Words, Slang, Nicknames, and Terms of Civil War Times
There are hundreds and hundreds of words, slang, nicknames, and terms that were used by the soldiers and civilians of the North and South. These words are often descriptive, unique, inventive, clever, and sometimes humorous.
Civil War soldiers and civilians had an interesting way of speaking. Their words might seem odd to us today, just as our language of today would sound strange to them. They regarded their language as normal and we think the same of how we speak today. Some of their words are still used today while others are seldom, if ever heard. Vernacular does change as time goes on and as society’s trends change.
Here is a sampling of language used during Civil War times:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z
- Abatis – An abatis is a simple but effective defensive line obstacle made by felling trees so their sharpened branches faced outward toward the enemy. The abatis would provide cover, and give soldiers time to make an offensive effort by slowing an enemy charge. It was easily constructed with axes or saws, and trees were plentiful.
- Abolitionist – An abolitionist was someone who wanted slavery to end, they wanted slavery to be abolished. They were usually Northern white Christians who thought slavery was morally wrong, that it was an evil thing. Prominent abolitionists included; Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Angelina Grimké, Wendell Phillips, John Greenleaf Whittier, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, and the radical and violent John Brown.
- Aide-de-Camp – An officer who works as an assistant to a high ranking officer from whom he took orders. An aide-de-camp wrote out orders and knew troop positions. His trustworthiness of keeping confidential information secret was mandatory.
- Antebellum – Refers to the time before the Civil War began. Note: Postbellum refers to the time after the Civil War ended.
- Army Organization – An army is the largest organization of soldiers and they were divided into companies, regiments, brigades, divisions, and corps. Union Armies were named after rivers. The Army of the Potomac was a noted Union Army. Confederate armies were commonly named for states or regions. The Army of Northern Virginia is such an example.
- Artillery (Field) – A branch of an army made up of cannons, men, and equipment. Cannons are large-caliber guns used on land to support the infantry and cavalry. There was also siege artillery, artillery used in fortifications, and naval artillery. Artillery might be either smoothbore or rifled. There were many kinds of cannons of various sizes. Some artillery cannons were; Napoleons, Howitzers, Whitworth, and Parrots.
- Battery – A battery was the basic unit of artillery just as a company was the basic unit of infantry. Five or six batteries would make up an artillery brigade. When at ideal fullness, a battery usually was made up of 6 cannon, 155 men, horses, ammunition, other equipment, a captain, two buglers, carriages, caissons, limbers and drivers, and seventy cannoneers. Horses were very important because they were needed to move the heavy artillery but they required many men to manage them. These numbers of a battery varied as the Civil War progressed and battle attrition took its toll on men, horses, and equipment. Overall, the North with its industrial strength had more artillery than the South.
- Bivouac – To bivouac was to have a temporary camp during a march, a movement, or perhaps even a battle. It was a place in the open where sleep and food could be had, but not a place or facility meant for a long time. It usually did not involve a two-man tent but was a shelter made up of branches with leaves, wood, plants, or whatever could be gathered to give weary soldiers protection from the weather for a short time. The soldiers made up this shelter themselves without supplies from the army.
- Border States – The four Border States of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri were slave states that did not secede from the Union. West Virginia became the fifth and a new Border State when it joined the Union on June 20, 1863.
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Breastworks – Breastworks were for defensive purposes and made of anything and everything soldiers could gather together. A breastwork could possibly be made of dirt, bricks, stones, logs, or whatever might be found, to form a pile reaching up to breast-high to provide cover and protection.
Now, let’s recognize that both the Billy Yanks and Johnny Rebs were most likely young men. During their casual and relaxing times, they might in their discussions refer to another type of “breastworks,” as young men are sometimes apt to do. However, this is beyond the scope of the military description of breastworks. The reader is welcome to speculate about what this other kind of breastwork might be. - Brevet Rank – The brevet rank was honorary. Although it had no authority nor brought the pay of an actual rank, it was a promotion awarded for actions that were gallant or meritorious. The brevet rank brought esteem and recognition to an individual.
- Brigade – Brigades were made up of regiments, the number of regiments in a brigade’s total strength varied but usually it was two to seven regiments and the number of soldiers would be only a few hundred all the way up to 4,000. A brigadier general commanded a brigade, but sometimes colonels or lieutenant colonels led a brigade.
- Buck and Ball – This was a paper cartridge for a muzzle-loading gun with a deadly combination of three to six buckshot behind a musket ball. Musket balls of .50 to .75 caliber were commonly used in Buck and Ball. Early in the Civil War, this ammunition was used mostly for defensive fire. Buck and Ball turned the inaccurate smoothbore musket into a more efficient shotgun-like weapon. The spreading of the buckshot and ball made it lethal at short range against close together enemies. Buck and Ball was used throughout the Civil War, but less and less later on in the war when rifled muskets became the main weapon of use.
- Butternut – A slang name for a Confederate soldier. This slang name came from the substitute fabric sometimes used for Confederate uniforms when gray cloth was scarce. This fabric was a yellowish/brown color. The home-made dye used for this fabric came from butternut and walnut trees. The leaves, bark, and roots of these trees are what created the yellowish/brown color of the dye. The color was called “butternut.”
- Caissons – Caissons were used by artillery units to pull cannons, ammunition chests, tools, and even a spare wheel. They were two-wheeled carts moved by a team of horses.
- Caliber – Caliber was the measurement of the inside circumference of a gun barrel in thousandths of an inch. Bullets had to match a gun’s caliber. The many different calibers of bullets and guns used in the Civil War could sometimes make it difficult to have the proper ammunition available.
