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Last Updated July 5, 2018<\/span><\/p>\n<\/header>\n Ancestry 50% Off Gift Memberships for Black Friday (Gift to Anyone, Even Yourself!)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n by Matthew Gaskill<\/em><\/p>\n As you dive deeper into your family history you will likely run across terminology that you have not seen before or that you may not fully understand. Even those of us who have made history a profession will sometimes run across terms that are no longer used or that have a specific application that\u2019s unfamiliar.<\/span><\/p>\n Recently, on a trip to research my family\u2019s history in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, I made sure to stop by the Bucks County Historical Archives at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA. While waiting for the very kind and knowledgeable collections manager to retrieve a rare document from the closed stacks, I read an account of a man in the 1770\u2019s who <\/span>\u201cabsquatulated\u201d<\/span> with some cattle. <\/span><\/p>\n Now, before you get ahead of yourselves, there is nothing weird going on here \u2013 he simply took off with another man\u2019s cows. In other words, he was a thief.\u00a0<\/span>Surprisingly, I had never seen the word <\/span>absquatulated<\/span>\u00a0before. As I read on in the archives I found that there was a serious amount of <\/span>absquatulating<\/span> going on in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in colonial times!<\/span><\/p>\n Make Instant Discoveries in Your Family Tree Now Imagine adding your family tree to a simple website and getting hundreds of new family history discoveries instantly.<\/b><\/p>\n MyHeritage is offering 2 free weeks of access to their extensive collection of 20 billion historical records, as well as their matching technology that instantly connects you with new information about your ancestors<\/b>. Sign up using the link below to find out what you can uncover about your family. Discover New Genealogy Records Instantly<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s a fantastic word like <\/span>absquatulate<\/span>, or something simpler, you are bound to run across words and terms you don\u2019t know as you travel back in time. <\/span>In this article, I will be talking about military terms from the Civil and Revolutionary War periods<\/strong>\u00a0that you may not be familiar with. <\/span><\/p>\n The terms today\u2019s soldiers and veterans take for granted, a soldier from the 1800\u2019s would think was language from another planet \u2013 and vice versa \u2013 so, pay attention. You\u2019ll likely find that you need this knowledge in your family history research.<\/span><\/p>\n Brevet<\/strong>:<\/span>\u00a0Originally a promotion in name only, given as an honor for battlefield heroics or other service. The officer would not be given a corresponding raise in pay, nor the duties or authority of the brevet rank. For example, you might find yourself reading an entry that identifies someone as a major, but later he is referred to as \u201cBrevet Lieutenant Colonel\u201d, or \u201cBvt. Lt. Col.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Commutation\/Substitute<\/strong>: <\/span>This term will generally not be found in genealogical records, but it may show up in your research of ancestors from the Civil War period. <\/span><\/p>\n In both the North and South, wealthier or connected men could buy their way out of the draft\/military service by hiring a substitute. The draft was instituted in the North in 1863, and the ability of wealthy men to avoid service for themselves or their male relatives caused widespread anger. In New York, the deadliest riots in American history took place mainly as a reaction to this disparity between rich and poor.<\/span><\/p>\n Compiled Military Service Records\/CMSR\u2019s<\/span><\/strong>: These are collections of records marking an individual\u2019s service. In certain collections, you may find a person\u2019s name and \u201cCMSR\u201d with it. This means there is likely a binder or folder (sometimes made at the time) carrying all of the important papers from a person\u2019s military service.<\/span><\/p>\n 20 Billion Genealogy Records Are Free for 2 Weeks Get two full weeks of free access to more than 20 billion genealogy records right now. You\u2019ll also gain access to the MyHeritage discoveries tool that locates information about your ancestors automatically<\/b> when you upload or create a tree. What will you discover about your family\u2019s past?<\/p>\n Claim My Free Record Access Now<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>Contraband<\/strong>: A<\/span>n escaped enslaved person who fled to Union lines. On many occasions, escaped male slaves joined the Union Army.