Madison Historical Society

Alexandria Virginia Seized: Shortly after Virginia voted to secede from the United States, Federal troops marched into Alexandria and took control of the city for the duration of the war making Alexandria the longest occupied part of the Confederacy. The Custis-Lee mansion, the then home of Robert E. Lee, is included in the captured territory.

Beauregard, General Pierre Gustave Toutant: Confederate General Pierre Beauregard gained fame as the officer in charge of the bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charlston Harbor. He received credit for the Confederate victory at Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Afterwards, Beauregard’s abrasive personality resulted in him being transferred to Tennessee. There his troops surprised Grant at Shiloh causing heavy Union casualties. He did not press his advantage so, after  the arrival of Union reinforcements, the Confederates retreated to Cornith, Mississippi where they were later driven out. Poor health sidelined Beauregard until May, 1864 where he defeated the Union attack at Drury’s Bluff, Virginia.

Brown, James M.: James M. Brown was a Chatham businessman who recruited Company K, 7th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers. As Company Commander, he initially held the rank of Captain. He was promoted to Major of the 15th Regiment on July 21, 1862. He left the Army on February 26, 1863.

Camp Olden: Camp Olden was an assembly and training area for NJ Civil War regiments.  Governor Charles Olden ordered it built in what is now Hamilton Township on the outskirts of Trenton, NJ. Camp Olden began operation about May 23 1861 and served as the assembly point for 9 3-year regiments from the state. It was closed on December 4 1861. (Source: The Search for Camp Olden, Hamilton Township)

Civil War Battles - Why do they sometimes have two names?: Studying Civil War battles is confusing because the Union and the Confederates sometimes had different names for the same battle. An example is the Battle of Bull Run (Union name) also known as the Battle of Manassas (Confederate name). One common explanation is that the Union soldiers, who were mostly urban city dwellers, were impressed by natural beauty so they named the battles after a natural feature like the Bull Run (a run is another name for a stream). The Confederates were mostly farmers who were impressed by cities and towns. The battle was fought near Manassas Junction.

Columbia Hospital: Columbia College, now George Washington University, was converted into a hospital during the Civil War.

Corduroy Road: A log road made by placing medium sized logs (5" diameter and several feet long) perpendicular to the direction of travel. The logs were usually then covered with sand, dirt, or straw to level out the roadbed. Corduroy roads were used extensively during the Civil War to traverse swampy and improve dirt roads that would become impassable due to mud and ruts.

Cory, Silas Day.: Silas Cory was the father of Ira W. Cory and Theo L. Cory of the 7th Regiment. He visited the troops at the front often, sometimes performing mundane tasks such as delivering packages and letters and other times trying to recover the bodies of casualties to bring them home for burial.

Emmell, George: George Emmell was Heyward Emmell's older brother. George was a civilian during the Civil War although he visited his brother in camp whenever he could.

Express Box: By 1861, a number of companies delivered small packages for business and consumers. They would deliver to soldiers in camp. The arrival of an "express box" (or "box") from a mother or wife was an eagerly anticipated event by a soldier far from home.

Ford: A place where a river or stream is shallow enough to be crossed by wading.

Fort Sumter: On December 26, 1860, six days after South Carolina seceded from the United States, Major Robert Anderson abandoned Fort Moultrie, a fort on Sullivan Island, and secretly relocated his men to the stronger Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The Confederate government repeatedly called for the fort to surrender. An attempt to resupply the for by the Star of the West was repulsed. Early on April 12, 1861, Confederate forces began a bombardment that lasted until the afternoon of the next day when the fort surrendered. The Union forces left the fort on April 14 on board the Star of the West.

Jackson, General Thomas "Stonewall": Confederate General Thomas Jackson was a professor at Virginia Military Academy when the Civil War started. At the Battle of Bull Run, Jackson’s troops stood firm while other Confederate troops retreated. Confederate General Barnard Bee pointed Jackson out to the retreating soldiers saying, "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall." He distinguished himself in the Battle of second Manassas in August 1862, the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, and the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. At Chancellorsville, Jackson was wounded by friendly fire and died of pneumonia a few days later.

