"What Are Your Top 5 Civil War Regiment Nicknames?" Topic

Regiments, not brigades, this time.

The 19th Indiana were known as the Swamphogs which is my favorite.

1st Colorado infantry Known as "Gilpin's Pet Lambs"

124th New York was known as "The Orange Blossoms."

5th Georgia was known as "The Poundcake Regiment."

37th Iowa was known as "The Greybeards."

And from my home state…..

1st Tennessee was known as "The Hog Drivers."

985th New York regiment was known as Bob.

I always thought that the 1st Colorado was known as the "Pikes Peaker's"?

The Ninth Ohio a German regt was known as the "die Neuner" ("the Niners")

140th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 'Rochester Racehorses'

I like The Pound Cake regiment. I'd never heard that one before.

Wheat's Tigers, Terry's Texas Rangers.

Butterflies

Louisiana Tigers
Terry's Texas Rangers
Sussex Light Dragoons
42nd Bucktails
14th Brookland
Simpson Mounted Rangers
Trapier Guards
Mobile Continentals
Montgomery Mounted Rifles
Independent Blues
Racoon Roughs
Cherokee Rangers
Georgia Hussars
Tom Green Rifles
Corsicana Invincibles
Marshall Guards
Lone Star Rifles
San Jacinto Guards
Gonzales Invincibles
Ragged Old First

The Mudsills.

The 14th Brookland was actually the 14th Brooklyn, as in New York. I remember the baseball team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and we always call the 14th "them bums!"

GdeP

3rd New Jersey Cavalry – The Butterflies and one of Jersey's infantry (23?) was the "Yahoos". 44th NY Ellsworth Avengers.
I remember reading about a new Pennsylvania regiment that was going to be commanded by an officer coming out of the Buck-tails. At their first parade the regiment showed up with chicken feathers in their caps. When the new commander asked about it, they told him they were the "Chicken Tails". He was not amused.

Some of these nominations have been disqualified, as not regiments. Many are of companies.

The Lousy 33rd – so named as the 33rd Virginia was the first regiment in the Stonewall Brigade to acquire lice.

We did an article on the Alabama regiments and companies with their nicknames and county of origin. Many used their county in their nickname, town of muster or location of recruits.
In some cases the nickname like its officers were voted on by the recruits. Since some companies were composed of men from three or four locations, such votes proved interesting.
One example were the Marble Valley Boys raised from an area near Fort Williams, now Sylacauga.
Some companies have patriotic themes or named for its captain.

There are several parameters for me on the question of preference of nicknames. Units with a two word nickname would often be referred by one of those in letters home. For example Independent Rifles were often called Independents in letters. However a Calhoun Rifles were referred to as Rifles in some letter to distinguish them from other companies from Calhoun county. Companies using Cherokee or Choctaw were referring to their county and were not an ethic reference.
In Alabama the most common nickname was Guards with 156 units. Next we're Rifles with 71 units. Other popular names with over 20 companies each were Greys, Blues, Rangers and Volunteers. Sharpshooters was used 15 times.
Seldom was an entire regiment referred to by a single nickname. There was a reference to the Magnolia regiment being an exception.
Company letter designations and nicknames used less in 1863 and later.
Unusual nicknames Jackson Avengers Tallapoosa county, Dixie Eagles Walker county, 8th rat had the German Fusiliers G company and the Irish filled Emerald Guard I company both from Mobile.
Roanoke Invincibles of Randolph county. Southern Foresters of Mobile county 12/I. Randolph Spartans 22/G.
Many other unusual names such as Zouaves, legion, sentinels, Aides, Lions, Dragoon's, Hussars, Farmers, Huzzars, Chasseurs.
Most unusual has to be 25 Rgt K company Friends of Little GeorgeMathews.
The Raccoon Roughs were from Henry county 6 rat I co.

124th New York was known as "The Orange Blossoms."

You have to love that. A bit like "A boy named Sue" !