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>CSA<\/span><\/strong>: Confederate States of America<\/span><\/p>\n Dragoon<\/strong>:<\/span> British\/European heavy or medium cavalryman. As opposed to the hussars above, dragoons carried rifles\/muskets, and generally fought on foot, using horseback for rapid travel\/deployment. One might see the abbreviation \u201cdrag.\u201d indicating service in the dragoons.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>Flying Camp<\/strong>: <\/span>You might, if you\u2019re looking for information on your colonial ancestor from Delaware, Maryland, or Pennsylvania, see this term. <\/span><\/p>\n Most people are familiar with the \u201cMinutemen,\u201d the militia said to be ready in a minute (not quite, but it sounds better than \u2018half-hour men\u201d). <\/span>The \u201cFlying Camp\u201d was an organization of several thousand men from the states mentioned above, and were to be the Continental Army\u2019s \u201cMinutemen,\u201d men ready for battle or reconnaissance at a moment\u2019s notice. The Flying Camp unit operated for only a short time in the New York campaign of 1776. Their heavy losses caused the unit to be disbanded.<\/span><\/p>\n Furlough<\/strong>: <\/span>Leave granted to a soldier\/officer. Furlough papers had to be carried on your person at all times. They denoted what unit you were in, where you were headed, and when you were due to return. <\/span><\/p>\n The nature of military justice on both sides of the Civil War was quick and sometimes brutal. All states and many localities had units of soldiers\/peace officers looking for deserters. If you were caught without your papers, you might be put on trial and hanged for desertion. On muster sheets, you will sometimes see a man\u2019s name and \u201cfurl.\u201d next to it, meaning they are on leave and still in the unit.<\/span><\/p>\n Grenadiers<\/span><\/strong>: A<\/span>s opposed to light infantry, grenadier units generally carried much equipment \u2013 most of it was, you guessed it, grenades. Of course, the grenades of the 18<\/span>th<\/span> century were more like the bombs one sees in cartoons today, round with a fuse \u2013 they also weighed a lot. <\/span><\/p>\n Grenadiers were usually bigger, stronger men who could carry much weight. The British, Hessians, and French used grenadiers during the Revolution. The American colonists, for the most part, eschewed the grenadier idea. In British military records, one sees the abbreviation \u201cgren.\u201d on occasion.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>Hussars<\/span><\/strong>: Usually Eastern European light cavalrymen that fought for the Americans during the Revolution (trained in the style of hussars from European wars). I<\/span>n <\/span>most<\/span> cases, hussars carried only swords and perhaps a pistol or two. Hussars were often used for reconnaissance and fought from horseback. You might see this abbreviated as \u201chus\u201d in Revolutionary War documents.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>Legion<\/strong>: A<\/span>n organization formed mostly by Loyalists during the Revolution. Self-sufficient, and usually organized on the frontier. Though most of the Legion organizations you will find fought on the side of the British, French trappers and civilians in the Ohio Valley and elsewhere formed these units to fight pro-British forces. Additionally, General Anthony Wayne \u2013 the famous Continental officer \u2013 also organized his own unit, calling it \u201cThe Legion of the United States.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Light Infantry<\/strong>: L<\/span>ightly armed men used as scouts and skirmishers, also used for raiding. The abbreviation \u201clight\u201d is sometimes seen.<\/span><\/p>\n Militia<\/strong>: A<\/span>\u00a0militia was the local or state military unit which was called up in times of emergency for home area defense or guard duty. <\/span>Whereas most of the men who got called for duty away from home were of typical military age \u2013 a militia generally consisted of older and younger men.\u00a0<\/span>Militiamen were under military discipline, duty was compulsory in many areas, and men faced fines or other punishment for not appearing when called.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Muster<\/span><\/strong>: T<\/span>hink of this as a \u201croll call.\u201d The \u201cmuster\u201d was the list of a unit\u2019s (or ship\u2019s) officers and men. Sometimes this was broken down into \u201cpresent,\u201d \u201cwounded,\u201d \u201csick call,\u201d \u201cabsent,\u201d and \u201cfurlough.\u201d The familiar term \u201cAWOL\u201d (Absent WithOut Leave) was not used until World War I, though some believe there was some use of it in the Civil War.