Jayhawked! Just to be Clear

Somebody out there is probably wondering why someone who claims to support States’ Rights and the C.S.A. would call himself a “Jayhawker”.

Well, I’ll tell you.

A Jayhawk is a mythical mix between a Jay and a Sparrow Hawk. It can be characterized as a bird that is very outspoken, but as quick and stealthy as the wind.

Now, when speaking of “the Jayhawkers” of the Civil War, one would almost always be referring to the Yankee guerilla raiders that would pillage and plunder the Missouri/Kansas border.
Remember: the victor writes the history, and the defeated write the songs.

The truth is, “Border Ruffians” on both sides called themselves “Jayhawkers”, because Jayhawker is just a term meaning “a guerilla raider from Kansas”!

The first utterance of the word “Jayhawk” was in the first couple of decades prior to the War Between the States. To use Jayhawk in a sentence, one might say: “I wouldn’t trust that Jayhawker to saddle my horse!” or, “You wouldn’t want to pick a fight with that Jayhawk!”.
Jayhawker just basically meant someone you didn’t mess with, or trust to watch your horse.

Some “Bleeding Kansas” Jayhawkers were for slavery; I am not.
Some Civil War Jayhawkers were for the Union; I’m for the Confederacy.

Regardless, the dictionary currently defines a Jayhawker as a resident of Kansas, and I certainly fit that definition.

BTW, non-Kansans might not know the Kansas University official chant: "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk".