Civil War Speech and Jargon

The soldiers of the Civil War had their own way of saying things. The words, slang, and phrases of Billy Yank (a Union soldier), Johnny Reb (a Confederate soldier), and the civilians of the 19th century are unique and strange to our modern-day ears. The language of Civil War soldiers was rich and colorful, it reflected their lives and times.

It is natural for language to change and develop over time as new words are added to the dictionary. For example, your Learn Civil War History BlogMaster can sometimes be accused of being a mouse potato. The term “mouse potato” is a recent addition to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It means I spend too much time at the computer, just as a couch potato spends too much time sitting on the couch watching television.

If you could, can you imagine asking someone from Civil War times what the words Internet and BlogMaster mean! Words also fall from use and become forgotten. Some words used during the Civil War are not often heard or understood today.

In this podcast is a brief story I’ve written that uses lots of Civil War speech and jargon. See if you can understand what my imaginary Jonathan (a Yankee) soldier is talking about. I’ll translate it later in the podcast.

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