- Canister or Case Shot – Canister or Case shot ammunition made a cannon like a giant shotgun. It was very effective at ripping bodies apart. This container-like artillery round was packed full with 30-40 musket balls of iron or lead. But sometimes anything handy might be used, like nails, screws, or small stones. Sawdust was used as filler between the iron or lead balls. When fired it would break apart with the effect of a giant shotgun shell. Canister was like a big tin can or a metal coffee can while Case Shot was a cannonball.
- Cap – A cap was needed to fire a Civil War percussion weapon such as a rifle-musket. It was a small container with the volatile and explosive chemical fulminate of mercury inside of it. A soldier would put a cap on his loaded rifle and pull the trigger. The gun’s hammer would strike the cap and the pressure would ignite the fulminate of mercury, then the gunpowder would ignite and the bullet blasted out of the barrel.
- Carbine – A carbine was a short-barreled breech-loading repeating rifle used by cavalry. Breech-loading means it was loaded at the rear of the barrel. The carbine’s light weight and shorter barrel made it easier to manage when its user was on a horse.
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Casualty – A Civil War casualty was a soldier who was either wounded, killed, captured, deserted, became sick, was discharged, or missing in action. Casualties are a loss of numerical strength. The Battle of Antietam was the most bloody and deadly one day battle of the Civil War.
At the Battle of Antietam, according to the NPS Antietam National Battlefield website, the approximate total number of Union casualties was: killed – 2,100, wounded – 9,550, and missing or captured – 750, for a total of 12,400. For the Confederates the number of casualties was: killed – 1,550, wounded – 7,750, and missing or captured – 1,020, for a total of 10,320.
- Chevaux-de-Frise – This was a large horizontal log or beam with diagonal rows of sharp wooden spikes sticking out of it. A Chevaux-de-Frise was used as a defensive barrier for troops, roads, or fortifications to hinder or stop the enemy from advancing. They would be attached together to increase effectiveness. (Pronounced sheh-VOH-de-freez.)
- Commutation – A draftee could avoid serving in the military by paying a fee. Both the Union and the Confederacy offered commutation. This fee was so high that only the wealthiest could afford to pay it. For the less wealthy common workers, the commutation fee might be more than their yearly earnings. It was nearly impossible for them to pay for a commutation and avoid being drafted. This high fee angered those who did not want to fight in the war.
- Contraband – A slang name for an escaped slave who came into Union lines for safety from owners and slave catchers. General Ben Butler refused to return slaves to their owner in May 1861 and in a report he called them, “contraband of war.”
- Copperheads – Northern Democrats who were opposed to the Union’s war policy and wanted a negotiated peace were called Copperheads. They were also called Peace Democrats. President Lincoln used his executive powers, in controversial ways some argue, to suppress the Copperheads. Lincoln’s methods included arrests, censorship, limitations on the press, and the suspension of habeas corpus. Representative Clement Vallandigham of Ohio, a prominent Copperhead/Peace Democrat, was arrested.
- Cottonclad – A Cottonclad was a Confederate States Navy gunboat with bales of cotton attached to its sides. The cotton bales were to absorb and protect the gunboats from the enemy fire of Union warships, of which they were usually outgunned.
- Defeat in Detail/Attack In Detail – This was an effective tactic used to conquer smaller enemy units that were not able to support or protect one another, perhaps because of distance or lack of coordination. By concentration of strength, a larger force could defeat the smaller enemy units one by one. This tactic would expose the attacking larger unit to less risk. Imagine it as like three big guys together singling out one small guy to beat up, then they move on and find a friend of the small guy to wallop. The small guys always have the odds against them.
- Demonstration – A deceptive and crafty movement or action made in order to fool and gain the enemy’s attention. To trick, distract, or confuse the enemy and gain an advantage so an attack can be made at another place. When performed on the battlefields of the Civil War, it was like what we would call today a Fake Out or a sleight of hand, to make someone believe something that isn’t true. See: Feint.
- Dropsy – This was the word used in Civil War times for what we call edema. Edema is the swelling of limbs, mostly in the legs and feet, caused by the inside build up of fluid.
- Dysentery – The same as diarrhea but also with blood. Disease in the Civil War killed many, many soldiers, it was responsible for over two-thirds of total deaths in the war. Dysentery, typhoid, and cholera were the leading causes of death in the Civil War. Dysentery was a common malady and killer for the soldiers.
- Earthworks/Entrenchments – Moving earth around to form defensive barriers or fortifications such as mounds or trenches was a common practice on the battlefield. Typically, a long trench would be dug and the dirt piled up to make a mound in front of the trench. Earthworks and Entrenchments provided protection for the troops behind or in them and they slowed the advancing enemy.
- Emancipation– Emancipation was being freed from slavery, the “Peculiar Institution.” It meant liberty, manumission, and release, from being enslaved. Freed slaves were no longer someone’s property.
- Enfilade – To fire straight on upon the length and from end to end of the enemy’s facing battle line.
- Feint – A feint is a fake attack made in one place or direction to mislead the enemy, while the actual attack is made at another place or direction. See: Demonstration.
- Flank – A flank is the end of a line of battle and is a weak place in the line. It is a place where few troops are positioned and is vulnerable to enemy attack. The troops in the line, the long row of men facing toward the enemy, have a stronger position to meet enemy attacks as compared to the flanks.
- Flying Battery – A Flying Battery was a clever way of fooling the enemy into thinking that you had more artillery than you actually did. Several artillery batteries would fire from one spot along the front of the battle, then quickly move the horse-drawn batteries to another location and fire again. This maneuver would be repeated and if done with skill and could not be seen, then the enemy could be duped.
