A prolific writer on the US Civil War, Garrison completed this dictionary just before he died in 2000. It cites standard, slang, and substitute words and phrases in the vocabulary of both armies and their civilian contemporaries. Syntax, battle sectors, weapons and their components, prisons, clothing, food, insignia, nicknames, general, officeholders, named guns, horses, ships, and a few famous mascots are among the entries. Pronunciation is not indicated. Earlier editions are cited for 2001 and 2001, and North Carolina writer and editor Cheryl Garrison is named as an associate author; the puzzle to which these are pieces, however, remains unsolved. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Researched by a bestselling author, this compendium of more than 2,500 entries and 250 illustrations covers the terms, equipment, and organization of the three million soldiers who fought in the Civil War. There are few systematic guides to the language used by the generation that fought the American Civil War. In the 150 years since the great conflict, our language has changed, and as meanings have become obscure or lost, links with this vibrant past have dissolved and much of that which had meaning to our forefathers no longer has the same meaning to us.What did it mean to cross the bar? What did it mean to see the elephant or to go South? Why did the armies have so-called ninety-day men and hundred-day men? What were soldiers supposed to do when their commander shouted, Let her go, Gallagher? How did one pay tribute to Neptune? What was a picket pin? Could one make a passable meal of possum beer and secession bread? How did one vibrate the lines, and why would anyone want to attempt such a maneuver?To address this need, Webb Garrison has pored over his notes from more than thirty years of research and study to produce this dictionary and encyclopedia of words and phrases (including nicknames and slang) commonly used during the war. Where appropriate, examples and anecdotes are included to illustrate meanings. Often overlooked naval terms and esoteric formal and informal military expressions are addressed as well as short descriptions of oceangoing vessels and river craft.More than 2,500 entries and 250 illustrations cover the terms, equipment, and organization of the three million soldiers who fought in the war.
