Best Unit Nicknames

[tbuckley]

My Gr. x 3 uncle Joe was in Co. C, 18th Wisconsin, "The Badax Tigers".

 

[Mr. King]

Glad to see I am not the only one who does this with that game. I am addicted....

I name them "1st Infantry, 2nd Infantry, 3rd Infantry" etc., at least when they are new.

When they get 2 stars and they start distinguishing themselves, I give them random a state, such as "1st Virginia Inf" or "1st Louisiana Inf". The state I name them usually has alot to do with who their current commander is, even if they are fictional. "John Kershaw" for instance would remind me South Carolina due to the historical Joseph Kershaw, so that brigade might be the "1st South Carolina".

When they achieve 3 stars, then they get a nickname, usually corresponding with the state, and not always historical. "Tarheels Brigade" or "Tennessee Volunteers" will work.

This helps me to distnguish them easier on the battlefield. Basically, I know who is expendable, and who is dependable.

 

[Mr. King]

I even established a CS Marine division. I swear, organizing the army is my favorite part.

 

[AUG]

1st Texas Infantry "The Ragged Old First" - supposedly for their ragged appearance and disorderly attitude.

4th Texas Infantry "The Hell Roaring Fourth" - for their charge that broke the Federal line at Gaines' Mill.

5th Texas Infantry "The Bloody Fifth" - for their actions at Second Manassas, as well as the heavy losses it sustained there.

8th Texas Cavalry "Terry's Texas Rangers"

2nd South Carolina Infantry "2nd Palmetto Regiment" - I believe it was named after the Palmetto Regiment in the Mexican War.

1st Tennessee Infantry (Turney's) "Hog Drivers" - christened by their Col. Peter Turney.

Chalmers'/Tucker's/Sharp's Mississippi Brigade, known as the "The High Pressure Brigade" in the Army of Tennessee: 7th, 9th, 10th, 41st, and 44th Mississippi Infantry.

125th Ohio Infantry "Opdycke's Tigers"

31st Illinois Infantry "The Dirty First"

 

[Stony]

"Swamphogs" 19th Indiana Infantry.
"Huckleberries", aka "Hungry Seventh"-7th Wisconsin Infantry.
"Bloody 7th" 7th SC Regiment.
"Pound Cake Regiment" 20th SC Infantry.

 

[AUG]

A few more Southern company names:

"Crockett Southrons" Co. I, 1st Texas Infantry - named after Crockett, Texas

"Robertson Five Shooters" Co. C, 4th Texas Infantry - raised in Robertson County

"Guadalupe Rangers/Knights of Guadalupe County" Co. D, 4th Texas Infantry

"Mustang Grays" Co. F, 4th Texas Infantry - raised in Bexar County

"San Jacinto Guards" Co. A, 2nd Texas Infantry

"The Freestone Freemen" Co. G, 7th Texas Infantry - raised in Freestone County

"Wise Yankee Catchers" Co. B, 15th Texas Cavalry - raised in Wise County

"Tiger Rifles" Co. B, Wheat's 1st Louisiana Special Battalion - the original Tigers

"Rough & Readies/Rough & Ready Volunteers" Co. D, 17th Mississippi Infantry

"Southern Revengers/Southern Rejectors of Old Abe/Abe's Rejectors" Co. B, 41st Mississippi Infantry

"The El Dorado Sentinals" Co. A, 1st Arkansas Infantry - from El Dorado, Arkansas

"The Arkansas Travelers" Co. A, 3rd Arkansas Infantry

"The Hot Spring Hornets" Co. F, 3rd Arkansas Infantry - raised in Hot Springs County

"Muddy Bayou Heroes" Co. F, 10th Arkansas Infantry

 

[Waterloo50]

One of the more appropriate names was the Orphan Brigade from Kentucky. They really were orphaned. Since most units were issued clothing by their state early in the war, I suspect that they looked pretty dang rough. Probably armed pretty poorly as well.

Orphan Brigade, that's my favourite so far, that name alone deserves its own movie.

 

[Greywolf]

10th Battalion NC Heavy Artillery Co. B--Black River Tigers

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Here is one that you can use for cavalry who knows the value of a good charge against infantry the Sabre brigade (Minty's).

Another one haven't seen that is a bit different is Yate's Phalanx (39th Illinois)

I know what they are getting at, but boy, does it sound like a disease or inflammation or condition to these 21st century ears - "you could never marry that boy, because.... his family has Yate's Phalanx in their line."

 

[frontrank2]

37th Iowa Infantry, known as the Greybeards because they were purposely made up of old men. One private insisted he was 80 years old! read more: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/the-37th-iowa-infantry-aka-the-greybeards.104051/

 

[Cavalry Charger]

Here's a couple where the young men were keeping the ladies in mind:

Ladies Guard
Pocahontas Rescues
Ladies Dragoons

and a couple with an 'occupational flavor'

Coosa Farmers
Cumberland Ploughboys
Cow Hunters

I wonder if they took a vote on the name they eventually decided on?

 

[WJC]

Guess what:

The best evidence, however, suggests that "Hoosier" was a term of contempt and opprobrium common in the upland South and used to denote a rustic, a bumpkin, a countryman, a roughneck, a hick or an awkward, uncouth or unskilled fellow. Although the word's derogatory meaning has faded, it can still be heard in its original sense, albeit less frequently than its cousins "Cracker" and "Redneck."

From the South "Hoosier" moved north and westward with the people into the Ohio Valley, where it was applied at first to the presumably unsophisticated inhabitants of Southern Indiana. Later it expanded to include all residents of the state and gradually lost its original, potent connotation of coarseness in manners, appearance and intellect.

