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Centrix Vigilis
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Topic: Civil War/Old West slang Posted: 10-Aug-2011 at 19:22 |
Tennessee Quickstep - Bowel movement
Never ceased... to my chagrin, as a necessity. Either half way through a 25 mile forced, dismounted road march, a 60 mile movement in a Tank or APC (20 minutes after we had started), or after two hours in a helo while conducting Scout/Reconn ops.
This is the life of a Trooper.
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"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"
S. T. Friedman
Pilger's law: 'If it's been officially denied, then it's probably true'
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Nick1986
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Posted: 30-Aug-2011 at 19:46 |
Eating irons - Knife and fork
Paddy - Irishman
Bunko - Lies
Flannel mouth - Smooth talker
Whole caboodle - Everything
Dry gulch - Ambush
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Centrix Vigilis
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Posted: 31-Aug-2011 at 04:38 |
To conduct a 'dry gulch' preferably of the 'L' shaped variety is an op preferred yet rarely entirely successful.
To be in ie. a recipient of a 'dry gulch'...sucks and requires a stout heart and immediate implementation of the battle drills required to overcome it. These vary as to types of ambushes and one's position within the element......
but always always.....
1. report contact
2. assume a position to provide cover and concealment if possible
AND
3. Return fire.
Hopefully this tidbit will never prove necessary but ...now ya know.
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"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"
S. T. Friedman
Pilger's law: 'If it's been officially denied, then it's probably true'
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marinerman
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Posted: 08-Feb-2012 at 14:47 |
An Arkansas toothpick in not a Bowie Knife. It's a big knife in the shape of a dagger with equal sides. A Bowie knife (created by James Black who also created the Arkansas Toothpick) was created to give the knife a heavy topside for slashing like a cleaver. The designs are totally different. Just helping out.
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Nick1986
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Posted: 08-Feb-2012 at 19:27 |
I've also seen single-edged Bowie knives stamped with the words "Arkansas Toothpick." The double-edged blade you posted looks very similar to a scalping knife i own, only with a leather wrapped handle and no guard
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Sidney
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Posted: 12-Feb-2012 at 21:19 |
A bit off topic, but slang related;
My great grandpa was always known in the family as 'Frenchy Joe'. An uncle told us it was because he had a cleft palate and couldn't speak properly (ie sounded foreign).
But I read "Memoirs of an Eighteenth Century Footman" by John Macdonald, and the author is nicknamed in the early 1760s 'French Macdonald' because he was a bit of a babe magnet.
Now my great grandpa is also remembered for having a few extra marital affairs, so it seems his nick name was for a similar reason. Anyone else heard of this slang term?
Edited by Sidney - 12-Feb-2012 at 21:25
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Cryptic
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Posted: 13-Feb-2012 at 17:02 |
Originally posted by Nick1986
Ron, you owe me a Confederate dollar. A galvanised Yankee is a Southerner who fights for the north (usually a prisoner who agrees to change sides) |
I have always liked the slang term "galvanized Yankee". The term came from galvanized metal (a very thin coat of blue coloring that could easily be scratched off a metal object).
Galvanized Yankees remained culturally southeren, had mixed motivations, varying degrees of devotion and were usually distrusted by federal commanders. Some unionist regiments fought with great distinction as either main force regiments (1st TN infantry) or as counter insurgency troops (1st Arkansas cavalry).
Many other galvanized yankee regiments, however, did not have a good reputation. Mountain recruits could be more interested in pursuing local feuds while wearing partial blue uniforms than in fighting rebels. Some regiments were formed with alot of conditions (90 day TN union regiments, garrisson of home counties only, no active combat), some were disbanded after they turned into bandits (1st Georgia Infantry), some were deemed unfit for line combat, later declared unfit for even garrisson duty, and deteriorated into a clan based militia (6 TN Cavalry).
Edited by Cryptic - 13-Feb-2012 at 17:07
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Nick1986
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Posted: 13-Feb-2012 at 19:25 |
What happened if a "galvanised Yankee" was captured by the rebels? Would he be executed as a traitor? It would also be interesting to find out how they were treated after the war: how many were murdered or forced to leave by vengeful neighbors?
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Cryptic
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Posted: 13-Feb-2012 at 19:49 |
Originally posted by Nick1986
What happened if a "galvanised Yankee" was captured by the rebels? Would he be executed as a traitor? |
'It depends on which rebels caught him:
CSA mainforce commanders had threatned to execute galvanized Yankees captured from the 1st Alabama (regiment had an acceptable reputation). That order was later retracted after the Union threatned retaliation with confederate POWS from union states.
