Civil War Terminology

Contraband

• Southern slaves who joined the Union army in the South

Copperheads

• People who opposed the Civil War

Regiment

• Usually around 1,000 troops

Brigade

• Around four regiments – around 4,000 soldiers

Artillery• Cannons and the big guns• Color = Red• “Napoleon” most popular cannon of the Civil War

Cavalry• Horse back soldiers • Color = Yellow

Infantry• Foot soldiers

• Color = Light Blue

Yankee (Billy Yank)

• Nickname for the Union Soldiers

Rebel (Johnny Reb)

• Confederate Soldier nickname

Sutler

• A person who was paid by the army to sell goods to soldiers in camp

New TechnologyThe Civil War has also been called

the 1st modern war1. First war to be Photographed –

thousands of pictures taken – Matthew Brady – most famous Photographer of the war

2. Railroads were 1st used to transport troops and supplies in war

3. Telegraphs were sometimes used for communication – lines

were often cut though

4. Ironclad ships were used for the 1st time instead of wooden ships

5. Hot Air balloons for Spying

6. Submarines which used torpedoes (naval mines)

7. Trench Warfare

8. New Weapons• Long Ranged Rifles replaced the short

ranged musket – most commonly use weapon among the infantry

The Mini Ball

8. New Weapons

• Hand Grenades – hardly ever used – did not work well

8. New Weapons• Carbine Rifles – used cartridges (breech

loading) instead of the step by step muzzle loading – very expensive – not many used

• Cavalry usually received these weapons

Spencer Carbine

8. New Weapons

• Landmines

8. New Weapons

• Machine Gun – Gatlin Gun (Not used that much)

Civil War Medicine

Medicine

• Medical Practices were very primitive compared to today’s standards – no clue about germs or bacteria

Medicine• Not much for pain medicine-

1) Chloroform

2) Whiskey or Alcohol

3) Ether

4) New drug of the day - Morphine

Medicine

• Disease was the #1 killer in the Civil War – Typhoid killed more than anything else

• No Antibiotics yet

Medicine

• If you were wounded – Amputation – the cutting off of ones limb – was often the treatment to prevent infection (Gang-Greene)

The result for many of the Civil War – prosthetic limbs becomes a big

business as a result of the Civil War