Abstract:
The term 'buffalo,' used to describe Union sympathizers during the Civil War, has been said to have originated in eastern North Carolina. It may have been coined after a beating that occurred in Washington, North Carolina, in 1862. Other meanings were added by others, linking the name to New York firemen, the Loco-Foco Party, and the Free Soil movement. The definitive answer regarding the term's origin may never be known.