- Foraging – When soldiers lived off the land, by gathering, eating, stealing, and using whatever they could for their use, they were foraging. It was an act of looting and plundering.
- Fortification – Anything that would help to make a defensive position more secure from the enemy. A Fortification might be man-made earthen mounds. Natural obstacles such as rivers, creeks, swamps, marshes, hills, and mountains could be fortifications too.
- Fox Holes – There were no fox holes in the Civil War. During the Civil War, what today is called a “fox hole” was called a “rifle pit.” Actually, there were fox holes in the Civil War, but real foxes lived in them.
- Furlough – A Furlough was when a soldier was allowed to take a leave from his duty for a certain time before he had to return. It was like a vacation from the war, a time-out. Perhaps the soldier would return home, or maybe spend his furlough in a town. A furloughed soldier carried papers with him to identify him and to confirm that he was on furlough. If a soldier did not return from his furlough on time, then he would be considered a deserter.
- Gabions – These were field fortifications used to protect gun emplacements and soldiers. Gabions were round cylinder containers made of wicker and filled with wood, rocks, and dirt. Gabions could be quite large depending on what their fortification purpose was.
- Goober Peas – Southern slang for peanuts.
- Graybacks – Slang for lice. The parasites of lice, ticks, fleas, and mites were a bane of Civil War soldiers. These pests feasted on them and spread typhus, fevers, malaria, and infections that could kill. “Graybacks” was also a derogatory name Yankee soldiers used for Johnny Rebs.
- Green Troops – New soldiers who had not yet been in battle. Raw recruits.
- Hard Backsides – Union General George Armstrong Custer’s nickname.
- Hardtack – Hardtack was a typical item in the diet of both Billy Yanks and Johnny Rebs. Hardtack was a quarter-inch thick square of baked unleavened flour. salt, and water. Its official name was “hard bread.” It was a hard cracker that was often stale and rancid due to poor storage. The soldiers often joked about hardtack. One joke the soldiers told was that the only protein in their diet came from the worms found in the hardtack and called hardtack a “castle for worms.”
- Haversack – Civil War soldiers used a canvas bag to carry their food. A Haversack was typically one foot square and covered with black tar on the outside for waterproofing.
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Hay Foot! Straw Foot! – While training new recruits, sergeants could become frustrated as they drilled the men in movements. Many of these men came to military service from farms and other rural areas. The new soldiers would become a confused mess by turning or marching the wrong way to commands. They seemed not to know the difference between left and right.
To help solve this problem a wisp of hay was tied around the left leg just below the knee and a wisp of straw was tied around the right leg just below the knee. Then the sergeant would use “Hay Foot! Straw Foot!” in his commands and the men would not be confused about left and right. They knew what hay and straw were and which direction to move.
- Hish and Hash – This was a meal made of whatever edible food was available. It would be like us putting together a dinner of leftovers that have been hanging around, but are still good to eat.
- Hog and Hominy – What Southern food was called and often referring to plain, simple food. Hominy is ground corn that was boiled in milk or water to make grits.
- Housewife – The roughness and conditions of life for the soldiers fighting in the Civil War took a toll on their uniforms and other clothing. There might not be immediate replacements for this garb. The soldiers would have a small sewing kit with them so they could repair their clothing. Often before leaving home to go off to fight, mothers, wives, sisters, or girlfriends would put together a sewing kit for their soldier. The sewing kit was called a “Housewife.” A simple but necessary item.
- How come you so – This was booze made at home. The term also means being drunk, intoxicated, three sheets to the wind. An example usage, “I saw your momma at the church and she’s in a state of how come you so. She needs to go home and sleep it off. Have coffee and throw some hish hash together for when she wakes up.”
- Howitzer – A howitzer was a cannon that was lighter and had a shorter tube than other Civil War cannons. It shot a hollow exploding shell filled with balls. It used a smaller powder charge and threw its exploding shells with an arcing trajectory. Howitzers were usually made of bronze and came in three sizes in regards to shell size. There were 12, 24, and 34 pound howitzers. Howitzers were able to fire 12 pound anti-personnel shells up to 1,000 yards.
- Ice Calks – These were small pieces of metal of various designs with pegs that were fastened to the bottom of horseshoes to help keep horses and mules from slipping in snow or ice. Consider Ice Calks as a Civil War version of the snow tires we use on our cars and trucks. They were meant to improve traction and grip for the animals in freezing weather.
- Illinois Baboon – A name used mockingly and derisively to describe President Abraham Lincoln who was from Springfield, Illinois.
- Inflammation of the Lungs – This was pneumonia. Pneumonia killed many soldiers in the Civil War, it was the third most killing disease after typhoid and dysentery. Disease could spread like wildfire in the Civil War. Crowded living conditions or lack of protection from the elements, bad food, improper clothing, and unsanitary conditions all led to the spread of disease.
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Instant – This term was used in correspondence such as letters or reports, to refer to a day of the current month. An example would be that if a soldier wrote back home on September 20, 1862, after the Battle of Antietam which was fought on September 17:
“Dear Maw and Paw,
I was in a big battle near Sharpsburg, Maryland on the 17th instant. The battlefield was flooded with blood, so many were wounded or killed.” - Insult – An offensive battle move. It was a fast, unhidden, and surprise attack on an enemy fortification in order to overwhelm, defeat, and capture the defenders before they could respond.
- Insurrection – President Abraham Lincoln used this term for the Civil War. Lincoln did not call the Civil War a “war” because he thought it would mean that he recognized the Confederacy as a separate country.
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Interior Lines – In a battle, the side having Interior Lines had an advantage because it could move its men and materiel around faster than the enemy could.
