Johnny Reb

American  

[reb] / rɛb /

noun

Informal.

1. U.S. History. a Confederate soldier.

2. a native or inhabitant of the southern U.S., especially of one of the former Confederate states; southerner.

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Johnny Reb British  

noun

1. informal (in the American Civil War) a Confederate soldier

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Etymology

Origin of Johnny Reb

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65

Example Sentences

So Johnny Reb sits, in 13 pieces, in Boykin’s yard, 150 feet off the road, waiting for somebody to put him back together again.

From Washington Post • May 29, 2021

Now, she said, with Johnny Reb tucked in the back of the graveyard’s Confederate Section, “nobody talks about it anymore.”

From Washington Post • May 29, 2021

I live not far from the Johnny Reb statue that was the subject of Courtland Milloy’s April 13 Metro column, “Why Johnny Reb belongs in a cemetery.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2016

Cheer up, Johnny Reb: The SEC East went 5-0 in its bowls.

From Newsweek

This act was usually reciprocated to the best of his pitiful ability by Johnny Reb on the opposite bank.

From Why Lincoln Laughed by Conwell, Russell Herman