Interesting Civil War Names

[rvbgrif]

Lets make a list of the interesting and unusual names from the Civil War.

Jefferson C. Davis

Jefferson C. Davis was a Union Brigadier General who murdered his superior officer William "Bull" Nelson. Nelson had criticized Davis's performance and Davis angrily confronted Nelson two days later and demanded an apology, which was refused and Davis shot Nelson. Davis was arrested but faced no punishment for his actions as there was a shortage of experienced Union officers in the army.

States Rights Gist

Known as "States" to his family, Gist was a Confederate Brigadier General. He served in Fort Sumter and Bull Run, before moving to the Western Campaign in Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Atlanta, and finally Franklin, where he was killed.

 

[DixieRifles]

Major-General Stephen A. Hurlbut, who almost got court-martialed twice.

Said to have invented street lights for Memphis — or that is Red Lights. ….

 

[Pollaco]

The Russian Thunderbolt ,Gen. John Basil Turchin ,was orginally named Ivan Vasilovitch Turchinoft.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

IMO 'States Rights Gist' was indeed an interesting proper name.

Scrolling down a list of Confederate generals, and without considering any nicknames, thought the following had interesting proper names:-
Julius De Lagnel
Josiah Gorgas
Eppa Hunton
Collett Leventhorpe
Mansfield Lovell
Lucius Northrop

 

[Pollaco]

There was a Yankee "'General" by the name of Friend Smith Rutherford. He was however commissioned a brigadier general a week after his death.

 

[Pollaco]

An Artillery Commander in the ANV with a most unusual name was not that well received. Scipio Francis Pierson was later transferred to the Trans Mississiippi Department.

 

[Sheltowee]

Theophilus Holmes.

And supposedly, he was deaf.

 

[nc native]

This is not a Civil War name but I had a distant ancestor named Workman Hardlabor Honeycutt. I bet he grew up with a lot to do!

 

[Pollaco]

Harriet Tubman was not named Harriet, she picked that one out herself. She was named Araminta, I believe

 

[Stryker65]

See some more at this thread, which was made by me, and this thread, which wasn't.

 

[Pollaco]

There was Union general killed at Chancellorsville by the name of Amiel Weeks Whipple.

 

[A34]

Major General Bushrod Rust Johnson, CSA. Rusty Johnson. He's gotta be in the top 3.

 

[Stryker65]

Should we go the Ancient Greek route, we would find:
- Captain Socrates Carver, 37th Indiana
- Captain Plato Durham, 12th North Carolina
- Major Pythagoras E. Holcomb, 1st Texas Cavalry
- Captain Seneca Allen, 85th New York
- Major Xenophon B. Pindall, 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion
- Brigadier General Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert, USV
- Colonel Homer A. Nelson, 159th New York
- Lieutenant Galen E. Green, 7th Wisconsin Battery
- Captain Demosthenes Bell, 4th North Carolina Cavalry

Meanwhile, the Roman Empire names are too plentiful to even make a brief list of.

 

[CWdiaryPA]

Should we go the Ancient Greek route, we would find:
- Captain Socrates Carver, 37th Indiana
- Captain Plato Durham, 12th North Carolina
- Major Pythagoras E. Holcomb, 1st Texas Cavalry
- Captain Seneca Allen, 85th New York
- Major Xenophon B. Pindall, 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion
- Brigadier General Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert, USV
- Colonel Homer A. Nelson, 159th New York
- Lieutenant Galen E. Green, 7th Wisconsin Battery
- Captain Demosthenes Bell, 4th North Carolina Cavalry

Meanwhile, the Roman Empire names are too plentiful to even make a brief list of.

Plato & Socrates must have been du jour at that era. My 2x great uncles were named that, respectively.

 

[Tennessee Union Gal]

A distant cousin of mine, born during the war, was named Union Government Apple. He went by U.G.

 

[Cavalier]

I always liked the sound of Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana. Not unusual by themselves perhaps, but when strung together like that they sound pretty warlike to me.

John

 

[Sheltowee]

I always liked the sound of Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana. Not unusual by themselves perhaps, but when strung together like that they sound pretty warlike to me.

John

Yep. Was there ever any doubt he was going to West Point???

 

[Pollaco]

I often wondered how General Birkett Fry's name came about. Birkett?

 

[Sivart]

Prince de Polignac - he was a Frenchman

 

[Pollaco]

Should we go the Ancient Greek route, we would find:
- Captain Socrates Carver, 37th Indiana
- Captain Plato Durham, 12th North Carolina
- Major Pythagoras E. Holcomb, 1st Texas Cavalry
- Captain Seneca Allen, 85th New York
- Major Xenophon B. Pindall, 9th Missouri Sharpshooter Battalion
- Brigadier General Alfred Thomas Archimedes Torbert, USV
- Colonel Homer A. Nelson, 159th New York
- Lieutenant Galen E. Green, 7th Wisconsin Battery
- Captain Demosthenes Bell, 4th North Carolina Cavalry

Meanwhile, the Roman Empire names are too plentiful to even make a brief list of.

Let's not forget Catharinus Buckingham or Theophilus Garrard.