Editing Cajuns (section)

===Civil War usage===
The first usage of the term "Cajun" came about during the [[American Civil War]], during the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]'s invasion of [[French Louisiana]].<ref name="davidcedomonds">{{cite book |title=Yankee Autumn in Acadiana: A Narrative of the GREAT TEXAS OVERLAND EXPEDITION through Southwestern Louisiana October-December 1863|author=David C. Edmonds|publisher=The Acadiana Press|year=1979|location=Lafayette, Louisiana|pages=73,114,233}}</ref>

After conquering [[Vermilionville Historic Village|Vermilionville]], the capital of ''[[Lafayette, Louisiana|Nouvelle Acadie]]'' (New Acadia) in 1863, Lieutenant George C. Harding of the [[1st Indiana Heavy Artillery Regiment|21st Indiana Infantry]] used the term "Cajun" to describe the region's inhabitants:

<blockquote>I will try and tell what a '''''Cajun''''' is. He is a half-savage creature, of mixed French and Indian blood, lives in swamps and subsists by cultivating small patches of corn and sweet potatoes. The wants of the Cajun are few, and his habits are simple... I can not say that we were abused by the Cajuns.<ref name="davidcedomonds"/></blockquote>

A correspondent for the [[New York Herald]] reported: "Our forces captured some prisoners. Many deserters and refugees came within our lines. The [[Confederate States of America|rebel]] deserters are principally [[Louisiana Creoles|French Creoles]], or [[Cajun-Creole|Arcadians]]..."<ref name="davidcedomonds"/>

War correspondent Theophilus Noel reported for his newspaper: "You must not use the word '''''Cagin''''', implying thereby that there is any nigger blood in the party to whom you are talking."<ref name="davidcedomonds"/>