Nickname for the 12th New Jersey
regiment during the
Civil War. This
nickname was obtained as follows:
NJ, not being a particularly beligerent state, equipped its hapless
volunteers with outmoded 69 cal. muskets; muskets being effective in, say, 1812, but not much use in 1863, when most of the rest of the civilized world had graduated to rifles. But here was the 12th NJ with muskets, inaccurate and short ranged. And so the 12th NJ pretty much got pushed around until the 3rd day of the
Battle of Gettysburg.
It was on this day that the
other side made a rather ill advised
charge. And when men mass in large clumps and stand a few yards in front of you, the tactical advantages of a rifle don't seem very significant. So the 12th NJ filled up their smooth bore muskets with "buck and ball": buckshot along with the normal ball, and let loose.
And on this one shining day, for this
glorious half hour, the 12th NJ finally
kicked ass.