Picture a common everyday round paper plate and you are on a picnic. While you are busy playing badminton there are two ants on your plate, one is at the outside top perimeter edge of the plate, he’s at 12:00. The other ant is on the inside middle of the plate where the clock hands are attached. Both ants want to get to your tater salad located on the right side edge of the paper plate at 4:00. The ants head off for your tater salad, each wants to take it for his own.
Which ant gets to the tater salad first? The ant on the inside middle where the clock hands are attached because it has a shorter distance to go. The ant on the outside top perimeter edge at 12:00 has a longer distance to go because he has the exterior or outside lines. He lost the race to the tater salad because the other ant had the Interior Lines.
General George G. Meade had an advantage over General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg because he had the Interior Lines.
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Ironclad – An ironclad was a wooden ship protected on the outside with iron or steel plates. A wood ship was particularly vulnerable to explosive or incendiary shells fired from enemy ships. With the development and innovation of ironclads, the age of wooden warships was over. The era of modern day warships began with the Civil War ironclads.
The Battle of the Ironclads where the U.S.S.Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia fought to a draw on March 9, 1862, off Hampton Roads, Virginia is the most famous Ironclad battle of the Civil War.
- Jackass Gun and the Jackass Regiment – This was a Howitzer pulled by mules over hard and rough mountainous land. Mules were preferred over horses for this hard work. The 1st Indiana Heavy Artillery was called the Jackass Regiment because its cannons were pulled by mules.
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Jayhawkers and Border Ruffians – The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 added a very large area of territory which was now open for settlement in the United States. Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas created a bill that divided this area into two territories, namely Kansas and Nebraska.
Douglas also came up with the idea of Popular Sovereignty. This meant that the people of these two new territories would decide whether or not to allow slavery in them when they eventually became states. This overturned the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and set the stage for Bleeding Kansas.
Pro-slavery Border Ruffians from Missouri and anti-slavery Kansas Territory Jayhawkers violently fought each other in a territorial civil war in order to gain the Popular Sovereignty majority advantage. Bleeding Kansas foreshadowed the Civil War.
- Jefferson Davis – Jefferson Davis was the name of the Confederate president, but here the name is referring to a practice target used by the 4th Illinois Cavalry. This Jefferson Davis was a target made of wood with a life-size image of the real President Jefferson Davis painted on it.
- Joe Brown’s Pikes – Joseph E. Brown was the governor of Georgia. At the beginning of the Civil War the Confederacy was short of weapons. Joe Brown improvised by providing Georgia state troops without firearms with long poles that had a lance, a bayonet, or a knife fastened to them. These weapons were called “Joe Brown’s Pikes.”
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Johnny Shiloh – In June 1861, a small lad in Newark, Ohio gazed at Union troops marching through his town. Despite his too young age, he wanted to join up and fight in the Civil War. The boy’s name was John Joseph Klem, but the spelling of his name would change to Johnny Clem. Earlier, Clem had tried to enlist in the 3rd Ohio Infantry, but because of his age and small size he was turned away. Now Johnny trailed along with the 22nd Massachusetts as it marched through Newark.
The 22nd Massachusetts made Clem its mascot and drummer boy. A sawed-off rifle and a small uniform were provided to him, and officers of the Massachusetts unit pooled together to pay Johnny the regular soldier’s pay of thirteen dollars a month. Johnny was not yet even 10-years-old, but now he was a drummer (but, not necessarily a good one!), unofficially fighting for the Union. Two years later, Johnny Clem would be allowed to enlist. On May 1, 1863 Johnny officially became a musician in Company C, 22nd Michigan.
Johnny Clem became known as “Johnny Shiloh” when, as a story goes, that young Clem was at the 1862 Shiloh battle and his drum was broken by an artillery projectile. Johnny then picked up a gun and joined in the fight as a combatant. This story was very popular and eventually a poem, a play, and a song were all named “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh.” Johnny Clem actually being at Shiloh however, is questionable history. History is a bit foggy here. There were others who claimed to be the actual “Drummer Boy of Shiloh.”
- Josh – A slang name for a Confederate soldier who was from Arkansas.
- Junk – Beef that was preserved by using very heavy salting. It may not have rotted, but it was awful to eat so soldiers called it “Junk.”
- Kangaroo – Kangaroo was a horse left on the Shiloh battlefield by the Confederates. This scraggly looking horse was described as ugly and raw-boned. However, Union General Ulysses S. Grant, having an eye for horses, knew that Kangaroo was a thoroughbred. After becoming a Yankee horse, Kangaroo got rest and care, and became a fine horse for General Grant. Other horses Grant had in the Civil War besides Kangaroo were; Jack, Fox, and Cincinnati. Cincinnati was Grant’s favorite horse.
- Katydids – Katydids were men who had not yet experienced battle. For example, new cadets from the Virginia Military Institute were called Katydids. A katydid is a green cricket. Since the new VMI cadets were green to battle they were called Katydids.
- Keening – A Keening was an Irish wail made in grief for the dead. Although different in sound from the Rebel Yell, the Rebel Yell was sometimes called Keening.
- Kersey – A type of fabric used in the Civil War most often to make trousers for Yankee soldiers. It was a rough woolen cloth that was tightly and diagonally weaved.
- Kid-Glove Dandies – An uncomplimentary and mocking name used to describe Union General John C. Freemont’s large number of guards and escorts.
- Kill Cavalry – This was a nickname given to Union General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick was reckless with cavalry and infantry attacks and because of this lives were needlessly lost. General William Tecumseh Sherman referred to Kilpatrick as, “a hell of a damned fool.”
