# Why Does the Civil War Battle of July 21, 1861 Have Two Names?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-civil-war-battle-of-july-21-1861-have-two-names/520948>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 12, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-civil-war-battle-of-july-21-1861-have-two-names/520948 "2009-12-12T02:23:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-civil-war-battle-of-july-21-1861-have-two-names/520948/21 "2009-12-12T16:03:49Z")

</div>

You’re right. I got it backwards. The point I was making was that the dual name situation didn’t arise because Gettysburg was a double victory for the Union.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-civil-war-battle-of-july-21-1861-have-two-names/520948/22 "2009-12-12T16:24:37Z")

</div>

> [@Sampiro](#):
>
> Another reason the Confederacy usually named after towns was that’s where the train stations were.

It’s amusing to note that I was reminded of this question while listening to the song “Amtrak Crescent” by Scott Miller & The Commonwealth. The song playfully notes many of the major train stations on the line from New Orleans to DC and comments on the Manassas stop –  
_you better say Manassas if you say Bull Run  
or in Virginia you won’t get along with anyone._

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\
**Post date:** [December 12, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-civil-war-battle-of-july-21-1861-have-two-names/520948/23 "2009-12-12T16:39:09Z")

</div>

> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> It’s amusing to note that I was reminded of this question while listening to the song “Amtrak Crescent” by Scott Miller & The Commonwealth. The song playfully notes many of the major train stations on the line from New Orleans to DC and comments on the Manassas stop –  
> _you better say Manassas if you say Bull Run  
> or in Virginia you won’t get along with anyone._

I wonder if[Confederate Railroad](http://www.confederaterailroad.net/)has done a cut of that.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-civil-war-battle-of-july-21-1861-have-two-names/520948/24 "2009-12-13T01:07:16Z")

</div>

Also, the closest body of water to Gettysburg of any size or significance is the Susquehanna River, but that’s too far away to be useful as a descriptor.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-the-civil-war-battle-of-july-21-1861-have-two-names/520948.md?page=1)