The ''honorable'' title prefix and style of "Colonel" is designated legally for various reasons by US governors in

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

to citizens, employees, travelers and visitors within their states. The origins of the titular colonelcy can be traced back to colonial and antebellum times when men of the

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

were given the title to commission companies or for financing the local militias without actual expectations of command. This practice can be traced back to the English Renaissance when a colonelcy was purchased by a

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

or prominent

gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

but the actual command would fall to a lieutenant colonel, who would deputize its members for the proprietor. There is an aristocratic tinge to the social usage of the title "Colonel", which most often today designates a Southern gentleman, and is archetypal of the Southern aristocrat from days past. There is also a different perceptive level of respect for colonels that are reciprocally addressed as "Honorable" or "Colonel" in writing style. While the honor of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the civil usage has no actual military role, the title did evolve from the military.

By state

The US states that have conferred this title as an honor within the last half-century are

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, New York,

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. Some of the titles hold different levels of authority and some expire at the end of the term of the governor. The most popular and widely awarded type of colonelcy is the "Kentucky Colonel". * Alabama Colonel – Alabama honor specifically makes one a colonel in the state militia. * Georgia Colonel – Georgia's honorary title give its members a rank as aides-de-camp on the governor's staff codified in

Official Code of Georgia Annotated The ''Official Code of Georgia Annotated'' or ''OCGA'' is the compendium of all laws in the state of Georgia. Like other state codes in the United States, its Judicial interpretation, legal interpretation is subject to the U.S. Constitution, th ...

38-2-111; ** second to it is the rank of Georgia Lieutenant-Colonel * Kentucky Colonel * Tennessee Colonel – The highest honor of Tennessee is "Colonel, Aide-de-camp". Those who receive this award are recorded by the Secretary of State of Tennessee with those who have been commissioned into the State Guard and Tennessee National Guard. * Utah - the "Honorary Colonel's Corps of Utah" is a position offered to those who "promote the objectives" of the Utah National Guard; nominees can be military personnel or civilians. Defunct or inactive examples include: *

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

once bestowed the honor as well. Texas Colonelcy was replaced with the honor of Admiral in the Texas Navy. * From 2005 to 2015

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

allowed for the Governor of the State to make appointments to the Governor's Regiment of Colonels, but no appointments were ever made. * Many states have provisions in their articles or bills concerning state defense forces which allow the governor to grant honorary membership of the officer ranks or granting honorary colonelcy to civilians in the common law of Colonial America.

Notable uses

There are over 1,000 businesses in the United States that use or have used the term "colonel" as part of their corporate name. "The Colonel" is also often a shorthand reference to restaurateur Colonel Harland David Sanders, the founder of the

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's s ...

("KFC") chain of franchised restaurants, whom Ruby Laffoon, Governor of the Commonwealth of

, commissioned a Kentucky colonel in 1935. There are well over 300 major celebrities that have been recognized with colonelcy; many of them never use the title. Another famous "colonel" was Colonel Tom Parker,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's manager, who received his title from Governor Jimmie Davis of

as a reward for Parker's help in Davis's political campaign to be elected governor. Col. Edward Mandell House was an American diplomat, and an advisor to President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

. He was known by the nickname "Colonel House", although he had performed no military service as a Texas Colonel. He was a highly influential back-stage politician in Texas before becoming a key supporter of the presidential bid of Wilson in 1912. Many other prominent people in the South used the title dating back to before the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the title was used frequently in all of the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

. In 1857 a visitor from Manchester, England, traveling through the United States, wrote in a letter home, "By the bye, I forgot to tell you that by Western and Kentucky law I am a Colonel, because I have killed a rattlesnake."

References

External links

American Colonelcy
at American Colonels Network {{Authority control American awards Honorary titles of the United States State awards and decorations of the United States *

By state

Notable uses

See also

References

External links