The National tribune., 1906-10-11

resources OF the rebels quite as much
as they hampered the Federal troops.
Their twin brothers were the bush
whackers." These creatures skulked
about In the forest and out-of-the-way
places and picked off the enemy singly.
They knew nothing of honorable war
fare, and were outcasts from their own
kind. Moccastn Rangers was the eu-
phoneous title of another marauding
band of cutthroats. A unique band or
Rangers was called the Snake Hunters.
1t proved an excellent counter-irritant.
A body OF Federal troops as much
dreaded as the guerrillas went by the
name of "Jayhawkers.' Its origin Is
variously accounted for. and a New
Yorker would like to claim its coinage.
II evidently originated far from the
Kansas in 1854. An Irish squatter
sovereign, who foraged on the enemy.
termed his illegitimate calling jay
hawking. after Il bird of the Emerald
Isle called Il jayhawk, that worries its
prey before ii deyours il, and Gov
Medary in message in 1859 depre-
Gated the jayhawking proclivities of
his constituents. The term is defined
by an English authority as "a guerrilla
by nature, thief by practice. and often
a murderer and pillager." 1t is now
synonymous of Kansas.
THE cheek of Government mule.
has passed into proverb, and mule
whacker" was the gentle persuader of
the animal of. stubborn parts.
Here's your mule" was a fool ex
preston that seems to have as many
lives as q cat.
Lees miserables' owed it's origin to
the Southern belle who haughtily re-
jeCted the proffered loan of Hugos
masterpiece. She knew that Mr. Lees
soldiers were in wretched condition.
but indeed she certainly considered it
an insult that any one should want her
10 read book about it,
Grab a root is also longlived.
Hardtack came into common use as
n synonym for the crackers the SOL
diers used and soft tommy" dcsig-
mated bread.
THE last ditch" is one of the war
expressions that will live. 1t was used
by Jeff Davis. and finally came to mean
the battle of Sailors Creek, the last gasp
of the ConfeGeracy before the surren-
der. where Al battle flags rewarded the
Union troops.
The carpet bagger" is dead, dead
as the reconstruction period of which
he was born, patriot for plunder.
Everybody was interested in the
grapevine telegraph and under
ground railway in war days. All loyal
people on the routes had stock in them,
and the rebels could never hustle fast
enough to intercept traffic over them.
Government red tape" still lives,
and will while the Government exists.
Its ponderous eXactions during the war
have stamped the term indelibly upon
the minds of the people for all time.
The foregoing were some of the COM
monest terms that existed in war
nomenclature. The camp vocabulary
rlr.1 Il,
ing in its effects. Along with their
faculty for coming new words and ex-
pressions. was the remarkable propen-
sity for nicknaming the commanding
officers. If an officer was a fayorite.
his sobriquet expressed it. If. on the
other hand, he made himself obnox-
ious. the handle he got was distinctly
pointed at his foibles. When the boys
VINO wore the blue get together they
talk their commander over, and like
an echo from the past the old names
are conned over.
Gen. Grant had more nicknames
than any other officer in the United
States army. His initials. U. S.. in
sistently forced upon him by West
Point professors, were prolific of sobri-I
quets. Uncle Sam was one of his
titles. United States Grant" another.
richly deserved: United We Stand
Grant was of the same order. After
the somewhat heated episode at Donel-
son the boys declared that he had been
marked from the cradle as "Uncondi-
tiOnal Surrender" Grant. "Old Three
Stars" designating his rank as Lieuten-
ant General. was a favorite appellation
for him. and when fighting with the
silent foe to whom his intrepid soul at
last surrendered. he became endeared
to the world as the SILENT Sufferer"
The McCoOks. 15 in number, were
scattered around in the army and
navy. and We're such gallant warriors
that they will go down in history as
the "F'ighting McCooks.'
Fighting Joe" was a sobriquet that
got tackled onto Joe Hooker also He
detested the appellation, and threatened
to prove :ts aptness if anybody ever
used it in his presence.
Gen. George B. Mcclellan was al
prime favorite with everybody, and
was Familiarity addressed as Little
Mac. He was also called the Little
Napoleon and the Modern Belisarius.
Franz Sigel, the German General, will
always be remembered as "Dutchy,"
while Gen. Geo. Sykes was "Syksey"
among his men. Gen. Rosecrans's
name was also twisted into Rosy
Gen. Judson C. Fitzpatrick got his name
shortened into kill" and was some
times referred to as THE Raider"
Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside. who was
at first a Colonel of the 1st r. l., was
dubbed "Rhody."
Gen. John Pope was known as Sad
dlebag JOhn,' because he designated
his headquarters as in the saddle. Be-
cause of his glasses, Gen. George C. |
Meade was dubbed "Four-eyed |
George" and "OId Four-eyes." Gen.
Irwin Mcdowell was denominated |
Pope" which title was not meant as
a mark of honor. The boys said he
issued more bulls than the Pope of
Rome. They added parenthetically |
saddle. and McDowelrs head in a |
basket most of the time.
Gen. Sherman had a dozen titles, |
but those most commonly known are |
Uncle Billy and "Old Tecumseh"
The dashing Custer. because of his
long yellow curls. was styled Ring
lets" and Fanny in civilization. The |
Indians dubbed him Long Hair"
Gen. Buffers pictures show that the
appellatiOn Cock Eye" was not a mis- |
homer. He was also called Spoons" |
and "Picayrne." Gen. Philip Kearny, |
who lost an arm in the Mexican War, |
was known as One-armed Phil" and
Gallant Phil" Gen. w. +. Smith was
known as Badly"
Gen. Phillip Sheridan. whose hight
was not commensurate with his ability, |
was called Little Phil" and sometimes |
Jack of Clubs"
Gen. Winfield Hancock was dubbed |
Superb" by Mcclellan, after his splen-
did fight on the Peninsula. Gen. An
drew A. Humphrey. a distinguished |
engineer. was known as "Old Mathe-