Learn Civil War History Jonathan R. Allen

A Selection of Civil War Terms From Letter N Through Letter Z is Episode 15 of the Learn Civil War History Podcast. It continues on from episode 14 that featured terms from Letter A Through Letter M. This podcast is a listing and explanation of some Civil War terms or vocabulary which are not often heard or used today.



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



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⁠⁠http://www.learncivilwarhistory.com/⁠

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



This podcast is a listing and explanation of some Civil War terms or vocabulary which are not often heard or used today.





Visit my LearnCivilWarHistory.com blog:

⁠⁠http://www.learncivilwarhistory.com/⁠

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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John Burns - The Old Hero of Gettysburg



Robert E. Lee and his invading Army of Northern Virginia brought the Civil War to the quiet and pastoral town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in early July 1863. A gutsy Gettysburg civilian named John Lawrence Burns who was a cobbler, a town constable, and an old man, took part in the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Civilian Burns is known as, “the old hero of Gettysburg.”

There is truth and myth concerning the story of John Burns. Over time, his story has become somewhat confusing. Burns or others seemed to add to it, or change it, as time went by, usually by embellishing Burns’ story. Whether this was intentional or not, who can say? It can be difficult historically to separate fact from fiction regarding John Burns. Let’s recognize that and enjoy the story of “the old hero of Gettysburg.”



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Immediately after the battle, the Dunker Church served as a makeshift hospital for the wounded. It was not used as a proper hospital because it was too small, and it had no supply of water or food. The Dunker Church was used as a place where the wounded could be brought to and evaluated, like modern-day triage.



The Dunker Church continued as a reference point after the battle. It was a common and easy-to-find location to meet and gather for army commanders, soldiers, and for the citizens whose help was now so greatly needed. There is a sketch by Civil War artist Alfred Waud that depicts a truce meeting between the Rebels and the Yankees near the Dunker Church in order to exchange wounded and bury the dead.



The Dunkers moved to a new church on Main Street in Sharpsburg in 1899. After the move, the old whitewashed church on the Antietam battlefield was mostly ignored, it was seldom used and fell into neglect and disrepair. As time went on, the old Dunker Church continued its physical decline. Tourists to the Antietam battlefield sometimes even took bricks home from the church walls as souvenirs.



The physical decline of the battlefield Dunker Church building continued to worsen as time went on. A strong windstorm, or whirlwind as it was described, flattened the church into a pile of rubble on April 24, 1921. The Dunker Church congregation did not have the financial ability to repair the old church. The Dunkers deeded the old church to the Samuel Mumma family, who had originally donated the church’s property to the Dunkers.



The Mummas then sold at auction the Dunker Church property to a Sharpsburg grocer named Elmer Boyer. Boyer salvaged what was left of the Dunker Church building and stored the material in a shed. Boyer then sold the Dunker Church property to Charles Turner.



Turner used the Dunker Church foundation to build a new frame structure. Being an entrepreneur, Turner used his new building during the 1930s and 1940s as a lunch counter and to sell souvenirs. Tourists at the Antietam Battlefield could quench their hunger and thirst by treating themselves to refreshments and food at Turner’s lunch counter. Turner’s efforts were not appreciated.



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The Battle of Antietam or the Battle of Sharpsburg as the South called it, was fought on September 17, 1862. This one-day battle left a terrible carnage on the beautiful and pastoral countryside of Sharpsburg, Maryland. Antietam is the battle in United States history where the most casualties occurred in one day. At Antietam, there were more American dead than at Pearl Harbor, D-Day, or at 911. Over 3,600 were killed and over 19,000 were wounded, missing, or captured.



In the middle of the Antietam battlefield stood the whitewashed Dunker Church. The Dunker Church was meant to be a place for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was where the good news message of love, forgiveness, peace, and salvation was faithfully believed and taught. The congregation of the Dunker Church were members of the German Baptist Brethren which began in Germany in 1708. In Germany, they baptized adults in a local river, which was uncommon for the time.



During their river baptism, a person would be completely submerged or dunked, into the river. Babies were usually baptized by sprinkling water on them. In Germany, The German Baptist Brethren had the nickname of “Tunkers,” but when they began arriving in Maryland during the middle 1700s, the nickname “Tunkers” became “Dunkers.” By 1853, the number of Dunkers in the Sharpsburg, Maryland area grew large enough so they could have their own church building.



The Dunkers believed in a literal interpretation of the New Testament. They were similar to the Quakers, the Amish, and the Mennonites in their beliefs. The Dunkers often associated with these other Protestants. The Dunkers did not like any type of indulgence. They were against drinking alcohol, violence, slavery, and gambling.



At the end of the Battle of Antietam, the Dunker Church would be riddled by cannon and small arms fire, the now bloody landscape around it torn and littered with the remains of the great battle. The Samuel Mumma farm was in ashes. The Dunker Church would forever be a part of the Antietam battlefield and United States Civil War history.



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