Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum - Non-Cambodian prisoners

One of the last foreign prisoners to die was twenty-nine-year-old American Michael S. Deeds, who was captured with his friend Christopher E. DeLance on November 24, 1978, while sailing from Singapore to Hawaii. His confession was signed a week before the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia and ousted the Khmer Rouge. In 1989, Deeds' brother, Karl Deeds, traveled to Cambodia in attempts to find his brother's remains, but was unsuccessful. On September 3, 2012, DeLance's photograph was identified among the caches of inmate portraits.

Bummer: A term used to describe marauding or foraging soldiers. Although armies on both sides often had rules against foraging or stealing from private residences, some soldiers often found ways to do so.

Artillery: Cannon or other large caliber firearms; a branch of the army armed with cannon.

Cotton-Clad: Gunboats using stacked cotton bales to protect themselves from enemy fire.

Shebangs: (pronounced sheh-bang) The crude shelters Civil War prisoners of war built to protect themselves from the sun and rain.

Stockade: A line of tall stout posts securely set either as a defense, to keep the enemy out, or as a pen to keep prisoners in.

Cambodian Civil War

After Sihanouk demonstrated his support for the Khmer Rouge by visiting them in the field, their ranks swelled from 6,000 to 50,000 fighters. Many of the Khmer Rouge's new recruits were apolitical peasants who fought in support of the king, rather than communism, of which they had little understanding.

By 1975, with Lon Nol's government running out of ammunition due to its loss of U.S. support, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before it would collapse. On 17 April 1975, the Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh and ended the civil war. Estimates for total civil war deaths vary. Sihanouk used a figure of 600,000 civil war deaths, while Elizabeth Becker reported over a million civil war deaths, military and civilian included; other researchers were unable to corroborate such high estimates. Marek Sliwinski notes that many estimates of the dead are open to question and may have been used for propaganda, suggesting that the true number lies between 240,000 and 310,000. Judith Banister and E. Paige Johnson described 275,000 war deaths as "the highest mortality that we can justify". Patrick Heuveline states that "Subsequent reevaluations of the demographic data situated the death toll for the [civil war] in the order of 300,000 or less".

"Bonnie Blue Flag": Extremely popular Confederate song named after the first flag of the Confederacy, which had one white star on a blue background. The lyrics listed each state in the order in which they seceded from the Union.

Nom-de-guerre: (pronounced nahm-duh-gair) Literally, in French this means "war name". A nom-de-guerre is a nickname earned in battle, such as "Stonewall" Jackson or "Fighting Joe" Hooker.

Parrott gun: A rifled artillery piece with a reinforcing band at the rear, or breech. Parrott guns were used by both the Army and the Navy, and ranged from 10-pounders to 300-pounders. They were named after their designer, Robert Parker Parrott.

Flying Battery: A system where several horse-drawn cannons would ride along the battle front, stop and set up the guns, fire, limber up, and ride to another position. This practice gave the impression that many guns were in use when only a few were actually being used.

Foraging: A term used for "living off the land," as well as plundering committed by soldiers.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum - Non-Cambodian prisoners

One of the last foreign prisoners to die was twenty-nine-year-old American Michael S. Deeds, who was captured with his friend Christopher E. DeLance on November 24, 1978, while sailing from Singapore to Hawaii. His confession was signed a week before the Vietnamese army invaded Cambodia and ousted the Khmer Rouge. In 1989, Deeds' brother, Karl Deeds, traveled to Cambodia in attempts to find his brother's remains, but was unsuccessful. On September 3, 2012, DeLance's photograph was identified among the caches of inmate portraits.

U.S. Sanitary Commission: A government agency created on June 18, 1861, whose purpose was to coordinate female volunteers who were supporting the Federal army. These women collected over $25 million in donations from "Sanitary Fairs" and other fundraisers. The volunteers also made uniforms and bandages, worked as cooks, and nursed the sick and wounded. Leadership, however, was largely male.

Conscript: A draftee. The military draft became a necessity on both sides of the conflict. While many conscripts were excellent soldiers, veterans often considered draftees to be inferior, unreliable soldiers. Towns often posted pleas for volunteers in order to "avoid the draft".

Breech-loading: Rifle-muskets that could be loaded at the breech (in the middle between the barrel and the stock) instead of from the end (by shoving gunpowder and a ball down the barrel) were called breech-loading guns.

Theater: A theater of war is a region or area where fighting takes place.

Battery: The basic unit of soldiers in an artillery regiment; similar to a company in an infantry regiment. Batteries included 6 cannon (with the horses, ammunition, and equipment needed to move and fire them), 155 men, a captain, 30 other officers, 2 buglers, 52 drivers, and 70 cannoneers. As the War dragged on, very few batteries fought at full strength. A battery can also be the position on a battlefield where cannon are located.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum - History

In 1979, the prison was uncovered by the invading Vietnamese army. At some point between 1979 and 1980 the prison was reopened by the government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea as a historical museum memorializing the actions of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Border States: The states of Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri. Although these states did not officially join the Confederacy, many of their citizens supported the South.

Napoleonic Tactics: The tactics used by Napoleon Bonaparte that were studied by military men and cadets at West Point before the Civil War. His tactics were brilliant for the technology of warfare at the time he was fighting. However, by the Civil War, weapons had longer ranges and were more accurate than they had been in Napoleon's day.

North: Also called the Union or the United States the North was the part of the country that remained loyal to the Federal government during the Civil War. Northern states were: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. West Virginia became a Northern state in 1863 and California and Oregon were also officially Northern but they had little direct involvement in the War.

Flank: Used as a noun, a "flank" is the end (or side) of a military position, also called a "wing". An unprotected flank is "in the air", while a protected flank is a "refused flank". Used as a verb, "to flank" is to move around and gain the side of an enemy position, avoiding a frontal assault.

Confederacy: Also called the South or the Confederate States of America, the Confederacy incorporated the states that seceded from the United States of America to form their own nation. Confederate states were: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Ethnic victims

Rooms of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum contain thousands of photos taken by the Khmer Rouge of their victims.
Ethnic Vietnamese, ethnic Thai, ethnic Chinese, ethnic Cham, Cambodian Christians, and other minorities were also targeted. The Khmer Rouge forcibly relocated minority groups and banned their languages. By decree, the Khmer Rouge banned the existence of more than 20 minority groups, which constituted 15% of Cambodia's population. While Cambodians in general were victims of the Khmer Rouge regime, the persecution, torture, and killings committed by the Khmer Rouge are considered an act of genocide according to the United Nations as ethnic and religious minorities were systematically targeted by Pol Pot and his regime.

Shebangs: (pronounced sheh-bang) The crude shelters Civil War prisoners of war built to protect themselves from the sun and rain.

Rifle Pit: Similar to what soldiers call a "foxhole" today. Rifle pits were trenches with earth mounded up at the end as protection from enemy fire. A soldier lay in the trench and fired from a prone position.

Surrender: To admit defeat and give up in the face of overwhelming odds. Most defeated generals were able to negotiate surrender terms. These might include items like parole instead of prison for the soldiers or letting officers keep their sidearms.

Quartermaster: The officer who was responsible for supplying clothing, supplies and food for the troops.

Shot: A solid, round projectile, shot from a cannon.