| Term | Definition |
| Union | The Northern States during the Civil War |
| Confederacy (or Confederate States of America) | The Southern States during the Civil War |
| blockade | The isolation of an enemy's ports by means of warships to prevent passage of persons or supplies. To block or prevent the import or export of supplies from a port. |
| seige | the surrounding of a place by an army in order to capture it. |
| Copperheads | a faction of Democrats in the North; opposed the civil war |
| conscription | drafting of civilians to serve in the army |
| Emancipation Proclamation | issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, it declared that all slaves in the rebellious Confederate states would be free |
| Gettysburg Address | a famous speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln in Nov. 1863 at the dedication of a national cemitary on the site of the Battle of Gettysburg |
| war of attrition | A war based on wearing the other side down by constant attacks and heavy losses |
| Shermans "March to the Sea" | In December of 1864, General William T. Sherman marched Union forces from Atlanta to Savannah, GA, destroying everything in his path |
| Appomatox Courthouse | The location where the defeated Lee was cornered after the capture of Richmond and forced to surrender to Grant by ending the war with peace concessions. |
| 13th Amendment to the Constitution | An amendment that declared that slavery was completely illegal. |