Civil War Dictionary

Ab-a-tis is an obstacle of trees with bent or sharpened branches directed toward the enemy. A defensive screen created by felling trees side by side with limbs interlaced and the tops pointed toward the enemy lines. 

a la Zouave - like a Zouave Soldier, in this case trousers bloused at the cuff.

Artificer - NOUN : 1. A skilled worker; a craftsperson. 2. One that contrives, devises, or constructs something: The labyrinth . . . was built by Daedalus, a most skillful artificer. (Thomas Bulfinch) Appears as a job title in rosters of artillery units. perhaps one who repairs cannons or their carriages?

Dixie - is probably a bit of Franco-American slang born in the Mississippi river-boat trade, though some say it derived from the Mason-Dixon line, the surveyor's boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland. It had become a universal nickname for the South long before the War; it seems to have had its origin in that most endearing of commodities, money. Unlike many Southern banks, the prospering Creole financial houses of New Orleans dealt at par; their notes were traded at face value, and no deductions were made or asked in the brisk trade which came downriver into the Louisiana city. The most popular of these bank notes was a ten-dollar bill. Its French heritage was clear in the cheery legend on each corner: "DIX." To unlettered tradesmen, stevedores and boatmen, these bills were only "Dixies" and as their soundness became known in the great river basin, the lower South became "Dixieland," and the term was familiar on the exotic landscape of the waterway and its commerce.

En-fi-lade - a position of works, troops etc, making them subject to a sweeping fire from along the length of a line of troops, a trench, a battery, etc.    

Ensign - The definition of ensign is flag and shows in the Confederate Army as a rank. A law enacted February 17, 1864 by the Confederate Congress included a provision that each Regimental Commander would appoint an Ensign with the rank of Lieutenant as Regimental Color Bearer; prior to that, a Sergeant would normally be the Color Bearer; the Color Guard at that time was composed of a Sergeant and eight Corporals; I guess someone figured that was a waste of manpower. The origin of the Sergeant and the eight Corporals went back prior to the war, covered in I think Hardee's Manual which was just so much Napoleonic pomp and horse apples. Homer Jones SCV

Erysipelas (er'i-sip'-e-las) is a superficial type of cellulitis (infection of the skin and the loose connective tissue just below the skin) which involves the lymphatic circulatory drainage system around the site. It is caused by group A beta hemolytic streptococci which are normally found on your skin and in your mouth, and thus, technically can be considered not contagious (they can, however, be quite easily transferred from an infected to a non-infected wound on contaminated instruments, hands, and bandaging material). A scratch from a thorn, a puncture wound from a nail, and certainly a wound from a projectile, allows these bacteria to gain entrance to the body and do their work. As you can imagine, these infections are still quite common and most patients are hospitalized and treated with intravenous antibiotics because of both how rapidly they spread and their potential grave consequences (rheumatic fever, kidney failure, multiple organ failure or septic shock, and necrotizing fasciitis). 

This last complication was probably what horrified the soldiers most. Also known as streptococcal gangrene and most recently dramatized as "flesh-eating bacteria", this form of the infection destroys the skin and its underlying tissues and can rapidly lead to death. Even today, the entire area involved must be surgically removed, (debridement) and high dose intravenous antibiotics given in order to save the patient's life. Unfortunately, both antibiotics and the technique of extreme debridement were unknown to the Civil War surgeon. 

Iodine was first used as an antiseptic by a French surgeon in 1839 and, as you know, was widely used by both sides in treating battle wounds in the American Civil War. Its most effective use even today is as a SKIN disinfectant.  "Painting" the area around the wound edge would thus set up a "perimeter of defense" prohibiting the invasion of the wound by these normal inhabitants of the skin.  

Flank-ing Movement - is when two army lines are facing one another, and one General moves a portion of his  men to the left or right side (flank) or deliberately applying more force causes one side (flank) to cave in. Cavalry is also used sometimes to "roll up the flank" of an opposing army, achieving the position of attacking perpendicular to the line of the enemy is "flanking." The principle of firing lengthwise along a line is called enfilade fire. It is hard to defend against an enemy that the army is not facing.

Military Units:

• Army - a unit consisting of usually three Corps.

• Corps - a unit consisting of several Divisions

• Division - a military unit consisting of several brigades and commanded by a Major General

• Brigade - a military units consisting of  several regiments, squadrons, groups or battalions. Normal Size 5 regiments or 5000 men. Commanded by a Brigadier General.

• Reg-i-ment - a unit of ground forces, consisting of  two or more battalions  or battle groups, a headquarters unit, and certain support units. Normal Size 1000 men. Commanded by a Colonel. 

• Battalion - normal size 500 men. Commanded by a Colonel.

• Legion - consisted of all types of units in one. Artillery, Infantry and Cavalry. Commanded by a Colonel.

• Company -  Full strength would be 100 men. 

outré - (French) passing the bounds for what is usual or considered proper. 

Re-doubt is an isolated work forming a complete enclosure of any form, used to defend a prominent point. An independent earthwork built within a permanent fortification to reinforce it.   

Vulnus Sclopeticum is a gunshot wound