military service

Drill
The process of instruction 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 sights

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 happened in January 1863

Flanks
The sides of an army's line in battle. A flanking movement is attacking the sides

Forage
The search for food by soldiers often at the expense of the farmers battle area

Greenback
Paper money used during the Civil War in the North

Hardtack
A quarter-inch or half-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. The vast majority of Civil War soldiers were infantry

Ironclad
A ship covered with iron plates and used in the Civil War, in the famous Merrimack vs Monitor first ever naval battles between the ironclads in 1862. They revolutionized naval warfare

Main attack
The big, concentrated attack against the enemy's weak or critical point

Minie Ball
The standard rifle bullet used in the war. From France, it made the rifle 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 Commander-in-Chief (president), General of the Army, Lt. General, Major General, Brigadier General, Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, 1st Sergeant, Corporal, Private

Rations
Military term for food

Rebel or Confederate, Butternut, Grayback, Johnny Reb, or Reb
A 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. Usually .58 or .577 caliber, the "rifle" fired a Minnie ball through a spiral grooved barrel, spinning the bullet for more velocity and accuracy

SALT PORK

• The most common meal ration during the war, along with hardtack and coffee. The pork was salted to preserve it

SECEDE

• To withdraw from the Union, as 11 Southern states did in 1860-1861. During the war, Southerners were frequently called "secesh" by Northerners

STRATEGY

• The art of military command as to an overall plan of war. How to deploy troops and where to deploy troops are components of strategic planning

SUTLER

• Dry goods salesmen who traveled with the Northern armies. Considered necessary for the provision of extra items for the soldiers, sulters often cheater and overcharge military customers.

TACTICS

• The art of maneuvering troops on a battlefield

TORPEDO

• Civil War term for an underwater mine that exploded. Used on rivers to defend agains enemy ships

TURNING MOVEMENT

• A military tactic. Sending troops around the enemy's flank ( side ) to attack his line of communications in the rear of his battle line

UNION

• The collection of 23 Northern states which fought the rebellious Confederacy during the Civil War. Also called the United States of America.

YANK OR THE BLUE, FEDERALS, OR BILLY YANK

• Term for soldier who fought for the Union

ZOUAVE

• Soldiers in colorful uniforms patterned after French infantry soldiers, and who specialized in precision drilling