Jayhawker
Became synonymous with the people of Kansas during the Bleeding Kansas period of the 1850s / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Jayhawk (disambiguation).
Jayhawker and red leg are terms that came to prominence in Kansas Territory during the Bleeding Kansas period of the 1850s; they were adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause during the American Civil War. These gangs were guerrillas who often clashed with pro-slavery groups from Missouri, known at the time in Kansas Territory as "Border Ruffians" or "Bushwhackers". After the Civil War, the word "Jayhawker" became synonymous with the people of Kansas, or anybody born in Kansas.[1] Today a modified version of the term, Jayhawk, is used as a nickname for a native-born Kansan.[2][3][4]