Recalling BoweryGuard, Rosecramps, and other Civil War personalities

The Punmastah, Robert “Maynard” Kuprovich, shares with “Maine at War” readers this humorous introduction to famous Civil War personalities.

Maynard issues this disclaimer: The following list is only intended as wordplay and not to dishonor any names of any heroic Americans. Any resemblance of these to actual persons is just a darned shame. You might appreciate these more if you have some Civil War background:

Deaf Gnat Lee: a Confederate general with a very solid and confident plan.

General Grant: a Union officer who funded many random college tuitions.

Cherries Jubal Lee: a famous and popular Confederate desserter.

Early was a Confederate general who arrived habitually late for battle. (Library of Congress)

Early was a Confederate general who arrived habitually late for battle. (Library of Congress)

Early: a Confederate general who was habitually late (this one is more accurate than you might think).

Mead: a honey of a Union general (as told by Ed Bearss).

Union General Rosecramps was a thorny individual. (Library of Congress)

Union General Rosecramps was a thorny individual. (Library of Congress)

Rosecramps: a Union general who was a thorn in everyone’s side.

BoweryGuard: a Confederate general in charge of monitoring the cheap side of town.

Stonewalling Jackson: a Confederate general who was known for many evasive political tactics.

President A Blinkin' was a close associate of Winkin' and Nod. (Library of Congress)

President A Blinkin’ was a close associate of Winkin’ and Nod. (Library of Congress)

A Blinkin’: President of the Union, whose buds were Winkin’ and Nod.

General Ben Butler: Union officer who was great at handling ashtrays and serving drinks and was one heck ova guy, and what a man.

General Johnstown: a Confederate who always led the first wave under General Flood (this one hits me to the very corps).

Sickles: a Union officer who would wield harvesting blades in battle and who dressed like the Grim Reaper, especially in the Wheat Field.


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Brian Swartz can be reached at visionsofmaine@tds.net. He loves hearing from Civil War buffs interested in Maine’s involvement in the war.

Brian Swartz

About Brian Swartz

Welcome to "Maine at War," the blog about the roles played by Maine and her sons and daughters in the Civil War. I am a Civil War buff and a newspaper editor recently retired from the Bangor Daily News. Maine sent hero upon hero — soldiers, nurses, sailors, chaplains, physicians — south to preserve their country in the 1860s. “Maine at War” introduces these heroes and heroines, who, for the most part, upheld the state's honor during that terrible conflict. We tour the battlefields where they fought, and we learn about the Civil War by focusing on Maine’s involvement with it. Be prepared: As I discover to this very day, the facts taught in American classrooms don’t always jibe with Civil War reality. I can be reached at visionsofmaine@tds.net.