One way we can all have more fun, and improve our impression immeasurably, is to employ more period expressions in our conversations. The English language has not changed drastically in 130 years, but it has changed. A knowledge of some of the changes can go a long way towards making you feel "at home" in the 1860's. As is the case in many areas of our hobby, there is not total agreement on this either, but we can learn a lot by reading period sources. Here are a few examples to get you started.

Our modern greeting of "hello" was evidently not used in the same fashion during the war. Some claim that it was not used as a greeting until Bell "invented" it for use on the telephone. This is not true, for examples of words like Haloo, Halloo, and Helloo are certainly known. The difference is in the use. A Halloo was a loud shout, usually from a distance such as "Halloo, the camp" or "Hello, the house". (Originally a hunting cry on sighting the quarry, such as "View Hello" in fox hunting.) The next time you stride up to the fire you can call out "Hello, the camp" but when you greet someone, perhaps "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" would be better. Will anyone else notice? Probably not. Will you feel better? Most likely.

What about the term we use to address our fellow soldiers? Most of us realize that "yuse guys" is not proper but what is correct? Many reenactors say "pards" but this is not particularly period correct either. (I have been told that this dates from Si Klegg.) The correct term is comrades. This word obviously has bad connotations to some but is the correct period word.

Many of us still talk about the "port-o-lets" even though we know that we should call them "sinks". Or just say "a visit to the necessary" if you feel particularly polite. If you do this enough, those around you should catch on and start to do the same.

Another rich area for the reenactor is period slang. Slang has always gone in and out of style quickly, so this makes it particularly useful to get the feel of specific historical periods. This area is so rich that it deserves an entire column, and that is what we will do next month!