As for the word itself, it may derive from the Saxon word "hoo" meaning promontory or cliff or ridge or rise or hill. Jacob Piatt Dunn, a diligent scholar of the word, believes a Saxon beginning, and such a meaning survives in various place names in England. There is some sense in the notion, too, that those who applied the insult and those to whom it was applied (and who understood it) came primarily from British stock.

www.indiana.edu/~librcsd/internet/extra/hoosier.html

Thanks for your response.
Here's another discussion of the nickname. It gives the suggestions you name, as well as others. Here's an excerpt:

The word "Hoosier" was widely used by the 1830s. Around this time, John Finley of Richmond wrote a poem called The Hoosier's Nest, which was widely read. He wrote the word as "hoosher" and did not explain its meaning, which leads historians to believe that Finley felt his readers would already know and understand the word. Finley wrote, "With men of every hue and fashion, Flock to this rising 'Hoosher' nation."
So, what does the word mean? In 1848, Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms defined "Hoosier" as "A nickname given at the west, to natives of Indiana." In John Finley's poem, the word "Hoosher" seems to refer less to the pioneers of Indiana and more to the qualities he thought they possessed, like self-reliance and bravery.​

The writer concludes:

We may never know for sure, but research and debate are likely to continue about this mysterious word.
The following theories and stories about the origin of the word "Hoosier" are known to be false:

• It comes from the word Hoosa, which means American Indian maize or corn.
• Hoosier's Men was a term used for Indiana employees of a canal contractor named Hoosier.
  
• "Who's ear?" – Writer James Whitcomb Riley joked that this question, supposedly posed by early Indiana settlers following tavern fights which had resulted in someone's ear being cut off and left on the floor, eventually became the word "Hoosier."
• "Who's yer/here?" – This was supposedly the way early Indiana settlers would respond to a knock on their cabin doors. The story goes that it was eventually shortened to "Hoosier?"
• "Who's your [relative]?" – Again, legend has it that this question was eventually shortened to "Hoosier?"

<http://www.indianahistory.org/education/hoosier-facts-fun/fun-facts/what-is-a-hoosier#.WYJ9HYTyvIV>

 

[AUG]

Here's a couple where the young men were keeping the ladies in mind:

Ladies Guard
Pocahontas Rescues
Ladies Dragoons

and a couple with an 'occupational flavor'

Coosa Farmers
Cumberland Ploughboys
Cow Hunters

I wonder if they took a vote on the name they eventually decided on?

Did a quick search to find out which regiments they served in.

Ladies Guard was Co. G, 57th Virginia Infantry

Pocahontas Rescues was Co. D of the 9th Virginia Battalion and later Co. I of the 25th Virginia Infantry

Ladies Dragoons was Co. H, 2nd Alabama Cavalry

Coosa Farmers was Co. D, 18th Alabama Infantry

Cumberland Ploughboys was Co. F, 24th North Carolina Infantry

Cow Hunters (aka Irwin Cowboys) was Co. A, 61st Georgia Infantry

I wonder if they took a vote on the name they eventually decided on?

Think I recall reading of that being done before. It varied from company to company though. Some carried on from prewar local or state militia organization, but those with names like these were most likely organized at the outset of the war. In some cases whoever recruited the company chose the name.

 

[Burning Billy]

The Red-Legged Devils...

 

[Cavalry Charger]

Did a quick search to find out which regiments they served in.

Ladies Guard was Co. G, 57th Virginia Infantry

Pocahontas Rescues was Co. D of the 9th Virginia Battalion and later Co. I of the 25th Virginia Infantry

Ladies Dragoons was Co. H, 2nd Alabama Cavalry

Coosa Farmers was Co. D, 18th Alabama Infantry

Cumberland Ploughboys was Co. F, 24th North Carolina Infantry

Cow Hunters (aka Irwin Cowboys) was Co. A, 61st Georgia Infantry


Think I recall reading of that being done before. It varied from company to company though. Some carried on from prewar local or state militia organization, but those with names like these were most likely organized at the outset of the war. In some cases whoever recruited the company chose the name.

So glad you could find the Regiments attached to these names (or vice versa). This wasn't included in Bell Irvin Wiley's book, so it's nice to have the added detail. I also appreciate the explanations you're often able to provide around Regiments and their histories @AUG351 which isn't always easy to find.

 

[Cavalry Charger]

The Red-Legged Devils...

View attachment 151734

These guys look fierce!

 

[GELongstreet]

An interesting one is Cow Cavalry, which was the 1st (Munnerlyn's) Battalion, Florida Special Cavalry (CSA). Nicknamed as it was specifically created to protect the cattle farms and transports in the state.

 

[redbob]

The "Raccoon Roughs" of the 6th Alabama Infantry (who wore raccoon hats), not to be confused with the character from Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Also, troops from Alabama were often called "Yellowhammers" or more often "Allerbammer Yallerhammers".

 

[Mr. King]

The "Raccoon Roughs" of the 6th Alabama Infantry (who wore raccoon hats), not to be confused with the character from Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Also, troops from Alabama were often called "Yellowhammers" or more often "Allerbammer Yallerhammers".

reminds me of the quip in the Army of Tennessee after Missionary Ridge. Them men chided themselves for running away, saying "Yellerhammer Allerbammer..... Flicker-Flicker" referring to the speed of their legs.

If that's not the sign of unit cohesion and indestructible morale, I don't know what is.

 

[gary]

40th New York, Mozart Music Hall Regiment, aka The Forty Thieves.