Billy Yank or Billy Yankee is the personification of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

soldier (volunteer or Regular) during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. The latter part of the name is derived from ''

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United S ...

'', previously a term for New Englanders, and possibly deriving from a term for Dutch settlers of New Netherland before that, extended by American Southerners to refer to Americans from above the Mason-Dixon Line (and by the British to refer to anyone from the United States). Although little evidence exists to suggest that the name was used widely during the Civil War, unlike its rebel counterpart

Johnny Reb Johnny Reb is the national personification of the common soldier of the Confederacy. During the American Civil War and afterwards, Johnny Reb and his Union counterpart Billy Yank were used in speech and literature to symbolize the common sol ...

, early 20th century political cartoonists introduced 'Billy Yank' to symbolize U.S. combatants in the

of the 1860s. Billy Yank is usually pictured wearing a regulation U.S. Army blue wool uniform that included the fatigue blouse, a light-weight wool coat with an inside pocket and four brass buttons on the front, with a

kepi The kepi ( ) is a cap with a flat circular top and a peak, or visor. In English, the term is a loanword of french: képi, itself a re-spelled version of the gsw, Käppi, a diminutive form of , meaning "cap". In Europe, this headgear is most ...

-style forage cap made of wool broadcloth with a rounded, flat top, cotton lining, and leather visor.

References

External links

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Johnny Reb and Billy Yank: Culture and Tactics in the Civil WarJohnny Reb and Billy Yank
{{National personifications Yank, Billy Yank, Billy Yank, Billy American mascots Yank, Billy American folklore Yank, Billy Personifications of country subdivisions

See also

References

External links