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

This Kentucky-born politician served as the only president of the Confederate States of America.

Lincoln warned in an 1858 speech that a house _ _ _ _ _ _ _ against itself cannot stand.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This Richmond socialite ran a Union spy ring from her own mansion, right under Confederate noses.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lee routed John Pope's Union army at Second Bull Run, also known by this alternate Virginia place name.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nicknamed 'Little Mac,' this cautious Union general was twice relieved of command by Lincoln.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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