ABATIS (ah'bahtee):

An obstacle formed of trees felled toward the enemy.

ACCOUTERMENTS:

Items of equipment, other than weapons and clothing, carried by a soldier (e.g., cartridge box, canteen).

ACOUSTIC SHADOW ("silent battles"):

A phenomenon that results in sound being inaudible to persons a short distance from the source while the same sound may be heard over a hundred miles away in another direction. Prominent in-stances are mentioned in connection with the battles of Seven Pines, Gaines's Mill, Iuka, Perryville, and Chancellorsville. Sometimes the sounds of battle appear to have been blocked by dense woods (e.g., Peninsula, Chancellorsville), by folds in the ground (e.g., Perryville), wind, or by "acoustic opacity" due to varying air densities.

AGNEW:

Name of attire worn by Sanitary Commission nurses in the Penisular campaign. This consisted of a man's army shirt, the original one having been borrowed from a Dr. Agnew, with the collar open, sleeves rolled up, and shirt-tails out, worn over a full skirt less the hoops.

"ALABAMA" CLAIMS:

General term for US grievances against England during and just after the Civil War. These included the proclamation of neutrality, the Confederate vessels built or armed in England, and the tremendous sums of money raised for the Confederacy there. Seward had directed the Ambassador, Charles F. Adams, early in the war to demand payment for the damage inflicted by the "Alabama", and this brought to some extent a halt in Confederate shipbuilding and outfitting there. The US demanded payment of $19,021,000 for the damage done by 11 ships. These claims, repeated several times, drew no response until 1868, when a convention was signed to cover all Anglo-American claims since 1853, but ignoring those of the" Alabama. "This was overwhelmingly voted down by Congress, but in 1871 the Treaty of Washington proposed, among other things, that the claims be submitted to arbitration. The next year a board of five from America, England, Italy, Switzerland, and Brazil decided that Great Britain had failed in her responsibilities as a neutral and awarded the US $15,500,000 in gold. The claims were paid in 1873.

Romantic term for the sword, and often applied to other types of edged weapons, particularly the bayonet.

The terms arsenal, armory, depot, and laboratory need definition. An arsenal is "a place of deposit for ordnance and ordnance stores, "says Scott's Military Dictionary of 1861, "but there are also arsenals of construction and repairs. "An armory, likewise, can be a place of manufacture or deposit, according to the same source. The official army dictionary of today (S.R. 320-5-1,1950) says that an arsenal has the primary mission of manufacture but may also store and issue.

An arsenal in the strictest sense was a depository which had under its supervision an armory (which did the manufacturing of arms), a laboratory (which made ammunition as well as setting standards and construction procedures), and a depot (which was located at some detached place and could have the missions of collection, repair, and issue of arms). Some depots became arsenals and vice versa.

May be classified as penetrations, envelopments, turning movements, and frontal attacks. A commander normally groups his forces so as to provide a main attack, a secondary attack, and reserve. The former, as its name indicates, contains the greatest possible concentration of combat power, and is given the decisive mission. The secondary attack is allocated minimum essential combat power and gives maximum assistance to the main attack by performing as a diversion, forcing the enemy to commit his reserves prematurely and at the wrong place, and fixing certain enemy troops in position so they cannot be shifted to oppose the main attack. Failure to provide for a secondary attack, or failure of the secondary attack to perform its role properly, accounted for McClellan's failure at Antietam, and contributed to Lee's failure in the second day's fighting at Gettysburg. The reserve is a force held out of the battle initially.Its mission in the attack is to clinch the victory or exploit success. A good general avoids committing it "piecemeal" or prematurely. He constitutes a new reserve as soon as the original one is employed.

A platform from which a gun can fire over a parapet without an embrasure. A "barbette gun" is one mounted to fire in this manner.

These were Sharps Carbines and/or rifles, so called because many of them were shipped into "Bleeding Kansas" in crates labeled "Bibles", and/or because Henry Ward Beecher had professed to see" more moral power in one of those instruments so far as the slaveholders were concerned than in a hundred Bibles."

A form of punishment. The soldier was gagged and seated with his hands and feet tied. His knees were drawn up, the arms passed around them, and a rod inserted, horizontal to the ground, between the arms and the backs of the knees. This immobilized in a highly uncomfortable position, he was left for a period of time varying with the seriousness of the offense.

or "concentration on the battlefield," is a maneuver to which amateur stategists are much attracted and that almost always leads to their "defeat in detail." The term is self-explanatory. It may be contrasted with "concentration off the battlefield," which means bringing separate units to within "supporting distance" (i.e., "concentrating") at a point far enough from the enemy to avoid fighting until your forces are concentrated. Napoleon made a fetish of avoiding concentric advances.

