One of the curious features of the Civil war is that many battles have been historically designated with alternative names. Arguably, the most well known instance of this, are the Battles of Bull Run (Mannassas). The reasons for this duplication are still debated by historians. One theory is that Confederate battle reports were on the whole, authored by participants with rural backgrounds, who tended to be more conscious of the proximity of towns when describing a particular region. Conversely, Union reporting was done from an urbanised perspective, more impressed by natural features such as creeks and rivers. Sometimes the use of alternative names came about for partisan reasons. For instance, the Battle of Seven Pines, in May 1862, was called Fair Oaks by the North, primarily because Federal forces were successful on that part of the battlefield, whereas the Rebels were sucessful in the Seven Pines sector. Other examples of alternative names of battles include: UNION CONFEDERATE Antietam Sharpsburg Pea Ridge Elkhorn Tavern Pittsburg Landing Shiloh Beaver Dam Creek Mechanicsville Stones River Murfreesboro Perhaps the most profuse battle designation is for the battle of Frayser's Farm, which was also variously known as Glendale, Charles City Crossroads, Willis Church, White Oak Swamp, Turkey Bend and at least two other recorded names. An Interesting footnote to this topic occurred early in the war. General Joseph Kershaw, a Confederate commander from South Carolina, expressed distaste to a collegue that references were being made to the Southern victory, as the battle of Bull Run, instead of Manassas. His collegue, who was less sensitive about such matters, believeing that a victory was a victory whatever the name, suggested that perhaps for the sake of consisitency that the famous War of Independence victory at Cowpens, (South Carolina), should likewise be renamed to something fess bovine. It was noted that General Kershaw on hearing that comment, did not raise the matter ever again! Back to The Zouave Vol VII No. 2 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 The American Civil War Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com