The Meaning of "Between the Hawk and the Buzzard"
“The Hawks and the Buzzards”
Evidently, there is an expression about “being caught between the Hawks and Buzzards” that a lot of older Arkansans may know. It is probably because they heard their relatives talk about it from the generations of relatives that fought on either side of the Civil War. What it shows is that states like Arkansas and Kentucky, which had normally been associated with the Southern states and their traditions, were somehow caught on the border between the Union states and the Confederate states. Some of their people were for slavery, while many were opposed to it. These borders often became the sites of great battles, which forced peacemakers on either side to have to choose sides.
The “hawk” for many Arkansans was the federal government putting pressure on the southern states to join ranks with them, the Union. The “buzzards” were the small militia groups of southerners putting pressure on the state to keep slavery as well as the pickets of Indian tribes still living in the area. Because Arkansas was so closer to Missouri, there was a regular presence of Hawks in the state, which included invasions from Union Army generals from Missouri on the northwest corner of Arkansas at the battle of Pea Ridge which killed 2,000 Confederate soldiers and 1,400 Union soldiers. There were battles at Ft. Smith in the northwest part of the state, where the Confederates were able to chase off the Yankees. Ironically, the Kansas Jayhawks mascot gets its name for the same reason. Kansas was also like Arkansas, near the border of the Union, with groups of “guerillas” surrounding the border, defending their side of the war with unorthodox raids.
For many Arkansans the Federal Government /Hawks were demanding and abusive. As the war continued to linger longer, the Republican -dominated Federal Government kept requiring more of the southern states which continued to cripple them financially. They also did not come through on many of their
Evidently, there is an expression about “being caught between the Hawks and Buzzards” that a lot of older Arkansans may know. It is probably because they heard their relatives talk about it from the generations of relatives that fought on either side of the Civil War. What it shows is that states like Arkansas and Kentucky, which had normally been associated with the Southern states and their traditions, were somehow caught on the border between the Union states and the Confederate states. Some of their people were for slavery, while many were opposed to it. These borders often became the sites of great battles, which forced peacemakers on either side to have to choose sides.
The “hawk” for many Arkansans was the federal government putting pressure on the southern states to join ranks with them, the Union. The “buzzards” were the small militia groups of southerners putting pressure on the state to keep slavery as well as the pickets of Indian tribes still living in the area. Because Arkansas was so closer to Missouri, there was a regular presence of Hawks in the state, which included invasions from Union Army generals from Missouri on the northwest corner of Arkansas at the battle of Pea Ridge which killed 2,000 Confederate soldiers and 1,400 Union soldiers. There were battles at Ft. Smith in the northwest part of the state, where the Confederates were able to chase off the Yankees. Ironically, the Kansas Jayhawks mascot gets its name for the same reason. Kansas was also like Arkansas, near the border of the Union, with groups of “guerillas” surrounding the border, defending their side of the war with unorthodox raids.
For many Arkansans the Federal Government /Hawks were demanding and abusive. As the war continued to linger longer, the Republican -dominated Federal Government kept requiring more of the southern states which continued to cripple them financially. They also did not come through on many of their
Cited: Coldsmith, Don. "The Emporia Gazette." Jayhawkers and Border Ruffians. Emporia Gazette, 16 Mar. 2009. Web. 06 May 2012. . Tamowieckyi, Scott. ""Between the Hawk and the Buzzard"" Dini Proquest. Dini.proquest.com/view/between-the-hawk-and-the-buzzard-pqid:1656156241/, 5 Apr. 2012. Web.