Johnny Reb is the

national personification A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. Some early personifications in the Western world tended to be national manifestations ...

of the common soldier of the

Confederacy Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

. During the American Civil War and afterwards, Johnny Reb and his Union counterpart

Billy Yank Billy Yank or Billy Yankee is the personification of the United States soldier (volunteer or Regular) during the American Civil War. The latter part of the name is derived from ''Yankee'', previously a term for New Englanders, and possibly deriv ...

were used in speech and literature to symbolize the common soldiers who fought in the Civil War in the 1860s. The symbolic image of Johnny Reb in Southern culture has been represented in its novels, poems, art, public statuary, photography, and written history. According to the historian Bell I. Wiley, who wrote about the common soldiers of the Northern and the Southern armies, the name appears to have its origins in the habit of Union soldiers calling out, "Hello, Johnny" or "Howdy, Reb" to Confederate soldiers on the other side of the picket line. Johnny Reb is often pictured as a Confederate Soldier in gray wool uniform with the typical kepi-style forage cap made of wool broadcloth or cotton jean cloth with a rounded, flat top, cotton lining, and leather visor. He is often shown as well with his weapons or with the Confederate flag, sometimes both. ''Johnny Reb'' has been used as a nickname for veteran Confederate soldiers, as well as to refer to white natives of the states that formerly belonged to the Confederacy. The sobriquet is still commonly used in scholarly writing by Southern and Northern authors; for example, Robert N. Rosen, a Jewish native of South Carolina who has written extensively about the roles Southern Jews played in the Confederate States Army, refers to "Jewish Johnny Rebs". The term ''Johnny Reb'' is still sometimes used in popular writing and in news media. In 2000, '' The Los Angeles Times'' published an article by the historian Eric Foner entitled, ''Chief Johnny Reb'', in reference to

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

, the Confederate president. A 2018 book review by historian Drew Gilpin Faust appeared in '' The Wall Street Journal'' under the title ''Billy Yank and Johnny Reb''.

Use in media

* "Johnny Reb" is a Confederate soldier's song written in 1959 by Merle Kilgore and popularized by

Johnny Horton John LaGale Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Initially performing traditional country, Horton later performed rockabilly songs. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrat ...

. * '' Johnny Reb and Billy Yank'' (1956–1959) was a comic strip about the American Civil War featuring Johnny Reb as a character. * " Johnny Reb" is the name of a wargame first published in 1983 * "Johnny Reb" is addressed in the lyrics of a song by R.E.M. called "Swan Swan H" on their 1986 album '' Lifes Rich Pageant''.

References

{{National personifications American culture American folklore National symbols of the Confederate States of America Cultural history of the American Civil War DC Comics characters American mascots Military slang and jargon National personifications Personifications of country subdivisions

Use in media

See also

References