Thanks for the input, Art. The reason that I ask is that I have a French-to-English/English-to-French dictionary, dated 1863, New Orleans, which was owned by a lady living in N.O. during the war. I was just trying to conjecture the use that she may have made of it. Was she French speaking, trying to communicate with English speakers? Or vice-versus?

I also have several books written in French, dated to the Civil War years, that came from South Alabama. My research shows a fairly large percentage of French speakers in Mobile and Montgomery at the time of the war, and a large percentage of persons in Alabama appear to have been fluent in French as a second language. This was a "standard" course taught in schools in Alabama.

As a sidenote, I also have a Spanish-to-English/English-to-Spanish dictionary that was owned during the war by a Confederate Ordnance Sgt./Lt. (he was from rural West Central Alabama). Any thoughts on why he might have needed that?