Dictionary

Different Eras to portray/Reenacting:

Medieval and Renaissance: is a historic period in Europe that is both portrayed in Europe and America. Most of time are professional or payed actors for Renaissance Festivals. If you join an reenacting group of this era you will mainly reenact/interpret for medieval, renaissance, or celtic festivals, fairs or tournaments.

American French and Indian War: due to this era mainly being fought in the wilderness there are few existing places (forts and small villages) that still exist today. If you join an reenacting group of this era you will mainly reenact/interpret in living history events (museums, villages), reenactments (battles) and participate in 18th century fairs. You may also help interpret Colonial, American Revolution and the War of 1812.

American Revolution: has a wide variety of existing battle fields and museums. If you join an reenacting group of this era you will mainly reenact/interpret in living history(museums/villages) events as your main activity and few battle reenactments. This era of reenacting or interpreting is good if you like educating and talking to the public. You may also help interpret Colonial, French and Indian War and the War of 1812.

American Civil War: has a wide variety of existing towns and land that have been preserved by the state or national park services as battlefields. Most battlefield reenactments are not sponsored by the park service and are sponsored by private individuals. If you join an reenacting group of this era you will mainly reenact/interpret battle reenactments and few living history events (museums/villages). You may also help interpret the Mexican American War, and frontier era.

Terms:

100 Day Men: Was the nickname applied to a series of volunteer regiments raised in 1864 for 100-days service in the Union Army during the height of the American Civil War. These short-term, lightly trained troops were intended to free veteran units from routine duty to allow them to go to the front lines for combat purposes. On April 21, 1864, the governors of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin jointly tendered to the president for extra service of 100 days 85,000 men. The 39th, 40th and 41st Wisconsin regiments entered the service under this arrangement.

Artillery: is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus, machine, an assortment of tools or instruments, a system or systems used as weapons for the discharge of large projectiles in combat as a major contribution of fire power within the overall military capability of an armed force.

Artillery Battery: is a unit of guns, mortars, or rockets, so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems.

Barracks: are living quarters for personnel on a military post. They are typically very plain and all of the buildings in the housing unit are often uniform structures. The term can also be used to describe the building(s) in which convicts are housed.

Battalion: is a military unit of around 500-1500 men usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. Several battalions are grouped to form a regiment or a brigade.

Bayonets: a knife, dagger, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle barrel or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear. It is a close quarter battle combat or last-resort weapon.

Brevet: referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being brevetted.

Brigades: a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army. Usually, a brigade is a sub-component of a division, a larger unit consisting of two or more brigades; however, some brigades are classified as a separate brigade and operate independently from the traditional division structure. The typical NATO standard brigade consists of approximately 4,000 to 5,000 troops.

Brigadier General: is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General. The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field. The rank spread throughout the world after being adopted in the 18th century by the United States with simultaneous spreading of the rank by the British Empire.

Caissons: is a two-wheeled cart designed to carry ammunition; it was frequently towed before the limber.

Calvary: is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat, it represents the mobility and offensive power of the armed forces. The designation was not usually extended to any military force that used other animals, such as camels or mules. Infantry who moved on horseback, but dismounted to fight on foot were in the 17th and early 18th centuries known as dragoons, a class of mounted troops, which later evolved into cavalry proper while retaining their historic title. From earliest times cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility. A man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, and inertial mass over an opponent on foot. Another element of horse mounted warfare often overlooked by modern day observers is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent.

Colonel: is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. The rank of colonel is one of the oldest in existence, dating as far back as the time of the Roman Empire.

Combat: typically refers to armed conflict between military forces in warfare, whereas the more general term “fighting” can refer to any violent conflict. Combat violence can be unilateral, whereas fighting implies at least a defensive reaction.

Company: is a military unit, typically consisting of 75-200 soldiers. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. Several companies are grouped to form a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions.

Corps: is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service.

Division: is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around twenty to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps.

Dragoon: is derived from the French Army designation Dragon for a mounted infantry soldier intended primarily to fight on foot but trained also in horse riding and cavalry combat, especially during the late 17th and early 18th centuries when dragoon regiments were established in most European armies. During the later 18th century and the Napoleonic Wars the majority of such units evolved into conventional medium and sometimes light cavalry. The title has been retained in modern times by a number of armored or ceremonial mounted regiments.

Embrasures: the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or Merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle. In domestic architecture this refers to the outward splay of a window or arrow slit on the inside.

Enfilade & Defilade: are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation’s exposure to enemy fire.

Enfilading Firing: is used to describe gunfire directed against an “enfiladed” formation or position. Also known as “flanking fire”.

Enlisted Men: is any rank below a commissioned officer. The term can also be inclusive of noncommissioned officers. In most cases, enlisted service personnel perform jobs specific to their own occupational specialty, as opposed to the more general command responsibilities of commissioned officers.

Farb: “far-be-it-from-authentic” or “far-be-it-from me to criticize your uniform.” Are re-enactors who spend relatively little of their time or money maintaining authenticity with regard to uniforms, accessories, or even period behavior. The ‘Good Enough’ attitude is pervasive among farbs, although perhaps few casual observers would be able to point out flaws in their impressions.  But generally speaking it is a term that we use to describe someone or something that is historically inaccurate or unauthentic. Someone can be a “farb,” or someone/something can be “farby.” It is both an adjective and a noun. Or, it can even be a verb. When someone wants to smoke a cigarette, or buy a soda or hamburger, we say that they are going to “farb” out for a while.

Field Marshal: it is the highest rank in the armies in which it is used, one step above a general or colonel-general. Historically, however, several armies used field marshal as a divisional command rank, notably Spain, Mexico, Portugal and Brazil. In France it was formerly a brigade command rank. Originally dates back to the Middle Ages when it originally meant the keeper of the king’s horses.

Flank: also called a flank attack, is an attack on the sides of an opposing force. If a flanking maneuver succeeds, the opposing force would be surrounded from two or more directions, which significantly reduces the maneuverability of the outflanked force and its ability to defend itself. A psychological advantage may also be present, as flank forces usually do not expect to be attacked. A larger scaled tactical flanking is called a strategic flanking, where the targets of the flanking could be as large as a state or a group of states.

Fortification: are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs. The term is derived from the Latin fortis (“strong”) and facere (“to make”).

Garrison: (from the French garnison, itself from the verb garnir, “to equip”) is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, of more than 50 men, but now often simply using it as a home base. The station is usually a city, town, fort, castle or similar. For example, the 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry (U.S.) is garrisoned at West Point. Garrison town is a common expression for any town that has a military barracks.

General: is an officer of high military rank.

Gunners: is a rank equivalent to Private in the British Army Royal Artillery and the artillery corps of other Commonwealth armies.

Historical Reenactment: is a type of role-play in which participants attempt to recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett’s Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire period.

Howitzers: a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at trajectories with a steep angle of descent. In the taxonomies of artillery pieces used by European armies in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, the howitzer stood between the “gun” (which was characterized by a longer barrel, larger propelling charges, smaller shells, higher velocities and flatter trajectories) and a “mortar” (which has the ability to fire projectiles at even higher angles of ascent and descent).

Infantry: is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the armed forces, and consists of soldiers who predominantly fight on foot; an infantry soldier is an infantryman. Infantry units are the only types of land forces that can occupy and hold positions, and therefore have the most physically demanding training in the army, emphasizing physical fitness, physical strength, and aggressive character due to non-reliance on technology that augments marching all of which are required due to the primary role of the infantry to engage in ground combat. Infantry can be distinguished from other types of soldiers: cavalry, tanks, technicians such as armourer and signaller. Nonetheless basic infantry skills are fundamental to the training of any soldier, and soldiers of any branch of an army are expected to serve as auxiliary infantry (i.e. patrol and fight on foot) when necessary.

Intrenchment: the act of intrenching or the state of being intrenched. Any defensive work consisting of at least a trench or ditch and a parapet made from the earth thrown up in making such a ditch. Any type of defense or protection. An encroachment or infringement.

Latter: being the second of two persons or things mentioned: Between captain and major, the latter is the higher rank.

Lieutenant: is a military officer rank, that oftens designates someone who is “second-in-command,” and as such, may precede the name of the rank directly above it.

Lieutenant Colonel: is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine corps and air forces of the world, typically ranking above a Major and below a Colonel. The rank of Lieutenant Colonel is often verbally shortened to simply “Colonel”.

Limber: is a two-wheeled cart designed to support the trail of an artillery piece, allowing it to be towed.

Living History: is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is similar to, and sometimes incorporates, historical reenactment. Living history is an educational medium used by museums, historic sites, heritage interpreters, schools and historical reenactment groups to educate the public in particular areas of history, such as clothing styles, pastimes and handicrafts, or to simply convey a sense of the everyday life of a certain period in history.

Mortars: is a muzzle-loading indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It typically has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber.

