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 Technology
The Civil War has also been called
the 1st modern war
1. 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
•
1)
2)
3)
Not much for pain medicineChloroform
Whiskey or Alcohol
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 (GangGreene)
The result for many of the Civil War
– prosthetic limbs becomes a big
business as a result of the Civil War