The American Civil War (1861-1865) Trivia Word Search

Armored warships like the Monitor and Virginia fought a famous 1862 duel; this vessel type is called an _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Nicknamed 'Fighting Joe,' this Union general lost badly to Lee at Chancellorsville in 1863.

Dubbed the 'Angel of the Battlefield,' this nurse later founded the American Red Cross.

The war's last land battle, fought in Texas in May 1865, is named for this ranch on the Rio Grande.

This famed Underground Railroad conductor served the Union as an armed scout and led a raid on the Combahee River.

Lincoln's Secretary of State was badly wounded in a coordinated attack the same night as the president's shooting.

This flamboyant Confederate cavalry commander was surprised by Union horsemen at Brandy Station.

This new communications technology let commanders coordinate troop movements across great distances in real time.

This Union general commanded at Stones River and later lost badly to Bragg at Chickamauga.

This new transportation network let armies move troops and supplies faster than in any earlier war.

Ratified in December 1865, the 13th Amendment permanently abolished this practice throughout the United States.

Lincoln's Treasury Secretary helped finance the war and later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

A British-made rifled musket widely imported by the Confederacy shared its name with an English town.

Lincoln's 1863 Gettysburg _ _ _ _ _ _ _ begins with the words 'Four score and seven years ago.'

To help pay for the war, the U.S. government levied its first-ever federal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in 1861.

Winfield Scott's plan to strangle the South with a naval blockade and control of the Mississippi was nicknamed this.

This Union ironclad fought CSS Virginia to a draw at Hampton Roads in 1862, ushering in a new era of naval warfare.

Confederate forces bombarded this Union-held South Carolina fort on April 12, 1861, starting the Civil War.

A massive Union mine explosion created this famous hole in Confederate lines at Petersburg in July 1864.

This Confederate general led the famous, ultimately doomed infantry charge at Gettysburg.

This Confederate general won at Chickamauga but was later routed from Chattanooga.

This Union general's March to the Sea cut a swath of destruction through Georgia in 1864.

Confederate soldiers were commonly given this nickname, evoking their break from the Union.

This Massachusetts abolitionist senator was famously caned on the Senate floor before the war over an anti-slavery speech.

The Confederate ironclad Virginia was rebuilt from the burned hull of this captured Union steam frigate.

Lincoln controversially suspended this legal writ, which protects citizens from unlawful detention.

This Confederate general died leading his troops in the fighting at Shiloh in April 1862.

Named for its French inventor, this new type of soft lead bullet caused unusually severe battle wounds.

Lincoln's bearded Secretary of the Navy oversaw the Union's rapid wartime fleet expansion.

Founded in 1854 on an anti-slavery platform, Lincoln's party is still nicknamed by this three-letter abbreviation.

This rifled artillery piece, named for its American inventor, gave Union gunners greater range and accuracy.

Union troops attacking entrenched Confederates near Richmond in June 1864 called this battle not war, but _ _ _ _ _ _.

This Confederate commandant of Andersonville prison was executed for war crimes in 1865.

Known as the 'Gray Ghost,' this Confederate ranger raided Union supply lines in Virginia.

This reformer served as the Union Army's superintendent of female nurses throughout the war.

This vice president succeeded Lincoln after the assassination and later faced impeachment.

At Lookout Mountain in November 1863, part of this Tennessee battle earned the nickname 'Battle Above the _ _ _ _ _ _.'

This Confederate submarine sank the USS Housatonic in 1864 but never returned safely from its mission.

This lawyer from Illinois led the Union through the entire war until his assassination in 1865.

This influential newspaper editor pressured Lincoln early in the war with cries of 'Forward to Richmond.'

This Confederate socialite ran a spy ring from her Washington, D.C. parlor before being imprisoned.

This demanding Secretary of War organized Union logistics and railroads throughout the conflict.

Lincoln's general-in-chief for much of the war, this cautious administrator was nicknamed 'Old Brains.'

This aggressive Union cavalry general burned the Shenandoah Valley and later drove Early from it.

This actor shot Lincoln at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865.

Opposition to a new 1863 conscription law sparked deadly riots in this major Northern city.

This young Union colonel commanded the pioneering 54th Massachusetts and died leading its assault on a fort.

This Union general's futile frontal assaults at Fredericksburg became a byword for military blundering.