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>Parole<\/strong>: T<\/span>oday, the idea of parole is a different one but during the Civil War and before, it was possible that a man taken prisoner might be \u201cparoled,\u201d that is released to go home on the promise that they would not bear arms against their enemy until they were formally exchanged with a man of similar rank. <\/span><\/p>\n When the Civil War first began, neither side had provisions for the large number of prisoners they took, so many men were paroled. As time went by, however, the North began to believe that paroling Southern soldiers did two undesirable things: it returned men to the South (which had a dire manpower shortage) and it recognized the Confederate government as legitimate, which went against the beliefs of Lincoln and others. By the middle of the war, the parole system had almost completely stopped.<\/span><\/p>\n Regular<\/strong>:<\/span>\u00a0A regular was a man in a government funded\/organized military unit. Most of these men were initially volunteers of some sort <\/span>during the Revolution.\u00a0<\/span>They were subject to military discipline, did not choose their own officers, and were the most akin to the draftees of the 20<\/span>th<\/span> century. <\/span><\/p>\n As the Revolution wore on, the \u201cRegular\u201d units were the most effective and professional. You might also see the use of the word \u201cContinental\u201d in some military records from the Revolutionary War \u2013 this word was used mainly by the British forces to refer to these regulars. During the Civil War, <\/span>regulars<\/span> were many times draftees.<\/span><\/p>\n Temporary Commission<\/strong>: S<\/span>ometimes seen as \u201cTemp. Col. Joe Smith\u201d, etc. You might see this also as \u201cacting\u201d followed by whatever the new temporary rank is. <\/span><\/p>\n This is the raising of a non-commissioned officer to officers rank or a commissioned officer to a higher rank. The commission<\/span>\u00a0entailed a pay raise and conveyed the authority of the higher rank. Not to be confused with a \u201cbattlefield commission,\u201d though sometimes they can overlap. A battlefield commission can be either temporary or permanent.<\/span><\/p>\n Volunteers<\/strong>:<\/span>\u00a0A volunteer was<\/span> someone who joined during an emergency or war to serve\u00a0<\/span>(generally) outside of their immediate area where there was a dire need. Generally speaking, a militiaman serving guard duty at an arsenal 100 miles from any fighting who wished to join a unit of volunteers was permitted to do, providing that there was enough local manpower. Volunteers generally picked their own officers and were not subjected to fines if they did not join.<\/p>\n There are two very well-known examples of volunteers in American history. First, Davy Crockett\u2019s Tennessee volunteers who elected to fight on the frontier and, most famously, at the Alamo. The other example is Teddy Roosevelt\u2019s Rough Riders of 1898, cowhands and other roughnecks who were recruited by Roosevelt to serve with him against the Spanish.<\/span><\/p>\n So, there you have it, some of the more widely used military terms that you might run across in your research from the Revolutionary and Civil War periods. I hope it helps you with your family history.<\/span><\/p>\n You might also like:<\/strong><\/p>\n 9 Free Military and War Related Record Collections for GenealogyCountless Americans Never Returned Home After War: Find Their Burial Records HereFree Civil War Records: Discover Your Ancestors Who Served in the War Between the StatesFrom Pension Applications to Bounty Warrants: Free Revolutionary War Records Online<\/p>\n Matthew Gaskill<\/strong>\u00a0holds an MA in European History and writes on a variety of topics from the Medieval World to WWII to genealogy and more. A former educator, he values curiosity and diligent research. He is currently working on a novel based on his own family history.<\/em><\/p>\n Image:\u00a0<\/strong>USS Pawnee during the Civil War, with a spar torpedo at her bow, 1859. Wikimedia Commons.<\/em><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Confusing Military Terms from the American Revolution and Civil War Period Explained Last Updated July 5, 2018 Ancestry 50% Off Gift Memberships for Black Friday (Gift to Anyone, Even Yourself!) by Matthew Gaskill As you dive deeper into your family history you will likely run across terminology that you have not seen before or that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2],"class_list":["post-446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-guides","tag-db"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":448,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/446\/revisions\/448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whogenealogydna.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}If You\u2019re Researching Civil War or Revolutionary War Records, Here Are Some Terms to Know<\/span><\/h1>\n