Why Alabama Is Known As ‘The Yellowhammer State’
The common flicker is the State Bird of Alabama and the state has been known as the "Yellowhammer State" since the Civil War.
When a company of Alabama Confederate soldiers from Huntsville arrived at Hopkinsville, KY, where Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's troops were stationed their brand new uniforms provided quite the contrast to the uniforms of soldiers who'd been on the battlefields for a while.
The new Calvary troops sported bright bits of brilliant yellow cloth on their sleeves, collars and coattails and as the company rode past Company A, one of Forrest's men, Will Arnett cried out, "Yellowhammer, Yellowhammer, flicker, flicker!"
The greeting brought a roar of laughter from the men and the Huntsville soldiers became known as 'Allerbammer Yallerhammers'.
After the War, Alabama veterans often wore yellowhammer feathers in the lapel of their coat or a yellowhammer wing in the wide band of their hats.
Yallerhammer Clubs were established in many cities to honor the memory of Alabama's Civil War sacrifice.