{"id":6602,"date":"2018-01-06T18:06:25","date_gmt":"2018-01-06T23:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/?p=6602"},"modified":"2026-10-01T15:39:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T20:39:42","slug":"revolutionary-war-vocabulary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/revolutionary-war-vocabulary\/","title":{"rendered":"Revolutionary War Vocabulary"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve got a few Revolutionary War ancestors, namely Moza Hurt, Philemon Hurt, Frederick Boyer, Cornelius Bogart, and Conrad Mehrkam. Sometimes when I’m reading an account of their service, I wonder to myself, what the heck are they talking about? Some of the terms are opaque to modern people. This list helped me navigate the unfamiliar vocabulary. Hope it helps you, too!<\/p>\n

\n
abatises<\/dt>\n
a defensive obstacle made by laying felled trees on top of each other with branches, sometimes sharpened, facing the enemy<\/dd>\n
aide-de-camp<\/dt>\n
a military officer acting as secretary and confidential assistant to a superior officer of general or flag rank<\/dd>\n
ammunition<\/dt>\n
projectiles, such as bullets and shot, together with their fuses and primers, that can be fired from guns or otherwise propelled<\/dd>\n
associators<\/dt>\n
this American Revolutionary War term was adopted to designate those who subscribed to the test-oath of allegiance to the provincial government, as prescribed by resolution of Congress. Those who did not take this oath were called “non-associators”<\/dd>\n
battalion<\/dt>\n
an army unit typically consisting of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar subunits<\/dd>\n
bivouac<\/dt>\n
a temporary encampment often in an unsheltered area<\/dd>\n
brigade<\/dt>\n
a military unit consisting of a variable number of combat battalions or regiments. A brigade can be commanded by a brigadier general or by a colonel<\/dd>\n
chevaux de frise<\/dt>\n
underwater obstructions<\/dd>\n
company<\/dt>\n
a subdivision of a military regiment or battalion that constitutes the lowest administrative unit. It is usually under the command of a captain and is made up of at least two platoons<\/dd>\n
corps<\/dt>\n
a tactical unit of ground combat forces between a division and an army commanded by a lieutenant general and composed of two or more divisions and auxiliary service troops<\/dd>\n
division<\/dt>\n
an administrative and tactical military unit that is smaller than a corps but is self-contained and equipped for prolonged combat activity<\/dd>\n
dragoon<\/dt>\n
a member of a European military unit formerly composed of heavily armed cavalrymen <\/dd>\n
entrenchment<\/dt>\n
to provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending<\/dd>\n
grenadier<\/dt>\n
a member of the British Grenadier Guards, the first regiment of the royal household infantry<\/dd>\n
Hessian<\/dt>\n
a German mercenary in the British army in America during the Revolutionary War<\/dd>\n
howitzer<\/dt>\n
a relatively short cannon that delivers shells at a medium muzzle velocity, usually by a high trajectory<\/dd>\n
infantry<\/dt>\n
the branch of an army made up of units trained to fight on foot<\/dd>\n
Jaeger corps<\/dt>\n
in the German army, one belonging to a body of light infantry armed with rifles, resembling the chasseur of the French army. Sharpshooter. Also Yager and Jager<\/dd>\n
regiment<\/dt>\n
a military unit of ground troops consisting of at least two battalions, usually commanded by a colonel<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve got a few Revolutionary War ancestors, namely Moza Hurt, Philemon Hurt, Frederick Boyer, Cornelius Bogart, and Conrad Mehrkam. Sometimes when I’m reading an account of their service, I wonder to myself, what the heck are they talking about? Some of the terms are opaque to modern people. This list helped me navigate the unfamiliar…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41,117],"tags":[86],"class_list":["post-6602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-revolutionary-war","tag-revolutionary-war"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3viLY-1Iu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6592,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/the-battle-of-brandywine\/","url_meta":{"origin":6602,"position":0},"title":"The Battle of Brandywine","author":"Karen","date":"January 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"On September 11, 1777, the hamlet of Chadds Ford played host to one of the largest and deadliest battles of the American Revolutionary War, today called the Battle of Brandywine. 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