Abner and Me: Chapter 10

by Dan Gutman
Young Stosh has time-traveled before…but this time he and his mom find themselves in the midst of the Battle of Gettysburg, searching for Abner Doubleday—a Civil War general. Stosh wants to find out for certain if Doubleday invented the game of baseball.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–9, Chapter 10, Chapters 11–14, Chapters 15–19
15 words 11 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. fortify
    make strong or stronger
    “Me, I got things to do,” Joshua said. “Got to fortify this position tonight.”
  2. morbid
    suggesting the horror of death and decay
    Now they were chatting with each other as they did their morbid work, sometimes stopping to swap food, tobacco, or news with the other side.
  3. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    “Anybody see General Doubleday?” we asked as we stepped gingerly around the bodies.
  4. barricade
    a barrier to impede the advance of an enemy
    Union soldiers were building barricades at the top of the hill out of stone and logs to defend against tomorrow’s Rebel charge.
  5. prosecute
    bring a criminal action against
    There was a sign at the gate of the cemetery that read: “All persons found using firearms in these grounds will be prosecuted with the utmost vigor of”—I couldn’t read the rest of the words.
  6. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    We passed by a big tent filled with guys playing with some little machines and listening intently while they scribbled in notebooks.
  7. aghast
    struck with fear, dread, or consternation
    “Look at this!” Mom said, aghast. “The latrine runs right into the source of their drinking water. No wonder men are dying of dysentery and diarrhea.”
  8. antibiotic
    a substance used to kill microorganisms and cure infections
    This hospital probably didn’t even have X rays or antibiotics.
  9. repulsive
    offensive to the mind or senses
    But when I looked in the corner of the tent, there was an even more repulsive sight.
  10. sterilize
    make free from bacteria
    “Aren’t you going to sterilize that, Doctor?” Mom asked, alarmed. “He’ll get gangrene!”
  11. gangrene
    the localized death of living cells
    “Aren’t you going to sterilize that, Doctor?” Mom asked, alarmed. “He’ll get gangrene!”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” the doctor replied. “Gangrene is caused by bad air. Didn’t they teach you that in nursing school?”
  12. anesthesia
    a drug that causes temporary loss of bodily sensations
    “Don’t you have any anesthesia?” Mom asked desperately. “Chloroform? Ether? Nitrous oxide?”
  13. flail
    thrash about
    His arms were flailing around like he was a crazy man.
  14. straddle
    sit or stand astride of
    Mom climbed up on top of the table and straddled over Little John, with one knee on either side of him.
  15. suffocate
    die from lack of oxygen
    “It’s CPR,” Mom replied matter-of-factly. “Look, if you’ve got a patient who isn’t breathing, don’t worry about his blood or his wound. He’s going to suffocate before he bleeds to death.”
Created on Mon Feb 09 20:18:21 EST 2026 (updated Fri Jun 12 15:59:03 EDT 2026)

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