They were called "Rebels" because the Confederacy chose to rebel against the Union, and broke away from it.
The rebels or "rebs".
The Southerners were called Rebels. The Northerners were called Yankees. The spellings are the same today.
North~union~rich boys south~ confederate ========= Supporters of the North called themselves the Union and they called the South Rebels. Supporters of the South called themselves the Confederacy and they called the North Yankees. As a name for the generic individual soldier (something like G. I. Joe of the 20th Century) a soldier of the North is sometimes referred to as Billy Yank and one from the South as Johnny Reb.
The northerners were called Yankees and the Southerner were called rebels.
They were called "Rebels" because the Confederacy chose to rebel against the Union, and broke away from it.
The Rebels.
The Union soldiers in the Civil War were sometimes called "yankees" or "yanks." The Confederate soldiers were sometimes called "rebels" or "rebs."
Confederate army was the name. They were also called Rebels too.
The Rebels were the South. They fought against the North, i.e. the Union army.
Union and Confederates
Southern soldiers of the Confederacy were often called "rebels" as they were rebelling against the Union.
They called the Confederate soldiers the Rebels or "Rebs"
The North, or Union as they were also called, were called Blue Bellies by the South
About 36500 total union and 260,000 rebels. But, killed in action140,414 union and 72,524 rebels.
Rebels
The rebels or "rebs".