Kansas Admitted as a Free State: The status of Kansas as a slave or free state was left to the voters of the territory to decide the issue (the doctrine of popular sovereignty) in the Compromise of 1850. What was at stake was the balance of power in the U. S. Senate between slave and free states. Pro-slave factions (largely from Missouri) and abolitionist factions (largely from New England) moved into the Kansas Territory after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. Armed clashes between the two sides gave rise to the term "bleeding Kansas". Both slave state and free state constitutions were written. The free state constitution was finally accepted and Kansas admitted to the United States after the Senators from the states which seceded had left the Senate.

Lincoln Cavalry: New York 1st Cavalry Regiment.

Lower Potomac: The part of the Potomac River south of Washington, DC to the Chesapeake Bay.

McDowell, General Irvin: Union General Irvin McDowell was given command of the Army of Northeastern Virginia on May 14, 1861. Although he had misgivings about the readyness of his troops, he led the July 21, 1861attack at the Battle of Bull Run that resulted in a Union defeat. Afterwards, he was replaced as commander by General George McClellan. McDowell commanded I Corps defending Washington, D.C. while McClellan led the Peninsula Campaign in Virginia.  Later McDowell was called to join Pope at the Second Battle of Bull Run.  McDowell took the brunt of the blame for the Union defeat at this battle.  Afterwards, he was given no further combat responsibility for the duration of the war.

The 6th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment is attacked by a mob in Baltimore, MD: The 6th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was the first fully equipped regiment to respond to Lincoln's call to defend Washington. They arrived at the east end of the city by rail and had to march across town to a different railroad station to board the Washington train. Maryland was a border state of divided loyalties. A crowd of Confederate sympathizers attacked the regiment which responded with rifle fire in response to pistol fire from the crown. Twelve civilians and four soldiers were killed. Months later, Heyward Emmell and the 7th New Jersey Regiment arrived in Baltimore in the middle of the night, a practice designed to discourage repeats of the incident of April 19, 1861.

Meridian Hill: Thomas Jefferson wanted the United States to be independent from Europe, even to the extent of having its own "prime meridian" (origin for longitude). That meridian ran through Washington, D.C. along what is now 16th Street. Meridian Hill was a tract of land north of the city of Washington used as an Army base. A hospital was located adjacent to the camp.

Rebel Yell: Used by Confederate forces to bolster their own morale and intimidate the enemy, the Rebel Yell was described as high-pitched cross between an Indian whoop and a wolf howl.

Revere, Joseph Warren: Joseph Warren Revere was the Grandson of Paul Revere. At the age of 16, in 1828, he joined the US Navy and rose to the rank of Lieutenant after seeing action in the Mexican War. In 1850, he resigned from the Navy and took the rank of Colonel in the Mexican Army. In 1852, after being wounded, he took up residence in Morristown, NJ. In 1857 he began a tour of Europe. In 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, he was a military advisor to Louis Napolean in France. He returned to the US and was appointed Colonel of the 7^th Regiment New Jersey Volunteers.

Rubber Blanket: Black rubber covered canvas, put on the ground to keep out the dampness or on top of a blanket to keep off the rain. The rubber blanket was one of the most useful items in a soldiers kit.

Sleep On Our Arms: To sleep next to ones rifle and with ones boots on, to sleep ready to fight at a moments notice.

Sibly Tent: A conical tent that looked like a Plains Indian teepee, it slept 8 to 12 men. A Sibly tent was well suited for a permanent camp but was too large to take into the field.

Star of the West: In January, 1861, supplies and 200 soldiers were sent to reinforce Fort Sumter on an unarmed merchant vessel Star of the West.  As the ship entered Charlston Harbor, it was fired upon by the Confederates.  After sustaining one hit from a Confederate cannon, the Star of the West headed back out to sea.

torpedo: Usually used in the Civil War to refer to a naval contact mine (i.e., an explosive filled, floating device that explodes on contact with a ship). On land, the 21st Century equivalent of the Civil War torpedo is the Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

vedette: A mounted sentry in advance of the outposts of an army. (source: dictionary.com)

West Virginia/Western Virginia: At the start of the Civil War, the State of Virginia consisted of the current State of Virginia plus the current State of West Virginia. The population of western Virginia was much more antagonistic towards slavery than the rest of the state. When there was a popular secession vote in Virginia, western Virginia voted 19,000 for and 35,000 against. Once Virginia seceded, western Virginia voted to secede from Virginia on October 21, 1861 and was admitted to the Union as a state on June 20, 1863.