- Kill Ratio – This was a statistic used to report on the number of enemy killed in a battle as compared to the total number of the enemy’s force involved. The Kill Ratio was an estimate, it was often not precise, and tended to be too low.
- King of Spades – An early Civil War nickname for Confederate General Robert E. Lee. In 1861 Lee was serving in the Southern coastal area to strengthen defenses. Lee had his troops digging trenches and earthworks, a lot of hard shovel work for the men. Thus, to make fun of him, Robert E. Lee was called The King of Spades.
- Knucks – Knucks were scoundrels in New York who would get soldiers or sailors drunk and then rob them. They were gangs of thieves, scumbags, and low-lifes.
- Ladies Aid Society – This was a Northern organization that generously helped to provide aid to Union soldiers. Items such as coffee, soap, and tobacco were given to the appreciative Billy Yanks.
- Ladies Gunboat Societies – Some port cities in the South had organizations of women who raised money to fund the building of ironclads. As Southern ports were lost to the South through Union capture, New Orleans, Memphis, and Norfolk as examples, the Ladies’ Gunboat Societies ceased to exist. However, until then they were successful and the ironclads Charleston, Fredericksburg, and GEORGIA were all built with money provided by Ladies’ Gunboat Societies.
- Lady Davis – A name for Varina Davis, the wife of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
- Lamppost – When an airborne artillery shell was flying toward its target, soldiers would call it “Lamppost” because of its appearance.
- Land Sickness – Sailors were said to have Land Sickness when after being on a boat for a long time they were anxious to be off the boat and back on land.
- Leg Case – Another name for desertion.
- Let her go, Gallagher! – This was used as slang for the order for soldiers to fire at will.
- Lincoln Coffee – The South had trouble obtaining coffee and substitutes like rye, sweet potatoes, and persimmon, were sometimes used instead of the real deal. The Johnny Rebs longed for real coffee which the Billy Yanks had plenty of, they called it Lincoln Coffee.
- Lincoln Hirelings – How the Johnny Rebs would refer to the Billy Yanks. A demeaning nickname.
- Lincoln Pie – What the Johnny Rebs sometimes called Hardtack.
- Litter – What we call a stretcher. Two soldiers, one at each end and each holding onto handles, would use it to carry wounded soldiers.
- Little Alec and Little Ellick – Names for Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens who was small in stature.
- Long Roll – A drum call commanding a regiment to assemble.
- Long Shanks and Long-Legged Donkey – Both were nicknames for President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was 6’ 4” and had long legs.
- Loose Bowels – Many soldiers in the Civil War suffered from diarrhea, which sent them to doctors for relief. The doctors became known by the slang nickname of “Loose Bowels” because of this.
- Louse Race – A form of entertainment for bored soldiers. A saucer, plate, or other flat surface was used as a racecourse for body lice. The lice were dumped onto the center of the racecourse as the starting point and whichever one scurried and fell off a finishing point edge first was the winner.
- Lucy Long – Confederate General Robert E. Lee rode a horse named Lucy Long after the Battle of Second Bull Run/Second Manassas fought in August 1862.
- Lunette – A semi-circle or three quarter circle earthwork dug out for protection. The back of a lunette was open toward friendly lines.
- Macadam Road – This was a kind of road developed by John L. McAdam, a Scottish engineer. The road was made of crushed into powder limestone that was then compacted into a hard and smooth surface. It was a forerunner of our surfaced roads. The smoothness of macadam roads made travel easier and more comfortable.
- Marse Bob – An affectionate name for Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
- Matériel – This was the supplies, gear, goods, and the other various raw materials needed by the military.
- McClellan Pie – What the men serving under Union General George B. McClellan might call hardtack.
- Meet or See The Elephant – To experience combat for the first time.
- Mess – A gathering of four to six men who ate together and shared in the cooking and cleaning chores. Yankee soldiers usually had a tin plate, a tin cup, a knife, and a fork as their eating utensils. The Union army did not issue spoons until 1863.
- Miasma – Bad and unpleasant air that was thought to come from swamps or other decaying sources, possibly visible and fog-like. Miasma was blamed for many different health maladies and troubles. It was even considered to be deadly.
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Minié Bullet – The most common ammunition of muzzleloading rifles in the Civil War was the soft lead Minié bullet. This bullet was invented by Claude-Étienne Minié. It is often called the Minié ball, but it was not ball-shaped, it was in the shape of a bullet. The bottom base of the Minié bullet was hollowed out inside. When the gun fired, the gunpowder explosion would push gasses into the hollowed-out base of the Minié bullet, the pressure of the gas would expand the lead Minié bullet’s outer side into the rifling grooves of the gun barrel. This expansion caused the Minié bullet to “grip” the rifling grooves, thus creating spin. The Minié bullet increased the accuracy and distance of Civil War rifles.
Minié bullets were lethal in the Civil War. Their soft lead would flatten out when it struck a human, bones would be shattered in ghastly ways, often splintering, and leading to amputation of an arm or leg. Minié bullets would mangle and destroy great areas of soft flesh and organs as they ripped through a human body.
Minié bullets are often found for sale as souvenirs in shops located near Civil War battlefields. Perhaps you have purchased one, have you ever wondered why your Minié bullet is white in color? Civil War Minié bullets were made out of a purer lead than what is used in today’s lead bullets. The white coating is caused by oxidation of the lead, it’s like rust.
- Mossyback – To avoid serving, Civil War draft dodger might hide in a swamp. Such a soldier was called a “Mossyback” because of the living conditions in the swamp.
- Musketoon – Musketoons were short and had large muzzle bores. They were sometimes called “stovepipes” because of their appearance.
