Naming the American Civil War The American Civil War has been known by a number of different names since it began in 1861 . These names reflect the historical , political , and cultural sensitivities of different groups and regions . The most common name in modern American usage , is simply " the Civil War " . Although used rarely during the war , the term " War Between the States " became widespread afterward in the Southern United States . During and immediately after the war , Northern forces often used the term " War of the Rebellion " , while the Southern equivalent was " War for Southern Independence " . The latter regained some currency in the late 20th century , but has again fallen out of use . Other terms often reflect a more explicitly partisan view of events , such as " War of Northern Aggression " , used by some Southerners , or the " Freedom War " , used by their black counterparts to celebrate the effect the war had on ending slavery . In most foreign languages , the war is called " War of Secession " . A variety of names also exist for the forces on each side ; the opposing forces named battles differently as well . The Union forces frequently named battles for bodies of water that were prominent on or near the battlefield ; Confederates most often used the name of the nearest town . As a result , many battles have two or more names that have had varying use , although with some notable exceptions , one has tended to take precedence over time . Enduring names . Civil War . In the United States , " Civil War " is the most common term for the conflict ; it has been used by the overwhelming majority of reference books , scholarly journals , dictionaries , encyclopedias , popular histories , and mass media in the United States since the early 20th century . The National Park Service , the government organization entrusted by the United States Congress to preserve the battlefields of the war , uses this term . Writings of prominent men such as Jefferson Davis , Robert E . Lee , Ulysses S . Grant , William Tecumseh Sherman , P . G . T . Beauregard , Nathan Bedford Forrest , and Judah P . Benjamin used the term " Civil War " during the conflict . Abraham Lincoln used it on multiple occasions . In 1862 , the United States Supreme Court used the terms " the present civil war between the United States and the so called Confederate States " , as well as " the civil war such as that now waged between the Northern and Southern States " . English - speaking historians outside the United States usually refer to the conflict as the " American Civil War " , or less often , " U . S . Civil War " . These variations are also used in the United States in cases in which the war might otherwise be confused with another historical event ( such as the English Civil War , the Irish Civil War or the Spanish Civil War ) . War Between the States . The term " War Between the States " was rarely used during the war but became prevalent afterward in the South , as part of an effort to perpetuate its interpretation of the war . The Confederate government avoided the term " civil war " and referred in official documents to the " War between the Confederate States of America and the United States of America " . There are a handful of known references during the war to " the war between the states " . European diplomacy produced a similar formula for avoiding the phrase " civil war " . Queen Victoria ' s proclamation of British neutrality referred to " hostilities . . . between the Government of the United States of America and certain States styling themselves the Confederate States of America " . After the war , the memoirs of former Confederate officials and veterans ( Joseph E . Johnston , Raphael Semmes , and especially Alexander Stephens ) commonly used the term " War Between the States " . In 1898 , the United Confederate Veterans formally endorsed the name . In the early twentieth century , the United Daughters of the Confederacy ( UDC ) led a campaign to promote the term " War Between the States " in the media and in public schools . UDC efforts to convince the United States Congress to adopt the term , beginning in 1913 , were unsuccessful . Congress has never adopted an official name for the war . The name " War Between the States " is inscribed on the USMC War Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery . This name was personally ordered by Lemuel C . Shepherd , Jr . , the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps . Franklin Delano Roosevelt referred to the Civil War as " the four - year War Between the States " . References to the " War Between the States " appear occasionally in federal and state court documents . The names " Civil War " and " War Between the States " have been used jointly in some formal contexts . For example , to mark the war ' s centenary in the 1960s , the state of Georgia created the " Georgia Civil War Centennial Commission Commemorating the War Between the States " . In 1994 , the U . S . Postal Service issued a series of commemorative stamp s entitled " The Civil War / The War Between the States " . Other historical terms . War of the Rebellion . During and immediately after the war , U . S . officials and pro - Union writers often referred to Confederates as " Rebels " . The earliest histories published in the northern states commonly refer to the Civil War as " the Great Rebellion " or " the War of the Rebellion " , as do many war monuments . The official