# Two Civil War questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2008, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-civil-war-questions/449011 "2008-05-12T11:29:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-civil-war-questions/449011/1 "2008-05-12T11:29:00Z")
1. I read/heard somewhere recently that the south named battles after the nearest town and the north after nearby water. Thus… Sharpsburg/Antietam and Manassas/Bull Run. I can’t find any other examples though. Are there any? 1. Why is the Merrimec still called that even after the south captured it, turned it into an ironclad and rechristened it the Virginia? Even Ken Burns’ series referrred to it as the Merrimec. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-civil-war-questions/449011/2 "2008-05-12T12:03:50Z")
1. Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing is another contender. 2. ‘Monitor v. Merrimac’ made for better headlines at the time. There’s also some speculation that some northern newspapers refused to honor the rechristening. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-civil-war-questions/449011/3 "2008-05-12T12:12:38Z")
I’ve long suspected that the alliteration kept “Monitor vs. Merrimac” alive. I’ve noticed that , while “Merrimac” was universal when I was a kid, most sources now refer to the ship as the Virginia. But there’s a huge amount of existing material calling the ship “Merrimac”, and change is always a slow process. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-civil-war-questions/449011/4 "2008-05-12T12:33:15Z")
Stones River/Murphreesboro ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-civil-war-questions/449011/5 "2008-05-12T12:55:14Z")
Elkhorn Tavern/Pea Ridge. Oops, that’s the place name vs map example. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-civil-war-questions/449011/6 "2008-05-12T14:34:30Z")
Some more name differences (putting the Northern name first): Wilson’s Creek/Oak Hills Ball’s Bluff/Leesburg Logan Cross Roads/Mill Springs/Fishing Creek Fair Oaks/Seven Pines Chantilly/Ox Hill South Mountain/Boonesboro Chaplin Hills/Perryville Sabine Crossroads/Mansfield Opequon/Winchester