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The terms scouting, patrolling, picketing, and skirmishing are military words for specific actions that might precede or end a battle or be a fizzle fighting moment that never led to larger combat. While these words are not unique to the American Civil War, here's a look at their meanings during the 1860s.
Scouting involved sending a few soldiers—or specifically designated scouts or spies—ahead of an army or military force to see what lay ahead of the advancing, moving troops. Scouting soldiers might have orders to retreat if they saw or met the enemy or to skirmish and send word back to their unit. Sometimes soldiers got lost on scouting missions and had find their way back to camp. Other times, scouting soldiers appealed to local civilians for aid, maps, or a guide. Scouting allowed commanders to get reports of what lay ahead, which routes to follow with the larger body of soldiers, and make informed decisions for their movements. Though cavalrymen often handled scouting, infantrymen would also be sent ahead to gather information and report back to their company, regiment, or brigade.
Patrolling could be both an aggressive or defensive action. It involved routinely passing along a road, region, or location and keeping watch. For example, if a detachment of soldiers was ordered to patrol a road, they would move along that section of road, looking for enemy troops, suspicious civilians, or anything militarily unusual. Slightly different than scouting, patrolling did not need to advance into a new area for information, instead it needed to provide information about what was happening in a place where there was already a military presence.
Picketing had similarities to patrolling, but was often more stationary. Pickets—soldiers on this duty—were usually stationed a certain (and varying) distance apparent to keep watch for enemy soldiers. Their “picket line” established and protected a military boundary. Sometimes soldiers were sent to picket along a river, a road, or create the boundary. Pickets were usually around a camp or helping to establish the perimeter of an army’s direct control. Soldiers or officers trying to pass through a picket line typically had to know a verbal password or else they could be detained and questioned.
Skirmishing referred to a small fight. It might lead to or end a larger battle, or a skirmish might simple end with no clear result or objective. Sometimes skirmishing was used to delay enemy soldiers until more troops could arrive and begin a larger battle. If two patrols encountered each other, there might be a “sharp” (quick) skirmish before they both pulled back and reported the enemy presence to their officers.
While the history of large battles fill the pages of history books, the military actions of scouting, patrolling, picketing, and skirmishing often preceded the notable fights or occurred under less noticeable circumstances that still formed part of the Civil War soldier’s experiences.
