Railsplitters Merch

Jesus Shuttlesworth

Lincoln was first represented in organized baseball in 1886 as the Tree Planters in the reorganized original Western League. Lincoln's 19th-century teams played in various leagues between 1886 and 1895. In 1906, Lincoln joined the Class A Western League as the Ducklings (1906), Treeplanters (1907), Railsplitters (1908–13) and Tigers (1914–16). During this time, team nicknames were often unofficially assigned by sportswriters, and The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, published by Baseball America in 2007, lists other nicknames for the Lincoln franchise of the time, including Greenbackers and Antelopes.

The 84th Training Command ("Railsplitters") is a formation of the United States Army. During World War I and World War II, it was known as the 84th Infantry Division. From 1946 to 1952, the division was a part of the United States Army Reserve as the 84th Airborne Division. In 1959, the division was reorganized and redesignated once more to the 84th Division. The division was headquartered in Milwaukee in command of over 4,100 soldiers divided into eight brigades—including an ROTC brigade—spread throughout seven states.

Lincoln was first represented in organized baseball in 1886 as the Tree Planters in the reorganized original Western League. Lincoln's 19th-century teams played in various leagues between 1886 and 1895. In 1906, Lincoln joined the Class A Western League as the Ducklings (1906), Treeplanters (1907), Railsplitters (1908–13) and Tigers (1914–16). During this time, team nicknames were often unofficially assigned by sportswriters, and The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, published by Baseball America in 2007, lists other nicknames for the Lincoln franchise of the time, including Greenbackers and Antelopes.

The 84th Training Command (Unit Readiness) has a history that reaches back to Abraham Lincoln and the Black Hawk Indian War of 1832. The Division patch was a symbol of that legacy and showed an ax splitting a log for a rail fence, hence the nickname "the Railsplitters." The 84th Division was the famous "Lincoln Country" Division that traced its lineage back to the militia company in which Captain Abe Lincoln served in Wisconsin during the Blackhawk War of 1832.