Bull Run: List 3

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 "Judah Jenkins"–"Flora Wheelworth."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
40 words 10 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. skulk
    move stealthily
    I grew up in Alexandria and was there the day the Union troops first dared to invade Virginia’s soil. They skulked across the Potomac before dawn, riding on steamboats.
  2. courier
    a person who carries a message
    That evening I rode a horse to Centreville and joined the Confederates as a courier.
  3. babel
    a confusion of voices and other sounds
    And since many of my soldiers were ninety-day men, whose enlistments would expire in July, I was expected to accomplish this with all speed. Despite the fact that my troops were as green as June apples, spoke a Babel of tongues, and were led by officers who knew nothing of battle.
  4. sufficient
    of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement
    Despite lacking sufficient weapons, ammunition, mules, food, and equipment of every sort.
  5. idleness
    the state of not working or having employment
    After all the bustling, I found idleness irksome and organized a Soldiers’ Friend League.
  6. irksome
    tedious or irritating
    After all the bustling, I found idleness irksome and organized a Soldiers’ Friend League.
  7. procure
    get by special effort
    We searched our ragbags for scraps of linen and scraped them with knives to procure lint for wounds.
  8. pillage
    steal goods; take as spoils
    We prayed that he would do so quickly, for the newspapers said that the Union was sending thousands of armed Negroes and Indians to pillage the South and free the slaves.
  9. prostrate
    stretched out and lying at full length along the ground
    Upon hearing this, we concluded that General Beauregard had been halted by his honor, which would not permit him to strike an opponent who was already all but prostrate.
  10. inferior
    of low quality
    Then one day I found myself putting in ink a loutish private’s opinion that the blood of black people was thinner and inferior to that of whites, which explained the Negroes’ lack of intelligence.
  11. ignorant
    uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
    How I hungered to yank off my cap and show him which of us knew the alphabet and which was the inferior, ignorant fool!
  12. scrawl
    write carelessly
    He grinned, uncomprehending, at the words, then below them scrawled, with some effort, his “X.”
  13. meander
    move or cause to move in a winding or curving course
    We decided to make our stand along the southern bank of the stream called Bull Run. I studied its meandering course for miles.
  14. steep
    set at a high angle (of a slope)
    The banks were steep, the fords easily defended.
  15. allure
    the power to entice or attract
    But defense held little allure for Beauregard.
  16. utter
    complete
    In utter violation of his orders, he planned to cross the creek, outflank the Yankees, cut them off from Washington, then take the city himself.
  17. waver
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    Our fine, straight lines wavered, then broke.
  18. canteen
    a flask for carrying water; used by soldiers or travelers
    Men wandered off to refill their canteens or chase chickens or rest in the shade of a tree.
  19. bellow
    shout loudly and without restraint
    Officers bellowed to no effect.
  20. ramble
    an aimless walk
    It was less a march than a picnic ramble, with plenty of halts on account of the heat.
  21. accustomed
    in the habit of or adapted to
    As the men weren’t accustomed to marching any distance, they soon felt the need to lighten their packs.
  22. strew
    spread by scattering
    The road became strewn with cast-off blankets and such.
  23. lurch
    move haltingly and unsteadily
    All day and on into the night we lurched ahead and lay down by turns.
  24. traipse
    walk or tramp about
    I saw a pair of them traipse back out to the road dressed up in plumed hats and satin gowns.
  25. plume
    decorate with a feather
    I saw a pair of them traipse back out to the road dressed up in plumed hats and satin gowns.
  26. garb
    clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion
    Another, got up in a minister’s garb, spoke Jefferson Davis’ funeral service.
  27. rebuke
    censure severely or angrily
    Colonel Sherman rebuked them as Goths and Vandals and ordered them punished.
  28. fancy
    imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind
    I was getting so used to trains that I fancied myself an engineer after the war.
  29. upright
    having moral excellence
    He was upright and religious to a dreadful degree. The first thing he did in Harpers Ferry was search out every barrel of liquor and pour it all to waste in the street.
  30. ford
    cross a river where it's shallow
    We marched twenty miles in eighteen hours, forded the Shenandoah River, then boarded a train on the Manassas Gap line.
  31. solemn
    dignified and somber in manner or character
    We were told that we’d likely see battle the next day. Some men whooped. Some looked as solemn as General Jackson praying.
  32. commissary
    a retail store that sells equipment and provisions
    Then I found that the army was out of food. The commissary wagons hadn’t arrived.
  33. squander
    spend thoughtlessly; throw away
    I squandered another day waiting for them, praying that Patterson had the Rebels in the west penned up beyond the Shenandoah.
  34. bedlam
    a state of extreme confusion and disorder
    Some were bedlams of noise and gaming and drunkenness.
  35. chaplain
    a member of the clergy ministering to some institution
    I couldn’t help but notice the number of men clustered about the chaplains’ tents. Some were shedding their sins, some dictating letters to the scribbling chaplains.
  36. qualm
    uneasiness about the fitness of an action
    I passed quite close to one and smiled to catch the words “no qualm, dearest Gwen, at dying for our precious Union.”
  37. legion
    a large military unit
    It struck me as strange that nearly all the legions of soldiers camped around me considered themselves to be whole-souled Christians, had heard preaching every Sunday of their lives, had memorized piles of Scripture verses, and yet were ready to break the commandment against killing the moment the order was given.
  38. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    For half an hour we sprawled on the ground while a cannon was eased over a rickety bridge.
  39. artillery
    large but transportable armament
    The artillery crew put a cannon in place and loaded it with a thirty-pound ball.
  40. distinct
    clearly or sharply defined to the mind
    Then came the sharper rattling of rifles, painfully distinct.
Created on Mon May 13 11:08:08 EDT 2024 (updated Tue May 14 13:01:40 EDT 2024)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.