CSA mainforce commanders did execute 40 galvanized Yankees with out federal retaliation because the men had deserted from confederate regiments and then joined what was promised to be a "garisson only" union regiment. But.... the promise was broken and they found themselves on the front line.
On another occasion, scores of galvanized yankees from a TN garrisson regiment were massacared at Fort Pillow, TN by mainforce Confederate units on a raid. The were many reasons for the massacare (union surrender delays resulting in avoidable CSA casualties, assaulting force included CSA TN regiments, galvanized yankee defenders, CSA general slow to get troops back under control etc).
Originally posted by Nick1986
It would also be interesting to find out how they were treated after the war: how many were murdered or forced to leave by vengeful neighbors? |
During the war, many were killed, but the murders went both ways. In the Appalachian mountains, a favorite tactic of pro CSA and pro union guerilla groups was to murder soldiers serving on the wrong side in their homes. The guerillas also murdered alot of civilians due to real and imagined, direct or indirect support of the wrong side. Both CSA and Union sponsored viscious home guards anti guerilla units whose definition of "guerilla" could be "anybody with stuff I want to loot, icluding women".
After the war, the tit for tat killings continued as part of family blood feuds. For example, the Hatfields and McCoys served on different sides. On another occasion in North Georgia, 7 wedding guests were gunned down by a rival family that had served on the other side.
Edited by Cryptic - 13-Feb-2012 at 19:58
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Nick1986
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Posted: 14-Feb-2012 at 19:26 |
Originally posted by Sidney
A bit off topic, but slang related;
My great grandpa was always known in the family as 'Frenchy Joe'. An uncle told us it was because he had a cleft palate and couldn't speak properly (ie sounded foreign).
But I read "Memoirs of an Eighteenth Century Footman" by John Macdonald, and the author is nicknamed in the early 1760s 'French Macdonald' because he was a bit of a babe magnet.
Now my great grandpa is also remembered for having a few extra marital affairs, so it seems his nick name was for a similar reason. Anyone else heard of this slang term? |
"Frenchified" is also slang for a venereal disease
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Snafu
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Posted: 04-Apr-2012 at 06:02 |
There's a great slang dictionary from the old east called the Rogue's Lexicon. It was written by the police chief of New York city in 1859 and was used by his officers to decode the heavy slang language of the criminal underworld (anyone who has seen Gangs of New York will recognize many of the terms. Some of them are even still with us) It's still in print and worth checking out if your a slangophile.
Edited by Snafu - 04-Apr-2012 at 06:04
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Nick1986
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Posted: 04-Apr-2012 at 19:33 |
Originally posted by Snafu
There's a great slang dictionary from the old east called the Rogue's Lexicon. It was written by the police chief of New York city in 1859 and was used by his officers to decode the heavy slang language of the criminal underworld (anyone who has seen Gangs of New York will recognize many of the terms. Some of them are even still with us) It's still in print and worth checking out if your a slangophile.
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Look what i've found http://archive.org/stream/cu31924073798740#page/n9/mode/2up
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Snafu
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Posted: 11-Apr-2012 at 18:42 |
good find! You can always find stuff for free online :)
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Nick1986
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Posted: 11-Apr-2012 at 19:45 |
California collar: Hangman's noose Arizona tenor: Tuberculosis patient Woolies: Chaps retaining the goat's hair Buck out: Die Sow-belly: Salted pork Longhorn: Experienced (no longer a greenhorn) Catawumpusly: Eagerly Equalizer: Revolver Big 50: .50-90 caliber Sharps rifle
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Nick1986
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Posted: 12-Apr-2012 at 19:26 |
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Nick1986
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Posted: 13-Apr-2012 at 20:43 |
Possum - Buddy Joy juice - Liquor Sawbones - Surgeon Company Q - Sick list Yellow Hammer - Alabaman Hospital rat - Malingerer
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Nick1986
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Posted: 14-Apr-2012 at 21:21 |
All horns and rattles: Angry Two whoops and a holler: Not very far away Hangfire: Delay Dinero: Money Gospel Mill: Church Shave-tail: Greenhorn (the horses of new cavalry recruits had their tails shaved to mark them out as rookies)
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Nick1986
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Posted: 19-Jun-2012 at 19:57 |
Wallpapered - Drunk (the origin of "getting plastered" perhaps?) Bully - Hurrah! Grab a root - have dinner (almost certainly potato) Bark juice - Strong liquor Jayhawked - Stolen property Braxton Bragg's Bodyguard - Lice Going down the line - Visiting the brothel Fancy girl - Whore
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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Nick1986
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Posted: 20-Jun-2012 at 19:11 |
Raggedasssecond, i think this topic might be of use to you
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Me Grimlock not nice Dino! Me bash brains!
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