- Mutilation – To avoid serving, some who were very determined would pull front teeth out, cut off fingers or toes, or scar and disfigure their skin in some way. These drastic actions would make them ineligible health-wise to be conscripted.
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Muzzleloader – A muzzleloader is either a cannon, rifle or musket that is cumbersomely loaded from the end of the barrel. First, gunpowder is put down the end of the barrel, then a shell, bullet, or ball is pushed down the barrel. The weapon may be either a smoothbore or a rifled gun.
Muzzleloading cannons took coordination and precise timing by a crew of well-practiced men to load and fire during the stress, excitement, and action of battle.
- Napoleon Gun – This was the common, light in weight, and muzzleloading Model 1857 smoothbore field gun. It fired 12 pound cannonball or canister shot projectiles. They were easily moved into position by a team of six horses and had a crew of six men. These cannons have barrels of bronze and they are easily identifiable at Civil War battlefield parks because their barrels have a greenish appearance if they are not polished.
- Nationals – A slang name for Yankee soldiers.
- Nellie Bly – After Ulysses S. Grant graduated from West Point (the United States Military Academy at West Point) in June 1843, he rode a horse named Nellie Bly.
- Nellie Gray – Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee rode a mare named Nellie Gray that was known for its speed. Fitzhugh Lee was a nephew of Robert E. Lee.
- Neptune – President Abraham Lincoln gave this nickname to Gideon Welles, the United States Secretary of the Navy. We see Lincoln’s humor here. Welles had no naval background, but he served the country well as the Secretary of the Navy.
- Nine-Month Man – Early in the Civil War men enlisted for only nine months. It was thought then that the war would be short, nine months was all that was needed as an enrollment term. This idea soon changed and it became apparent the Civil War was a long term crisis and longer soldier enrollments were required.
- North/Union/United States – In the Civil War the North was made up of the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. These states were loyal to the Federal Government and fought against the Confederacy. West Virginia became a Northern state in June 1863. Both California and Oregon were also Union states but they had very little participation in the Civil War.
- Noxious Effluvia – This was very similar to Miasma and was used to describe extremely stinky odors. Doctors, nurses, and other medical people would use this term as they performed their duties of helping the wounded and the sick.
- Oh, Be Joyful! – Slang for booze, which was also referred to as, “Knock ‘Em Stiff.”
- Old Artillery – Confederate General P.G.T Beauregard was known for his artillery skills and this was his nickname.
- Old Bald Head – Confederate General Richard S. Ewell’s nickname.
- Old Blue Light/Old Jack/Old Jack the Sleepless/Old Tom Fool – Nicknames for Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson. It was said that in battle Stonewall’s blue eyes seemed to light up.
- Old Bob – An affectionate nickname for Robert E. Lee.
- Old Brains/Old Spectacles/Old Wooden Head – All of these were used as nicknames for Union General Henry W. Halleck who was known for his intelligence and administrative skills.
- Old Bull – What soldiers called salted horse meat.
- Old Cock Eye – Union General Benjamin F. Butler was called this because of his appearance. Butler’s eyes were not even with one another.
- Old Gridiron – Rebels referred to the United States flag using this term.
- Old Heart of Oak – Union Admiral David G. Farragut was called Old Heart of Oak.
- Old Jubilee – Confederate General Jubal Early’s nickname.
- Old Pete/Lee’s Old War Horse – Confederate General James Lonstreet had these nicknames. General Robert E. Lee called Longstreet his “Old War Horse.”
- Old Pills/Old Tecumseh/Cump – Names for General William Tecumseh Sherman.
- Old Quinine – Union surgeons were called this when they had no other way or idea to treat a patient except to give him quinine.
- Old Snapping Turtle/Old Four Eyes – Names for Union General George G. Meade.
- Onion Day – On Onion Day Northern children would bring non perishable or long lasting foods, such as onions, to school. The United States Sanitary Commission or other beneficial organizations then collected the food and would give it to soldiers.
- On to Richmond! – An early Civil War rallying cry when it was expected that the war would be short and the South easily defeated. The Confederate victory at the Battle of First Manassas/First Bull Run fought in July 1861 proved that it would not be easy to get to Richmond. The Civil War would last four years.
- Original Gorilla – A derogatory nickname for President Abraham Lincoln.
- Osnaburg – This was a rough and coarse fabric used to line the insides of haversacks, which were small bags the soldiers used to carry various items. A gentler and easier on the skin version of osnaburg was used to make undergarments.
- Pack Saddle – This was used to carry items on either a donkey, mule, or a horse without a rider.
- Pads – Mugger gangs that preyed on Yankee soldiers on leave. These criminal hooligans were in cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston.
- Panada/Bully Soup – A recipe of cornmeal and army crackers/hardtack mashed up and dumped into boiling water. For hospital use ginger, wine, or whiskey would be added.
- Partial Rations – Slang used by Civil War soldiers when they got food that was less than the amount they were supposed to have.
- Pas de Charge – The beat sounded by a drummer when a charge was about to be made.
- Peas On A Trencher – A bugle call to breakfast used by the Yankees.
- Pickled Sardine – A name for a POW who had survived a long time in a prisoner of war camp.
- Plank Road – A Civil War highway for wagons made of large pine tree planks. They were twelve to fifteen feet wide and wagon travel was easier and faster on Plank Roads as compared to dirt/mud pathways.
- Play Off – A soldier would Play Off by pretending to be sick or injured so that he could relax for a spell, hours or days, in camp or in the hospital.
- Pop-Skull – A slang name for illegal bootlegged whiskey.
- Possum Beer – Soldiers would concoct homebrewed beer made of persimmons and call it Possum Beer.
