Bull Run: List 1

by Paul Fleischman
In this historical fiction, sixteen characters describe their actions and reactions connected to the first major battle of the Civil War, which was fought on July 21, 1861 in Virginia.

This list covers "Colonel Oliver Brattle"–"Toby Boyce."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
40 words 74 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. illumination
    the quality of providing light
    Shells sailed, their lit fuses tracing caliper-perfect arcs, then exploded. Each illumination of the bay was greeted with appreciative oohs and hurrahs.
  2. melancholy
    grave or even gloomy in character
    I remembered well what shells do to living flesh, and felt in melancholy mood.
  3. discern
    perceive, recognize, or detect
    If they rejoiced that a war that might break their bonds had begun, they dared let no one discern it.
  4. spare
    save or relieve from an experience or action
    If no fault could be found, we were whipped just the same for any wrongs committed out of his sight. Wee Sarah was not spared, nor Patrick, seventeen and tall.
  5. gallant
    unflinching in battle or action
    Fort Sumter had been attacked. The gallant defenders had surrendered the next day.
  6. regiment
    army unit smaller than a division
    There was talk that a regiment of one thousand soldiers was being raised in Minnesota.
  7. rail
    criticize severely
    Reverend Bott railed against the Rebels that day. His sermon’s subject was “A man’s worst foes are those of his own household.”
  8. rogue
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    Then I heard Father roar, “And the stone-hearted rogue took my spectacles with him!”
  9. kin
    a person related to another or others
    Horses have always served me for kin. The first time one looked back into my eyes, I knew that I was no longer alone on this earth, orphan or no.
  10. wayfarer
    a traveler going on a trip
    But we’d put up wayfarers crossing Arkansas.
  11. forlorn
    marked by or showing hopelessness
    I felt among family with ’em, and forlorn as a ghost when they’d gone.
  12. cavalry
    troops trained to fight on horseback
    I was nineteen and couldn’t read a lick, but I spotted a picture of a horse. I asked Mr. Bee to read the words below. They called men to join the cavalry.
  13. sovereign
    not controlled by outside forces
    Mr. Bee hated Yankees the way a broom hates dirt, and he started in again on Lincoln and the sovereign states and the constitutional right to secede.
  14. secede
    withdraw from an organization or polity
    Mr. Bee hated Yankees the way a broom hates dirt, and he started in again on Lincoln and the sovereign states and the constitutional right to secede.
  15. brethren
    people who are members of the same social or cultural group
    Though my skin is quite light, I’m a Negro, I’m proud of it, and I wept with joy along with my brethren at President Lincoln’s call for men.
  16. yearn
    desire strongly or persistently
    How we yearned to strike a blow in the battle!
  17. hail
    praise loudly and forcefully
    No less than Cincinnati’s whites, we organized meetings, heard ringing speeches, sang “Hail Columbia” and “John Brown’s Body.”
  18. behold
    see with attention
    At last the nation’s eyes would behold the Negro’s energy and courage!
  19. clamor
    utter or proclaim insistently and noisily
    Arriving, I found the building all but ringed by a crowd of clamoring whites.
  20. coarse
    lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
    “It’s a white man’s war!” one addressed me point-blank. “You’ll do no damn parading about with guns!” I’ve tried to forget the coarser things said.
  21. enterprise
    a purposeful or industrious undertaking
    He announced that our meeting was canceled and our entire enterprise with it, on the grounds of inviting mob violence.
  22. lupine
    any plant of the genus Lupinus
    Lupine and honeysuckle bloomed as before, the oaks put out leaves, whippoorwills called.
  23. consecrate
    render holy by means of religious rites
    Each daughter held up her husband’s sword and consecrated it with a kiss.
  24. inscribe
    write, engrave, or print as a lasting record
    The church society gave the men Bibles, each inscribed with “Fight the good fight.”
  25. beau
    a man with whom one has a romantic relationship
    Girls whose beaus hadn’t joined shamed them by giving out flowers to soldiers.
  26. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    The cars moved, drawing taut and then snapping dozens of parting conversations.
  27. hilt
    the handle of a sword or dagger
    “Stain your sword to the hilt!” shouted the waving woman beside me.
  28. throng
    press tightly together or cram
    In New York, the regiment marched down thronged Broadway to an elegant breakfast at the Astor House.
  29. bayonet
    a knife fixed to the end of a rifle and used as a weapon
    Their gunstocks were oiled, their bayonets bright.
  30. naught
    a quantity of no importance
    I was to send back drawings that would let readers stand where I stood and view the war as if there, lacking naught but the singing of bullets past their ears.
  31. notion
    a vague idea in which some confidence is placed
    I was to send back drawings that would let readers stand where I stood and view the war as if there, lacking naught but the singing of bullets past their ears. I’d no notion I’d hear that sound so soon.
  32. musket
    a muzzle-loading shoulder gun with a long barrel
    A spectator tried to steal his musket. Then a shot rang out and a soldier just beside me fell to the ground.
  33. martyr
    one who voluntarily suffers death
    I’m a Boston man myself, and I snatched up the martyr’s gun, hot for revenge.
  34. valiant
    having or showing heroism or courage
    Three valiant volunteers were dead.
  35. fife
    a small high-pitched flute similar to a piccolo
    “And what would your instrument be?” he asked. My thinking hadn’t traveled that far. “The fife,” I spoke out.
  36. amble
    walk leisurely
    Then he stood up and ambled out the door.
  37. writhe
    move in a twisting or contorted motion
    The fife seemed to burn and writhe in my hand like the Devil’s own tail.
  38. recollect
    recall knowledge from memory
    Then that left my mind and I recollected him saying “Faith sows miracles.”
  39. considerable
    large in number, amount, extent, or degree
    The room echoed a considerable time after I’d finished playing.
  40. pluck
    the trait of showing courage and determination
    “You’ve got spirit,” he said at last. “And boldness. And pluck enough, I judge, to practice almighty hard, starting today.”
Created on Mon May 13 11:07:48 EDT 2024 (updated Tue May 14 09:40:38 EDT 2024)

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