All measures taken to keep enemy reconnaissance forces from gaining information.

A sudden and vigorous attack, for the purpose of instantaneously capturing a position.

The gift of rapidly grasping and turning to the best account the contingencies of war, and the features of the country which is its scene. Meaning literally "glance," it is an old military term used in evaluating generals and means the ability to size up a situation, particularly with respect to terrain, rapidly and accurately.

In the military sense, this term does not mean annihilation or "complete defeat," but means "the defeat in turn of the separated parts of a force." To avoid defeat in detail, a commander keeps his units withing supporting distance.

A show of force on a front where the decision is not sought, with the object of deceiving the enemy; no advance against the enemy is made by the demonstrating force. In this last regard, it differs from a feint.

In the tactical or strategic sense, to find out, by reconnaissance and/or attack, the enemy's location and strength.

Manner in which elements of a military force are put in position (i.e., "disposed") for an operation. As an example, "He learned the enemy's dispositions from a captured map."

An attack directed toward the enemy's flank(s) or rear. There are single and double envelopments. The "turning movement,"although also called a strategic envelopment, is a somewhat different operation.

A long cylindrical bundle of brush or stakes bound tightly together and used in constructing revetments, or to fill in ditches and depressions as a hasty bridge.

A show of force to mislead the enemy. It normally involves a limited objective attack by a small portion of the total force. A demonstration, on the other hand, has the same purpose but differs in that no actual attack is made.

>When the projectile is fixed so as to form a single unit with the propelling charge, igniter, and primer, the entire unit is known as a round of fixed ammunition.

A land mine formed by placing a charge of gunpowder at the base of a pit in such a way as to project stones or shells. It was placed at a point over which the enemy was expected to pass, such as the moat of a fortification.

The "furniture" of a firearm consists of its mountings and certain decorative features (barrel bands, butt plate, patch box, and trigger guard, for example). "Horse furniture are ornaments and embellishments which are adopted by military men when they are mounted for service or parade, consisting chiefly of housings, saddle cloth, etc."

A form of defense in which the defender takes up a position so located that the enemy will expose his flanks or line of communications if he continues his advance. A good flanking position must have these characteristics: strong defensive terrain; protection for one's own line of communications; the possibility of sallying forth to attack the enemy if he does try to ignore the position and continue his advance. The defender must have sufficient strength so that the attacker cannot contain him with part of his force while he continues to his original objective. Jackson's position at Swift Run Gap at the start of his Shenandoah Valley Campaign was an excellent flanking position.

Although often used in the literal sense of "an attack against the enemy's front" (as opposed to an envelopment), in the strict sense it is "an attack wherein the available forces are equally distributed and strike the enemy all along his front". Frontal attacks are generally costly and ineffective except in "secondary attacks", since they violate the principles of mass and economy of force.

A cylindrical basket with open ends, made of brush or metal ribbon woven on pickets, and used as a revetment in constructing field works.

These words, along with "office" and "title," differ in ways important primarily to law courts and military scholars. "Date of rank" has obvious significance, hence orders for appointments and promotions were often backdated: e.g., B.G.USV 9 July '63 to date from 1 July '63.

A term used in tactics and strategy to indicate a situation in which one commander has an advantage in being able to deploy his forces against the enemy faster than the enemy can counter his moves. The correct use of "interior lines" has been the hallmark of successful generals through the ages, and the term has been misunderstood by readers of military history for almost as long a period. A commander may possess "interior lines" by virtue of a central position with respect to his opponent. But he may also possess it by virtue of superior lateral communications. Thus the South, despite its central position, did not actually possess interior lines because the North had a superior railroad network. Evidence of this paradox is that the Federals could move reinforcements from Virginia to Chattanooga faster than the Confederates could do so, even though the Confederates had a shorter straight-line distance to cover. Interior lines at Sharpsburg enabled Lee to avoid annihilation. In this instance, it was his central position that permitted him to move troops rapidly from unthreatened parts of his line to meet Burnside's piecemeal attacks. Meade's interior lines at Gettysburg played a major role in his defeat of Lee's assaults. Pope lost the 2nd Bull Run campaign despite his interior lines. If a commander does not possess interior lines to start with, he may get them by a "strategic penetration," which was one of Napoleon's favorite maneuvers.

A secret order, in the North, of Southern sympathizers. Originally starting in the South, its purpose was the extension of slavery in the 1850's, and as the movement spread into other parts of the country, it became the organization of the Peace Democrats, who disapproved of the war. In the latter part of 1863, the name was changed to Order of American Knights, and in 1864, to Sons of Liberty. Vallandigham was supreme commander of this last-named order, having been active in the original organization as well.