- Powder Monkey – Young lads on ships who brought gunpowder to the gun crews. Since these boys were smaller than grown men, they were able to move through the ship’s small and cramped magazines with greater ease and speed.
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Provost Marshal/Provost Guard – 1.) The military police. This was an officer and soldiers who kept the peace, suppressed any insurrection, and enforced martial law. The Provost Marshal would round up stragglers.
2.) The nickname of a large shark that inhabited a moat at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. Guards at the fort would throw stray cats into the moat to feed the shark. The shark made a quick meal of the cats. Prisoners making an attempt to escape in the moat would sometimes be “captured” by the shark. When these escapees were in the water, a guard would shoot them and their blood would attract the shark. The shark Provost Marshal was like a Civil War version of the movie Jaws.
- Pumpkin Shell – This was slang for a floating water mine attached to a post.
- Quaker Gun – This was a fake cannon to fool the enemy into believing your artillery strength was greater than it actually was. It was a painted log that was placed so that from a distance it looked like a real cannon. It got its name from the Quakers, which was a religious organization that supported nonviolence and pacifism.
- Quarantine – When a ship landed it would be in Quarantine until its occupants could be cleared for contagious diseases.
- Quarter (To) – In preparation for a battle or an engagement, soldiers would be placed into their positions.
- Quartermaster – A Quartermaster officer’s work was to have shelter, food, clothing, and needed supplies available for soldiers and animals.
- Quartermaster Shot/Quartermaster Hunter – A term for when artillery fire flew over the heads of the enemy and instead struck in the rear of their position, where the Quartermaster was located.
- Quickstep – 1.) A fast march. 2.) Another name for diarrhea.
- Rag Out – A slang term for when a soldier or officer was clothed in his full military uniform.
- Railsplitter – A nickname for Abraham Lincoln that began during his 1860 presidential campaign.
- Rank and File – The soldiers and non-commissioned officers, such as sergeants or corporals, of an army. Commissioned officers were not called Rank and File.
- Rattle – A device used on ships to convey signals to the crew. They were made of wood, usually a foot long, and made a noise that was loud and distinctive enough to be heard above the wind, waves, and other ship sounds.
- Razorback – When a POW became an informer and provided information to his captors, he was called a Razorback.
- Ready Finder – After a fight a battlefield would be littered with various things such as muskets, rifles, canteens, clothing, and other useful supplies. A Ready Finder was someone who went to the battlefield and scavenged these items.
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Rebel Yell – The Rebel Yell was first heard at The Battle of First Bull Run (First Manassas) on July 21, 1861. At an important part of the fight and as Confederate forces were failing, Rebel reinforcements arrived on the battlefield. Thomas Jonathan Jackson gave the order, “Charge, men and yell like furies!” The Confederates were able to rally, presumably while yelling like furies, and the Rebel Yell was born.
The Rebel Yell has been described as a high-pitched shout, and is possibly an adaptation of a Southern fox hunter cry. For the Yankees, hearing the Rebel Yell most likely sent a chill of fear up their spines. Indeed, after the war, a veteran Yankee described the Rebel Yell:
“There is nothing like it on this side of the infernal region. The peculiar corkscrew sensation that it sends down your backbone under these circumstances can never be told. You have to feel it.”
- Red-Eye/Rotgut – Slang names used by Civil War soldiers for bad whiskey.
- Reportial Corps – Newspaper correspondents/reporters were referred to with this nickname.
- Republican Party – The Republican Party started in the 1850s and was opposed to slavery, in contrast to the Democrat Party. A Southern Republican was a very rare character, as the South was dominated by the Democrat Party. Republicans did not want slavery to extend into the territories and wanted slavery to end. Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican president when he was inaugurated on March 4, 1861.
- Revenue Cutter – Revenue Cutters were used in the Great Lakes and at sea to foil smugglers and to enforce custom and import fees. They were fast ships. They would later become the United States Coast Guard.
- Rifled Musket – A Rifled Musket had grooves cut into the inside of its barrel instead of the inside of the barrel being smooth. The grooving was significant because it would put a spin on a bullet. This bullet spinning added much more accuracy and distance as compared to a smoothbore musket. Rifled Muskets were deadlier.
- Robber’s Row – The place in a Civil War camp where entrepreneurial sutlers would sell merchandise and other goods to soldiers. The prices paid to the sutlers were often inflated. The sutlers greedily took advantage of soldiers who had limited means to shop for and buy supplies outside of army provision.
- Sack, (To) – Plundering and pillaging.
- Sacred Dust – A dead body, a corpse.
- Sally, (To) – To make a sudden and rapid attack on the enemy.
- Salt, (To Eat) – A slang used by the Billy Yanks to describe government rations. Meat was usually preserved with salt and strongly tasted like it.
- Salt Fish – This was a term used with respect for soldiers or prisoners of war who were well experienced and toughened by what they had gone through.
- Salt Horse – Beef that had been preserved with salt.
- Sandlapper – A name for someone who was from South Carolina.
- Salt Pork – A common food eaten by both Billy Yanks and Johnny Rebs. It was pork that was preserved with salt. It could last for a long time without rotting.
- Secessia – The Billy Yanks derisively used this word for the Confederate States of America.
- Secession Bread – Supplies, such as wheat flour, could be in short supply in the South and substitutes were found. Secession Bread was bread made of rice flour.
- See the Elephant/See the Tiger/Smell Powder – To be in battle.
- Shebangs – Civil War Prisoners of War lived in rough conditions in their camps. They would make shelters out of whatever material they could scrounge up to have protection from the weather, be it wind, rain, snow, or heat.
- Sheep Dip – Bad whiskey.