John Brown's failed 1859 raid targeted a federal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ at Harpers Ferry, aiming to spark a slave uprising.

The largest battle fought west of the Mississippi took place in Missouri in October 1864, near this city.

Sherman's forces captured this Georgia city in September 1864, boosting Lincoln's re-election chances.

To help finance the war, the Union issued a new paper currency nicknamed for the color on its reverse: the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Robert E. Lee's _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, took place at a Virginia courthouse village.

This Confederate general earned his famous nickname by standing firm at First Bull Run.

This escaped-slave-turned-abolitionist recruited Black soldiers and advised Lincoln at the White House.

Nicknamed the 'Rock of Chickamauga,' this Union general later crushed Hood's army at Nashville.

This Union general lost decisively to Lee at Second Bull Run in August 1862.

This flashy Union cavalry officer later became famous for his defeat at Little Bighorn.

This Union general won at Gettysburg but was criticized for not pursuing Lee's retreating army.

In 1864, the Confederate vessel Hunley became the first of these underwater craft to sink an enemy warship.

This lever-action repeating rifle let Union cavalry fire seven rounds before reloading.

Photographer Mathew Brady and his teams brought unprecedented realism to war coverage using this device.

What one-word legal status did Lincoln's January 1, 1863 proclamation grant enslaved people in Confederate states?

The war's high death toll far from home helped popularize this method of preserving bodies for transport.

This Confederate cavalry general rose from private to lieutenant general with no formal military training.

A controversial 1863 law allowed wealthy men to pay $300 to avoid this form of compulsory military service.

This Virginia city served as the capital of the Confederate States for most of the war.

This Union admiral led the capture of New Orleans and the assault on Mobile Bay.

Depicted in the film Glory, Union troops including the 54th Massachusetts assaulted this South Carolina fort in 1863.

Delegates from seceded states met at Montgomery, the capital of this state, to organize the Confederacy in February 1861.

An early rapid-fire weapon, the hand-cranked _ _ _ _ _ _ _ gun saw limited use by Union forces.

South Carolina became the first state to do this in December 1860, triggering the crisis that led to war.

The Confederacy's failed strategy of pressuring Britain and France with exports was nicknamed 'King _ _ _ _ _ _.'

On September 17, 1862, this Maryland battle became the bloodiest single day in American military history.

Thaddeus Lowe organized a Union corps of tethered, gas-filled aircraft used to spy on Confederate troops.

Grant's ten-month _ _ _ _ _ of a key Virginia city near Richmond ended in April 1865, forcing Lee to abandon his lines.

Phil Sheridan's dramatic gallop to rally retreating troops at Cedar Creek became known as Sheridan's _ _ _ _.

This Confederate general commanded the Army of Northern Virginia and surrendered at Appomattox.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 anti-slavery novel, which galvanized Northern opinion, is titled 'Uncle Tom's _ _ _ _ _.'

This Confederate general raided Washington and burned Chambersburg in 1864 before Sheridan defeated him in the Shenandoah Valley.

The war's first major land battle, fought in Virginia in July 1861, is named for a creek called _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Escaped slaves who reached Union lines were often legally classified as seized enemy _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

George Thomas destroyed John Bell Hood's army at this Tennessee capital city in December 1864.

Sherman's destructive 1864 campaign from Atlanta to Savannah became known as the March to the _ _ _.

Grant's victory at this Mississippi city on July 4, 1863, gave the Union total control of the river.

This Union aeronaut organized the Balloon Corps to observe enemy movements from high above the battlefield.

Many Civil War generals, including Grant and Lee, had trained together at West _ _ _ _ _.

Lincoln made this Union general commander of all U.S. armies in 1864 after his western victories.

The Union's naval strategy of sealing Confederate ports to strangle trade was called a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Fought in Tennessee in April 1862, this battle produced shocking casualties that stunned both North and South.

In 1862, an enslaved ship pilot named Robert _ _ _ _ _ _ commandeered a Confederate vessel and sailed it to freedom.

This Confederate general suffered catastrophic losses attacking Union lines at Franklin, Tennessee, in 1864.

This Confederate general surrendered Fort Donelson to Grant, who demanded 'unconditional surrender.'

This elderly general, a hero of the Mexican-American War, devised the Union's early strangling strategy.

Admiral David Farragut reportedly cried 'Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead' at this Alabama bay in 1864.