Daily AncestorArtificer
An artificer was a skilled craftsman; in American military records it was also a job title for a soldier skilled at making and repairing equipment.
In everyday English an artificer is simply a skilled tradesman, an artisan. Armies used the word for craftsmen in uniform.
Corps of artificers served in the American Revolution and the Civil War, and the rank of artificer, abbreviated Art., was used in the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars. So the word on a muster roll or in a pension file points to a soldier valued for his trade, not to an officer.
As seen in a recordMilitary muster roll, 1860s or 1870s
Levi Strong, Artificer, Co. B
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Artificer." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/artificer. Last checked 2026-10-10.