- Shoddy – Early in the Civil War profiteering suppliers sold inferior cloth that was used to make Federal uniforms. This cloth would soon fall apart.
- Sinks – These were trenches dug into the ground of camps and used as latrines. Sinks were sometimes too close to fresh water sources. This would lead to water contamination and the spread of disease.
- Sleep on Arms – This was an order to Civil War soldiers directing them to have their weapons near and ready as they slept.
- Slow Bears – A humorous nickname used by Billy Yanks for pigs. The Southern Slow Bears might end up being cooked up and swallowed down.
- Smoothbore – A gun is a Smoothbore when the inside of its barrel has no grooves. Rifled guns had grooves inside their barrels which put a spin on their projectiles. Smoothbore guns were not as accurate and did not have the range as rifled barrel guns had.
- Somebody’s Darlin’ – An unidentified and perhaps disgusting rotting dead body. The dead soldier was unknown by name, but back home he was loved as a son, father, uncle, or brother.
- South – The states that seceded from the United States of America to form the Confederate States of America. These states were: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
- Sport for Yankees – This is when Rebel guards at Southern POW camps would shoot and pick off Yankee prisoners at random, just for the fun and cruelty of it.
- Squirrel Hunters – A critical nickname for Federal volunteers who came from rural areas of Ohio.
- Taking a Twist at the Tiger – Used by Civil War soldiers as a name for gambling.
- Tangle Foot – Strong alcoholic beverages such as whiskey were called this.
- Taps – The bugle call that sounds the message to soldiers that the day is done, it is time for lights out and to go to sleep for the night.
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Tar Heel – A native of North Carolina. So named for the pine tar that was a product of the plentiful pine trees found in the state. Pine tar is gooey sticky if you step in it and it will stick to your shoe.
Tattoo – This bugle call was used before Taps, but it meant the same thing. - Tennessee High Step – When a soldier was suffering from a case of diarrhea and he was hurrying to relieve himself at a latrine, he was practicing the Tennessee High Step in his urgency.
- “Those People” – This is how Confederate General Robert E. Lee referred to Yankee soldiers and Northern civilians.
- Three Days Rations – When a battle was expected, food for three days was issued to Union soldiers. Usually these rations would not last for three days, it was sometimes eaten as a single meal by hungry soldiers.
- Ticket to Dixie – For a Northern man who was drafted to fight in the Civil War, he had received his Ticket to Dixie.
- Timberclad – A boat that was covered with wood for protection instead of with iron.
- Thumb Hanging – A cruel form of punishment used in Civil War POW camps. The unfortunate POW would be strung up by rope tied to each of his thumbs until his feet were just above the ground.
- Tom Fool – Before the Civil War Thomas Jonathan Jackson taught at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. Jackson was an odd character and his teaching style was awkward. Because of this, the VMI cadets derisively called him Tom Fool.
- Torpedo/Infernal Machine – In the Civil War, what we call mines were called torpedoes or Infernal Machines.
- Tosspot – Slang for a soldier who was drunk.
- Total War – A new way of fighting the enemy that included destroying homes and crops of civilians in order to demoralize the civilian base and curtail its military supply. General William Tecumseh Sherman practiced Total War in his March to the Sea.
- Turnspit – A soldier who proved himself to always be not up to the task. A useless fellow, a screw up.
- Typhoid – A disease that causes fever, diarrhea, and physical exhaustion. It is a bacterial infection that spread easily in the Civil War and killed many soldiers and civilians.
- Unhorsed – You were unhorsed in the Civil War when you had to temporarily walk instead of riding a horse. It may be that the horse threw you and you had to walk until the animal was caught. Perhaps too, the horse was injured or had become lame and could not be ridden until it was fit again. Another possibility is that the horse had been killed or died of disease.
- United States Christian Commission – This organization gave food, Bibles, and writing supplies to Yankee soldiers. It promoted good moral character to the men.
- United States Sanitary Commission – This was a Federal government organization of women volunteers. It raised funds by staging Sanitary Fairs. The women took on duties such as being cooks, nursing, and sewing uniforms.
- Used Up – A unit (a company, regiment, or brigade, for example) in the army was Used Up when its ranks had fallen low. Common causes of attrition were illness, death, wounds, capture, and desertion.
- Veal – When a soldier had no experience of fighting in a battle, he was called this.
- Vedette or Vidette – This was a sentry on horseback that was positioned ahead of a picket line as a guard.
- Veteranized, (To Be) – When a soldier had fulfilled his enlistment and service to the army and now was heading back home.
- Veteran Volunteers – They were men who were too old or infirm to fight in combat but were able to serve as guards.
- Virginia Creeper (The) – A nickname for Union General George B. McClellan.
- War of the Rebellion – How the North sometimes referred to the Civil War.
- Web Foot – When a soldier had no shoes or boots to wear he was called a Web Foot.
- West Point – At the United States Military at West Point, New York over one thousand men became officers in the United States army. Some of them chose to fight for the Confederacy when the Civil War came.
- Wet Goods – Another name for whiskey and alcoholic drinks.
- Whig Party – Before the Civil War the Whig Party was opposed to slavery and the spreading of it into the territories. At the time of the Civil War, this political party had ended and the main political parties were the Republicans and Democrats.
- Wood Road – A temporary road made by placing wood planks on top of a muddy dirt road to make it easier to travel over.
Yeller Dog/Yellow Belly – A coward.
- Zouaves – These soldiers wore distinctively colorful and fancy uniforms which had baggy pants, a fez (a hat), and a vest. Red, white, and blue were the prominent colors of their uniforms. The uniforms were patterned after the uniforms of French African troops. Zouave regiments were found in both the Northern and Southern armies.
