A picket is a soldier who is positioned in front of an army to provide early warning of an enemy attack. The word comes from the French word “piquet” which means pointed stake. It was first used by the French army around 1690. The main job of a picket was to remain alert for any unusual sounds or movement. At night, it could be a very stressful job as bushes might appear to be moving if you looked at them long enough, for instance. You don’t want to signal an attack and wake up the whole unit for nothing. The other stressful thing was you had to remain awake. If you fell asleep on picket duty you were endangering the whole unit. The punishment could be as severe as execution. Try staying awake when you are already exhausted from marching. No wonder coffee was so beloved in the Civil War. Daytime picket duty was less stressful, but you did have to worry about snipers because pickets were obvious targets. If a stranger approached, you were to challenge them and demand the password. If they could not give it, they were taken at bayonet-point to an officer. If it was an attack, you fired your gun and ran back to the unit. Sometimes opposing pickets would converse and sometimes they would fraternize between the lines. Rebels would exchange tobacco for Yankee coffee, for instance.
https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/picketing,-skirmishing,-and-sharpshooting.html
A Civil War Picket – Library of Congress
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