Persimmon regiment was a term used during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 to describe a regiment that, in its history, stopped marching for a brief while to consume persimmon

Persimmon

A persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros in the ebony wood family . The word Diospyros means "the fire of Zeus" in ancient Greek. As a tree, it is a perennial plant...

s, a type of fruit popular in the Southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

. Three different regiments in the Union army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 acquired the nickname.

The 73rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

73rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 73rd Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, known as the "Persimmon Regiment" or the "Preacher's Regiment" was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:...

 gained the nickname in 1862. While marching from Crab Orchard, Kentucky

Crab Orchard, Kentucky

Crab Orchard is a city in Lincoln County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 842 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, as the regiment progressed to Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, many of the troops would make the first act after making camp for the night to search for a persimmon grove

Grove (nature)

A grove is a small group of trees with minimal or no undergrowth, such as a sequoia grove, or a small orchard planted for the cultivation of fruits or nuts...

 and raid it, even before making coffee

Coffee

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...

 or setting tents. This practice also occurred around the Battle of Mill Springs

Battle of Mill Springs

The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in Confederate terminology, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads in Union terminology, was fought in Wayne and Pulaski counties, near current Nancy, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It...

. Colonel Bernard Laiboldt, after seeing this practice occur far too often for his taste, said that with the 73rd Illinois taste for persimmons and the 2nd Missouri's love of rail

Rail

Rail or rails may refer to:Railway transportation* A generic term for railroads, railways, rail transport, and related matters* Rail tracks, or railway lines, the running surface of a railway...

s that he could capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

 solely with those two regiments, if a pile of persimmon trees and rails were to be found on Richmond's public square

Public Square

Public Square is the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It takes up four city blocks; Superior Avenue and Ontario Street cross through it. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square...

.

The 35th Ohio Infantry

35th Ohio Infantry

The 35th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was nicknamed the "Persimmon Regiment"-Service:...

 gained the nickname due to fifteen of their number being captured by the Confederate Army in December 1861 in a skirmish where, instead of fighting the Confederacy, the Ohioans instead chose to find persimmons.

The 100th Indiana Regiment gained the nickname while participating in General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

's Vicksburg campaign

Vicksburg Campaign

The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....

. On the first day of marching from Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

 to Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

, the regiment disregarded their role as rear guard

Rear guard

A rear guard or rearguard is that part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal...

s and, upon finding a orchard of ripe persimmons, took a long time harvesting the fruit, and were arrested as stragglers. After the incident, Confederate forces successfully stopped Grant's forces from having their food resupplied, which caused the 100th Indiana to often have persimmons as their only food. At first the nickname was used "derisively", but after the 100th Indiana Regiment showed much battle courage, the nickname became a source of pride long after the war.