Musket: is a muzzle-loaded, smoothbore long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder. The date of origin of muskets remains unknown, but they are mentioned in Chinese military books such as Huo Long Jing as early as the late 14th century. Muskets were primarily designed for use by infantry. Improved with the introduction of rifling around 1800, muzzle loading rifled muskets (of the kind common during the Crimean War and the American Civil War) became obsolete by the late 19th century, as cartridge breech-loading repeaters superseded them. However, rifled muskets were the most common weapon used up until the late 1870s. Typical musket calibres ranged from 12 mm to 20 mm (.50 to .80 inches). Depending on the type and calibre, it could hit a man’s torso at up to 200 m (218 yards), though it was only reliably accurate to about 60 m (70 yards). Percussion cap rifled muskets were significantly more accurate, with the ability to hit a target at up to 500 yards in the mid 19th century. A soldier primarily armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer.

Musketry: the technique of using small arms such as muskets.

Palisade: is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.

Platoon: composed of two to four sections or squads and containing about 30 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer — the platoon leader or platoon commander, usually a lieutenant. He is usually assisted by a senior non-commissioned officer — the platoon sergeant.

Private: is a soldier of the lowest military rank. The term dates from the Middle Ages, where privates were known as “private soldiers” who were either hired, conscripted, or feudalized into service by a nobleman forming an army. The usage of Private as a military rank dates from the 18th century, when the army of Napoleon Bonaparte first established the permanent rank of Soldat. They are sometimes known as ‘Recruits’.

Quarter Master: refers to two different military occupations. In land armies, it is a term referring to a military individual, or unit, who specializes in supplying and provisioning troops. In naval usage, it means a navigator on a ship. The equivalent naval occupation to the land army Quartermaster is purser.

Rank: is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer’s rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms. Ranking systems have been known for most of military history to be advantageous for military operations, in particular with regards to logistics, command, and coordination; as time continued and military operations became larger and more complex, military ranks increased and ranking systems themselves became more complex.

Reenactment/Reenacting: performing a role in an event that occurred at an earlier or past time. is a type of role-play in which participants attempt to recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. It may be a narrowly-defined time period, such as a specific war or other event, or it may be more broadly defined. is an educational medium used by historical reenactment groups, battlefields and private historic societies to educate the public about a specific war or time in history. (Wikipedia and dictionary.com)

Regiment: is a military unit, composed of a variable number of battalions – commanded by a colonel. Depending on the nation, military branch, mission, and organization, a modern regiment resembles a brigade, in that both range in size from a few hundred to 5,000 soldiers (3 to 7 standard battalions). Generally, regiments and brigades are grouped as divisions.

Regulars: is a name given to the permanent force of a country’s army that is maintained during peacetime.

Sergeant: is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, “one who serves”, through the French term Sergent.

Sharp Shooters: commonly refers to a marksman, not to be confused with ’sniper’. A marksman is a person that is skilled in precision shooting,[1] using projectile weapons, such as with a rifle but most commonly with a sniper rifle, to shoot at small long-range targets at a considerable distance away from the target. In the military, marksmen are sometimes attached to an infantry squad where they take accurate long-range shots at valuable targets as needed, thus extending the reach of the squad.

Shells: is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage includes large solid projectiles previously termed shot. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used. Shells are usually large rounds fired by artillery and warships. Shells usually have the shape of a cylinder topped by an ogive-shaped nose for good aerodynamic performance, possibly with a tapering base; but some specialized types are quite different.

Skirmish: are infantry or cavalry soldiers stationed ahead or alongside of a larger body of friendly troops. They are usually placed in a skirmish line to either harass enemy troops or to protect their own troops from similar attacks by the enemy. Skirmishers are generally lightly armoured for increased battlefield mobility and are usually armed with ranged weapons to attack the enemy from a distance.

Stockade: is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.

Tracer: use special bullets that are modified to accept a small pyrotechnic charge in their base. Ignited upon firing, the composition burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye. This enables the shooter to follow the bullet trajectory relative to the target in order to make corrections to his or her aim. Tracers can also serve to direct fire at a given target, because it is visible to other combatants. The disadvantage is that they betray the shooter’s position; the tracer path leads back to its source.

Volunteers: is a person who enlists in military service by free will, and is not a mercenary or a foreign legionaire. Volunteers often enlist to fight in the armed forces of a foreign country. Military volunteers are essential for the operation of volunteer militaries. Many armies, including the U.S. Army, formerly distinguished between “volunteers” enlisted during a war, and “regulars” who served on long-term basis. Troops raised as state militia were always “volunteers” (even when recruited by conscription), while “U.S.” troops could be volunteers or regulars. The rank of an officer in a volunteer unit was separate from his rank as a regular, and usually higher. When the volunteer forces were disbanded at the end of the war, officers with both kinds of commission reverted to their “regular” rank.

Worm Fence: also known as the Virginia rail fence is a zigzag fence made of rails laid across one another at the ends: also called snake fence.