Fort Ward Museum-Civil War Baseball, Battling on the Diamond

Although sporting goods magnate Albert G. Spaulding fiercely promoted the patriotic image of veteran Civil War General Albert Doubleday as American baseball's founder, historians have determined that the national game had much earlier origins. From its varied forms, especially from Massachusetts and New York, it evolved, rather than was created. Many now believe that the father of modern, codified baseball was Alexander J. Cartwright, Jr., a descendent of British sea captains.

Cartwright left the New York area in 1849 to travel. He was drawn by the Gold Rush and stories of adventures in the West. Along the way, he taught the game to Native Americans and mountain men he encountered, spreading interest in the fledgling sport west of the Mississippi. Cartwright died in Hawaii in July, 1892.

Some men took their baseball equipment to war with them, but when proper equipment was not available, soldiers improvised with fence posts, barrel staves or tree limbs for bats and yarn or rag-wrapped walnuts or lumps of cork for balls.

Baseball playing was endorsed by Union and Confederate officers as a diversion and morale builder, as were several other physical contests played among soldiers. It also improved physical conditioning. After long details at camp, it eased the boredom and created team spirit. Because a runner was only called out when hit by a thrown or batted ball, high scores often resulted - a Massachusetts regiment once beat a New York unit 62-20.

Baseball words and phrases used to describe plays and positions have evolved over the years, and equipment and uniforms also have seen changes.

The name of the game itself varied from community to community - some teams played "round ball," while others played "town ball," "goal ball," "baste ball," "old cat," and "barn ball." Early versions of the sport required the pitcher to throw underhanded. Outfielders or "scouts" did not use gloves and the baseball itself was softer. Batters were called "strikers" who eagerly wished to hit "aces" or home runs. Outs were called "hands out." A pitcher stood on the "pitcher's point" and threw toward the "striker's point" where the striker (or batter) stood poised above the "plate" or what is now referred to as home plate. The plate itself was a white iron disk, tin plate turned upside down, or whatever could be found as a substitute.