Tennessee's best–known nickname is a tribute to the willingness of its citizens to turn out for military service.
Some say that this reputation was first earned during the War of 1812. But according to Appalachian Magazine, "most who have studied the subject have reached a different conclusion. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, the nickname was given to the state during the Mexican–American War [of] the late 1840s."
At the start of that conflict, General Zachary Taylor had at his disposal a standing army of only 8,000 men. President James A. Polk called on each state to raise 2,600 men; within a week, twelve times that many Tennesseeans had volunteered.
© Haydn Thompson 2021