American actress, 1826-1873.England. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while watching her star in her greatest success, "Our American Cousin," at Ford's Theatre in Washington.

Slang for a dish soldiers concocted for themselves. A naval term derived from "lob's course," it was composed of baked or stewed salt meat with vegetables and hardtack substituting for the ship's biscuit.

In artillery, the eye or ring on the end of a gun trail that drops over the pintle of the limber for towing. In fortification a type of outwork having two faces and an open or partially closed entrance ("gorge").

Symbolic border between the North and South that originated as a line surveyed in 1763 and 1767 to settle boundary differences between the Penn family of Pennsylvania and the Calverts of Maryland. The line goes along the parallel 39 degrees, 42 minutes, 23.6 seconds. In the antebellum era, it was understood to be the dividing line between slave and free territory, and was the boundary between Pennsylvania to the north and Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia to the south.

An unexpected collision between opposing forces that takes place before either can execute a planned attack or defense. Gettysburg is a classic example.

>At the beginning of the war, the men "messed in squads." All took turns cooking, and the first one to complain did the cooking the next time. In March 1863, Congress required the food to be prepared by companies, and cooks were hired, but the preparation by squads and individuals continued.

Each Union soldier was issued a knife, fork, tin plate, and tin cup. In 1863, a spoon was added.

Soldiers who, after the day's fighting, would go from campfire to campfire, exchanging information and bringing news. Catton says "they were in fact amateur and self-appointed reporters, hunting the information by which they could judge how the battle was going, what army morale was like, and what the prospects were for the morrow."

Also referred to in Civil War literature as an echelon or progressive type of attack, it involves attacking with one flank refused so that the other flank makes contact with the enemy first. Generally the plan is to reinforce this advanced wing so as to bring overwhelming strength against the point of the enemy line first encountered, thus crushing this segment of his line and then "rolling up his flank" as the successive parts of your own line make contact. Epaminondas achieved his classic victory against a superior Spartan force with this maneuver at Leuctra (371 B.C.), and Frederick the Great used it with spectacular results at Leuthen (1757). Although unsuited for use against an enemy who had any battlefield mobility, Confederate generals displayed a curious predilection to try it. Commenting on the failure of the Confederate attacks on the second day at Gettysburg, Alexander writes: "We had used this method [echelon] on four occasions -- at Seven Pines, Gaines's Mill, Frazier's [Frayser's] Farm or Glendale, and Malvern Hill -- and always with poor success." It was used by Bragg at Chickamauga and by Hood at Peach Tree Creek. A clue as to its popularity with Civil War generals may possibly be found in Jomini's "Treatise on Grand Military Operations", which first appeared in 1804 and had great influence. In this Jomini rhapsodizes over the oblique order.

Although defined in the official army dictionary as "the manner in which military forces are organized and disposed," the term can have two rather different connotations. (1.) It can mean a tabulation of organizations participating in an action; in BATTLES & LEADERS this information appears under the heading of "Opposing Forces," and in the OFFICIAL RECORDS as "Organization." (2.) It can also mean "the general or geometrical disposition of troops for battle." In Civil War literature, the term will always be used in the latter sense, but in modern military writings, it will usually mean the former.

Hot gruel made of corn meal, army crackers mashed in boiling water, ginger, and wine. Invented by Eliza Harris of the Sanitary Commission, it was used in both the eastern and western theaters. Also called ginger panada and bully soup.

is the military term for committing portions of a unit as they become available. Piecemeal attack is common in a "meeting engagement", and is considered good tactics provided you are in a position to build up forces faster than the enemy. This is what enabled Lee to win the first day at Gettysburg. Piecemeal commitment of the reserve is a common and serious error in tactics. The timing of a planned action may break down and enable portions of a force to be defeated piecemeal (e.g., Lee's attack the second day at Gettysburg).

Meaning literally a support or fulcrum, this is an old strategic term for the "different advantageous posts, such as castles, fortified villages, etc., which the general of an army takes possession of in order to secure his natural position." It might also be defined as a tactical or strategic base.

A stout rope used to connect the lunette of the carriage and pintle hook of the limber to move the piece short distances without limber. The rope was carried coiled around "prolonge hooks" on the top side of the stock or trail.

By definition, a ration is the amount of food authorized for one soldier (or animal) for one day. The Confederate government adopted the official US Army ration at the start of the war, although by the spring of 1862, they had to reduce it. The original Federal ration was: one 16-ounce biscuit (hardtack, pilot bread, or crackers) or 22 ounces of bread or flour, a pound and a quarter of fresh or salt meat or three quarters of a pound of bacon. In June 1864, this was increased by six ounces of flour and four ounces of hard bread and three pounds of potatoes. In addition, for each 100 men there was authorized eight gallons of beans, 10 pounds of rice or hominy, 10 pounds of coffee, 15 pounds of sugar, four gallons of vinegar, and two pounds of salt. Men cooked individually or messed by squads until March 1863, when cooking by companies was prescribed. Individual or squad cooking did not, however, disappear. Although the Federal soldier often went for long periods without his authorized rations, the Southern soldier fared much worse. The Sanitary Commission did much to improve the standards of food in the Union Army.

>The problem in the South was not so much a shortage of food as it was the lack of adequate distribution, particularly by rail. Soldiers of both armies relied to a great extent on food sent from home and on the ubiquitous "Sutler."

A retaining wall or other form of bracing to hold in place the sides of trenches, gun emplacements, and other forms of field fortifications. Wire mesh, wooden strips held by metal or wooden posts or pickets, heavy cloth, and many other means or expedients are used -- depending on permanence desired. Wattling (woven brushwork), gabions, and fascines were generally used as late as World War I. Sandbags, used in the Civil War, are now the most common means.

Civil War equivalent of "fox holes."

Standard army ration of pickled beef preserved in brine so strong that it was inedible unless soaked thoroughly in water before cooking. Often the pickling process was not successful. Also called "salt horse."

Cylindrical object of basketwork rolled ahead of men constructing a sap (trench) toward the enemy to provide cover from the enemy's small-arms fire.

Material for making uniforms at the beginning of the war that was described in a factual article in "Harper's Monthly" at the time as "a villainous compound, the refuse stuff and sweepings of the shop, pounded, rolled, glued and smoothed to the external form and gloss of cloth, but no more like the genuine article than the shadow is to the substance..." A N.Y. "Tribune" writer called it "poor sleezy stuff, woven open enough for seives [sic], and then filled with shearmen's dust." The magazine article continued: "Soldiers, on the first day's march or in the earliest storm, found their clothes, overcoats, and blankets scattering to the wind in rags, or dissolving into their primitive elements of dust under the pelting rain."

As the term indicates, this is an operation used to disrupt an impending attack while the enemy is still in the process of forming or assembling.

Distance between two units that can be traveled in time for one to come to the aid of the other. This distance varies in accordance with the size of the units involved. Two regiments, for example, might have to be within a mile or so of each other, whereas two divisions might be within a day's march. The commander who keeps all his units within supporting distance has his force "concentrated,"thereby avoiding "defeat in detail." One of Napoleon's strategic principles was to keep his own force always "concentrated," which involved detailed time and space computations on his part. He would then attempt to maneuver so as to gain interior lines and defeat in detail an enemy whose units were not within supporting distance of each other.

Artillery supports were infantry troops assigned the mission of close-in protection of artillery units from sharpshooters, infiltrators, etc. "Support," in general, means for one unit to assist another. "A regiment of Zouaves [the Fire Zouaves], following in support of the Federal Batteries [Griffin's and Rickett's], were charged by a company of cavalry under Col. Stuart."

Two cylinders near the center of gravity of a cannon by which it is supported on its carriage.

A wide (strategic) envelopment that avoids the enemy's main position and by threatening some vital point to the rear forces him to leave his original position and fight elsewhere. It derives its name from its effect of turning the enemy out of his position, not because it is executed by turning around (enveloping) the enemy. It differs from an envelopment in that it does not involve fighting the enemy on his original position. Although the two terms are often used synonymously by writers, "turning movement" is used in its precise sense in military memoirs of the Civil War and by such good modern historians as D. S. Freeman and K. P. Williams. Good illustrations of turning movements are Rosecrans' maneuver in the Tullahoma Campaign and Hooker's maneuver at the start of the Chancellorsville Campaign.

At the start of the war, uniforms in a staggering variety of cuts and colors appeared on both sides. Many were the dress uniforms of swank military outfits -- for example, the numerous Zouave regiments of the North and South -- which not only were unsuited for field service, but also failed to distinguish friend from foe. The Federal government took steps early in 1862 to standardize the blue uniform, and by the winter of 1863, had achieved this. Although the Confederates had prescribed uniform regulations early in the war, the Southern soldier presented an increasingly ragged and nondescript appearance as the conflict progressed and supplies became more critical. The shortage of shoes was particularly hard on him. The prescribed uniforms, insignia and buttons of both armies are shown in plate CLXXVII of the O.R. (Official Records) atlas.