In my research into the Civil War, I learned that many battles have different names. There were countless skirmishes and approximately fifty major battles. More than a dozen have dual names.
For four long years our nation was divided between Union States and Confederate States – Yankees and Rebels. The war was fought across three major “Theaters.” The Eastern Theater was Pennsylvania and Virginia and what is now West Virginia. The Western Theater which included Kentucky, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida and parts of Louisiana east of the Mississippi. The Trans-Mississippi Theater was made up of the land west of the Mississippi River including Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas and parts of Indian Territory (now Oklahoma)
What confuses some are the different names that were used in history books, lectures and newspaper accounts for the same battles. Depending on which side of the Mason-Dixon line the source came from, names sometimes differed. For example, the first major battle of the war was called Manassas Junction by the Confederacy. It was named for a nearby Virginia town. The Union called it the Battle of Bull Run, a stream that ran through the battlefield.
In addition, the Yankees called the Battle of Murfreesboro the Battle of Stones River because of the nearby waterway.
On September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam as it was known to the Union or the battle of Sharpsburg as the rebels called it became the bloodiest single day of the war. Once again, the North chose a nearby creek as the name, while the South chose the closest town.
There were two main reasons for this confusion. First, the Union soldiers were in unfamiliar territory. Most of them were from towns and cities. As Union commanders sent out scouts to survey the land, the natural features of the South caught their attention, especially the rivers and streams. They used these features as landmarks. Some of the maps that were available to them also highlighted the waterways and hills. There were no signs telling you what town you were near. Of course, no good rebel would help a Yankee with direction or information.
The Confederate commanders had a different reason for using the names of nearby towns. They wanted to reinforce the South’s fight was, as Lewis Armistead expressed in the movie Gettysburg, “Virginians! Virginians! For your Land- For your Homes- For your Sweetheart- For your Wives- For Virginia! In other words, the Confederate army’s fight was for their home. This message was paramount to keep up the South’s morale and lessen the chance of desertion.