war records of the United States refer to this war as the War of the Rebellion . The records were compiled by the U . S . War Department in a 127 - volume collection under the title " The War of the Rebellion : a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies " , published from 1881 to 1901 . Historians commonly refer to the collection as the " Official Records " . War of Secession . War of Secession is occasionally used by people in the South to refer to the Civil War . In most Romance languages , the words used to refer to the war translate literally to " war of secession " ( e . g . " Guerre de Sécession " in French , " Guerra di secessione " in Italian , " Guerra de Secesión " in Spanish , " Guerra de Secessão " in Portuguese ) . This name is also used in Central and Eastern Europe , e . g . " Sezessionskrieg " is commonly used in Germany , " Wojna secesyjna " is exclusively used in Poland and " Setsessioonisõda " is used in Estonia ( all literally translate as " war of secession " ) . War for Southern Independence . The " War for Southern Independence " is a name used by many Southerners in reference to the war . While popular on the Confederate side during the war , the term ' s popularity fell in the immediate aftermath of the South ' s failure to gain independence . The term resurfaced in the late 20th century . This terminology aims to parallel usage of the term " American War for Independence " . A popular poem published in the early stages of hostilities was " South Carolina " . Its prologue referred to the war as the " Third War for Independence " ( it named the War of 1812 as the second such war ) . On November 8 , 1860 , the " Charleston Mercury " , a contemporary southern newspaper , stated that " The tea has been thrown overboard . The Revolution of 1860 has been initiated . " War for the Union . Some northerners used " The War for the Union " , the title of both a December 1861 lecture by the abolitionist leader Wendell Phillips , and a major four - volume history by Allan Nevins published in the middle of the 20th century . Second American Revolution . In the 1920s historian Charles A . Beard used the term the " Second American Revolution " to emphasize the changes brought on by the Northern victory . This is still used by the Sons of Confederate Veterans organization , though with the intent to demonstrate the depth of the South ' s cause . War of Northern Aggression . The " War of Northern Aggression " has been used to indicate the Union side as the belligerent party in the war . Miscellaneous . Other names for the conflict include " The Confederate War " , " Mr . Lincoln ’ s War " , " Mr . Davis ’ s War " , " The War Against Slavery " , and " The Anti - Slavery War " . A more euphemistic name is " The Late Unpleasantness " , or " The Recent Unpleasantness " . Naming the battles and armies . There is a disparity between the sides in naming some of the battles of the war . The Union forces frequently named battles for bodies of water or other natural features that were prominent on or near the battlefield ; Confederates most often used the name of the nearest town or man - made landmark . Because of this , many battles actually have two widely used names . However , not all of the disparities are based on these naming conventions . Many modern accounts of Civil War battles use the names established by the North . However , for some battles , the Southern name has become the standard . The National Park Service occasionally uses the Southern names for their battlefield parks located in the South , such as Manassas and Shiloh . In general , naming conventions were determined by the victor of the battle . Examples of battles with dual names are shown in the table . Historian Shelby Foote explains that many Northerners were urban and regarded bodies of water as noteworthy ; many Southerners were rural and regarded towns as noteworthy . Civil War armies were also named in a manner reminiscent of the battlefields : Northern armies were frequently named for major rivers ( Army of the Potomac , Army of the Tennessee , Army of the Mississippi ) , Southern armies for states or geographic regions ( Army of Northern Virginia , Army of Tennessee , Army of Mississippi ) . Units smaller than armies were named differently in many cases . Corps were usually written out ( First Army Corps or more simply , First Corps ) , although a post - war convention developed to designate Union corps using Roman numerals ( XI Corps ) . Often , particularly with Southern armies , corps were more commonly known by the name of the leader ( Hardee ' s Corps , Polk ' s Corps ) . Union brigades were given numeric designations ( 1st , 2nd , . . . ) , whereas Confederate brigades were frequently named after their commanding general ( Hood ' s Brigade , Gordon ' s Brigade , . . . ) . Confederate brigades so - named retained the name of the original commander even when commanded temporarily by another man ; for example , at the Battle of Gettysburg , Hoke ' s Brigade was commanded by Isaac Avery and Nicholl ' s Brigade by Jesse Williams . Nicknames were common in both armies , such as the Iron Brigade and the Stonewall Brigade . Union artillery batteries were generally named numerically ; Confederate batteries by the name of the town or county in which they were recruited ( Fluvanna Artillery ) . Again , they were often simply referred to by their commander ' s name ( Moody ' s Battery , Parker ' s Battery ) .