Jayhawkers

Jayhawkers

JAYHAWKERS

JAYHAWKERS, a name applied to the Free State bands active in the Kansas-Missouri border war between 1856 and 1859, particularly the band captained by Charles R. Jennison. It was also applied to Union guerrilla bands during the Civil War and to the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, commanded by Jennison. Because of real and alleged depredations attributed to the Jayhawkers, the term became one of opprobrium. The term's origin is uncertain, but a party of gold seekers from Galesburg, Illinois, may have coined it in 1849 and used it in California. (Traditional stories of the term's origin in Kansas are apocryphal.) After the Civil War, "Jayhawker" became the popular nickname for a Kansan.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Napier, Rita, ed. History of the Peoples of Kansas. Lawrence: University of Kansas, 1985.

Samuel A.Johnson/c. w.

See alsoBorder Ruffians ; Border War ; Kansas-Nebraska Act ; Lecompton Constitution ; Pottawatomie Massacre .

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"Jayhawkers." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Jayhawkers

Jayhawkers term applied to free-state guerrilla fighters opposed to the proslavery "border ruffians" during the struggle over Kansas in the years prior to the Civil War. Later, during the war, it was the nickname of the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, commanded by Colonel Charles R. Jennison. The origin of the word is uncertain, but it is believed to signify a bird that worries its prey. Today Kansans are sometimes called Jayhawkers.

Bibliography: See S. Z. Starr, Jennison's Jayhawkers (1974).

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"Jayhawkers." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Jayhawkers." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Jayhawke.html

"Jayhawkers." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Jayhawke.html

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