Schoolmasters are all dead.

[gary]

From the dustbin of hystery, I offer this tidbit written by a sucker:

"Lieut. Borland sent home to the True Democrat an interesting relic from Fort Henry. It was an 'Arkansas tooth-pick,' being a knife about one foot long, made from an old rasp, and enclosed in a leather sheath, on which was rudely printed the words - 'deth to all ablishners.' I judge from the spelling that the schoolmasters had already been killed off in Arkansas."

[FSPowers]

Considering the level of basic education in that time period, I'm not surprised.

[olerebel]

I have been fascinated by 'Arkansas toothpicks' for a long time. Something about them- they are designed for one purpose, to use on another person or critter, as a weapon of defense or offense. They are too long to be a good skinning knife, or butcher knife. They are an offshoot of an ancient dagger. Some were attached to the collar where they could be easily grabbed and thrown or used to slash.
The guy that made the one in question probably didn't know why he was going to kill 'ablishners', but he had killing on his mind. (chuckle)

[Fifth Iowa]

I've read a number of unpublished letters and diaries written by members of my ggf's regiment. I'm not at all surprised by misspellings (most of which are quite easy to decipher since they are spelled phonetically). On the contrary, I am impressed with how well the average trooper was able to communicate despite their sometimes modest schooling.

[unionblue]

Fifth Iowa,

I have been informed that the myth that most troops, Northern or Southern, who could not read or write was actually quite small. I understand the literacy rate in the North was about 90% while it was about 80% in the South. I can't remember where I saw this, but I am inclined to agree with it.

I too, have a letter, written during the time of the civil war. I had trouble understanding what the man was having trouble with because of the spelling of one word 'mossquitows' but then I realized the word was 'mosquitos!'

Maybe all the school masters weren't dead, just doing things a bit differently than we do today.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

[nbforrest]

I think you are right about the relatively high literacy rates...I have read the same thing, that the illiteracy was not as rampant as sometimes thought. That being said, some of those boys were pretty creative with their spellings. Sort of makes the letters all the more interesting though.

Respectfully

[blue_zouave]

Originally Posted by unionblue

\I too, have a letter, written during the time of the civil war. I had trouble understanding what the man was having trouble with because of the spelling of one word 'mossquitows' but then I realized the word was 'mosquitos!'Unionblue

I've found that with odd spellings in those old documents, if you try to sound them out you'll hear the correct word. My son is a throwback, can't spell fur nuthin'.

Zou

[blue_zouave]

Originally Posted by gary

From the dustbin of hystery, I offer this tidbit written by a sucker:

"Sucker" was a term for someone from Illinois, IIRC. "Hoosiers" of course were from Indiana.

Bit of local color, here in my area there is an area called "Sucker Flats." I always thought it was because of the sucker fish that live in the river shallows. But noooo, found out that a group from Illinois settled down there when this area was opened for homesteading.

I'd tell you what the colorful name for a Missourian was, but some folks might be offended.

Zou

[ole]

Zou;
For those who found enlightenment in the derivation of "sucker," I will risk offense by offering that Missourians were known as "pukes."
Ole

[blue_zouave]

Yes indeedy, Ole...

In fact, there's a whole list of these nicknames in Walt Whitman's writings. Rather than burdening the board here, I would direct those interested to

http://www.bartleby.com/229/5009.html


Zou