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. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...

of the common soldier of the Confederacy. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and afterwards, Johnny Reb and his Union counterpart Billy Yank 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 A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

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 The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc. History Some of the fir ...

. 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 only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

, the Confederate president. A 2018 book review by historian

Drew Gilpin Faust Catharine Drew Gilpin Faust (born September 18, 1947) is an American historian who served as the 28th president of Harvard University, the first woman in that role. She was Harvard's first president since 1672 without an undergraduate or graduat ...

appeared in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' 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 country, honky tonk, and rockabilly musician during the 1950s. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrative country saga songs that became international ...

. * '' Johnny Reb and Billy Yank'' (1956–1959) was a comic strip about the

featuring Johnny Reb as a character. * " Johnny Reb" is the name of a

wargame A normal wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for Recreational wargaming, recreation, to train military officers in the art of milit ...

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

Use in media

See also

References