Soldier Talk & Civil War Slang
Gettysburg National Military Park Kidzpage

A halt on the march by Charles Reed
(Hardtack & Coffee)
The military of today has a distinctive and sometimes confusing catalog of terms, unique and all its own. Many of the terms used by modern soldiers are based on the first letters of a military label and often they use informal terms for pieces of equipment, fellow soldiers, or the places where they are based. It was no different during the Civil War. The Civil War soldier had a wide variety of names for the things they used in their daily routines and also invented many slang terms or nicknames for their equipment, experiences, and other soldiers. Many of these expressions were based on military terms, lighthearted humor, or biblical references and can still be found in our everyday language.

Here are some examples of Civil War expressions and nicknames:

accoutrements- A soldier's fighting equipments, made of leather.
a beat- A lazy soldier who dodges work.
bombproof- An underground shelter, used also to describe officers who never went to the front.
bones- Dice.
buck and gag- A form of punishment.
carriage- The wooden mount for artillery, also used to describe a lady's shape.
dogrobber- The soldier of a group who cooks for everyone else.
dog tent- A small, two-man tent.
first rate- Feeling well and very happy.
forage- To search for food from nearby farms.
Fresh Fish- New recruits.
greenbacks- Money or script.
gum blanket- Rubber-coated cloth sheet used as a rain cover.
haversack- Cloth bag for carrying the rations & utensils.
homespun- A clothing item made of homemade or home spun cloth.
housewife- A sewing kit.
horse sense- Smart or to use good sense.
Johnny- Union soldier's term for a Confederate soldier.
Jonah- A soldier who always brought misfortune and bad luck with him.
"The luck of Cain"- one who has bad luck or is prone to illness.
paper collar man- Someone who has money or is financially well off.
picket- A guard or guard duty.
sacred soil- Virginia mud.
sawbones- The surgeon of the regiment.
seeing the elephant- A man's first experience in combat.
shebang- A temporary shelter of poles & branches.
shirker- A soldier who would not do his duty on the battlefield.
smart like a fox- Slick and cunning.
tough as a knot- In good health.
top rail- The best place to be. Number One!
traps- Accoutrements
vittles- food or rations.
Yank- Confederate soldier's term for a Union soldier.

Soldiers also used phrases such as "snug as a bug in a rug", "chief cook and bottle washer", "been through the mill", and "scarce as hen's teeth." When soldiers gathered around the campfires to cook, "grab a root" was a social term meaning to help oneself to some vegetables. A soldier often referred to his camp as his "digs" and his fellow soldiers as "the boys".

Do you and your friends use similar expressions when you talk about yourself or items that you own? If you think about it, we bet you would find a lot of slang terms used by you and your friends everyday.

 

Keywords:

horse sense
buck and gag
accoutrements
Jonah
sawbones
fresh fish

Gettysburg Kidz Page

National Park Service
Gettysburg National Military Park
1195 Baltimore Pike, Suite 100
Gettysburg, PA 17325