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does anybody know the history (or reason) behind the difference in Northern and Southern terminolgy for certain battles?
ie: north calls it the Battle of Antietam, south calls it Sharpsburg
north calls it First and Second Bull Run, South calls it first and second Manassas.
there are even more instances where the northern army tends to use a creek or water body instead of a nearby town to describe the site of battle. Is there a logical reason for this or is it just coincidence?
It is my understanding that the Union army would name the battles after the nearest body of water, i.e. Antietam Creek, while the Confederate army would name it after the nearest town, i.e. Sharpsburg.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
It isn't a given, mike. And I don't have the foggiest why the Federals tended to name a battle for a geographical feature; nor why the Confederates chose to name a battle after the nearest town. But you will also note that there is no alternative name for Gettysburg nor Vicksburg. Nor Fredericksburg nor Petersburg nor Appomattox Court House.
Seems like the anomalies also occurred early -- before things got really serious. After that, nobody cared enough to quarrel about the names.
By the way, many welcomes!
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
The original question, "why?" still begs an answer.
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
The original question, "why?" still begs an answer.
ole
Because.
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
I understand, at least for First Manassas/Bull Run, that the Southern papers had already written about an earlier skirmish as the Battle of Bull Run, so they adopted the name of nearby Manassas for the battle even though Bull Run was probably more appropriate.
That may have been the start of it and after that they just got obstinant and whatever the Northerners called it the Southerners would pick another name and vice versa.
__________________ "There must be more historians of the Civil War than there were generals figthing in it... Of the two groups, the historians are the more belligerent." David Donald, Lincoln Reconsidered (1961)
But there was a pattern, timewalker. Although I like your observation, the persnicketies who named the battles seem to have had some rules.
Blue: "Because I said so." Finish the sentence.
Is this the place for a discussion of silly walks? Or kniggiits?
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Even in the Mexican War the US Army named its battles after the closest city. It traces back to the Revolution. Bennington which was not only a few miles from the two but also across the state line. Saratoga, Lexington, Princeton, Trenton, Yorktown, Charleston, Guildford Court House, Cowpens, Camden, Petersburg (yep, there was fite-n 'round Petersburg during the Revolution and that bad man Tarleton was there) are other examples.
I think the Corn-feds deviated from tradition because they were Con-feds.
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Why the difference in nomenclature? 
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