Interesting Civil War Names

[Philip Leigh]

A brigade of Confederate infantry during the Red River Campaign found that they were commanded Brigadier General Camille Armand Jules Marie, Prince de Polignac. After hearing their officers pronounce it a few times they simplified the name to "General Polecat"

 

[rvbgrif]

Captain Decimus et Ultimus Barziza, Company C, 4th Texas

Decimus (Latin for tenth) evidently refers to his birth order - Is there any record of what his younger siblings were named?

It was a Roman tradition to name the first son after the father and the proceeding sons after their birth order...

Lots of famous Romans with numeric names like Octavian (8th) Caeser and Sextus (6th) Pomey.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

It was a Roman tradition to name the first son after the father and the proceeding sons after their birth order...

Lots of famous Romans with numeric names like Octavian (8th) Caeser and Sextus (6th) Pomey.

I did not know that! It kind of sounds like Star Trek's Seven of Nine….

 

[rvbgrif]

I did not know that! It kind of sounds like Star Trek's Seven of Nine….

Another odd Roman naming tradition was to name children after physical features.

Gnaeus means mole or birthmark, for example.

I can think of a lot of dogs that are named after physical features but not people...

 

[Library Lady]

Doesn't Decimus et Ultimus mean "tenth and last"? Now that beats the living daylights out of "Caboose", the name a little boy I know of was saddled with. I think by now he's old enough to go to court to change it, though.

 

[Stryker65]

Doesn't Decimus et Ultimus mean "tenth and last"? Now that beats the living daylights out of "Caboose", the name a little boy I know of was saddled with. I think by now he's old enough to go to court to change it, though.

Sounds like his mother was making a statement...

 

[ColonelBuckwalter]

William "Extra Billy" Smith

That, abd Shanks Evans are my two favorites

 

[Pollaco]

The Governor of Kentucky was Beriah Magoffin. He had a brother by the name of Ebenezer Magoffin.

 

[General Casey]

Captain Decimus et Ultimus Barziza, Company C, 4th Texas

Decimus (Latin for tenth) evidently refers to his birth order - Is there any record of what his younger siblings were named?

Decimus Et Ultimus Barziza was the tenth child in his family, born in Virginia in 1838. He graduated from William and Mary College and then traveled with is brothers to Texas in order to study law at Baylor University. He graduated from Baylor in 1859 and set up his law practice in Robertson County, Texas. At the outbreak of the Civil War he joined the Confederate Army whereupon he was made captain of Company C, 4th Texas Infantry Regiment which he led at the battle of Gettysburg. This regiment was involved in some of the heaviest fighting on the slopes of Little Round Top throughout the evening hours of July 2, 1863. In the fighting Barziza was wounded and captured by Union soldiers. He was hospitalized and imprisoned for a year before escaping to Canada. He managed to travel from Canada to Bermuda via Nova Scotia and eventually returned to the Confederacy in April 1864. He was allowed to return home to Texas where he lived until his death in 1882.

Source:

Fallen at Gettysburg: Decimus Et Ultimus Barziza - American History 1493-1945 - Adam Matthew Digital

meta: ca. 1861-1865. meta: Photograph

www.americanhistory.amdigital.co.uk

According to his Find a Grave entry, he was the tenth and final child, although he has some half siblings. But it seems that his mother insisting his name translate to "tenth and final" was true

 

[Pollaco]

According to his Find a Grave entry, he was the tenth and final child, although he has some half siblings. But it seems that his mother insisting his name translate to "tenth and final" was true

I know it's already been posted but Jefferson Davis was also a 10th and final child. His mother gave him the middle name of Finis. She too was finished.

 

[rebelatsea]

The Governor of Kentucky was Beriah Magoffin. He had a brother by the name of Ebenezer Magoffin.

I know a guy in Rhode Island, Philo McGuffin. Doesn't seem a mile away from Magoffin, Census taker erroror something else ? I'll try to remember to ask about his family when we next email.

 

[rvbgrif]

I know a guy in Rhode Island, Philo McGuffin. Doesn't seem a mile away from Magoffin, Census taker erroror something else ? I'll try to remember to ask about his family when we next email.

You are correct.

Mac and Mag are both prefixes meaning "son of".

The root of Guffin/Goffin is the Gaelic word Gobha, meaning smith. There is also a Geffen and Giffin variant.

So both names mean "Son of the Smith".

 

[rebelatsea]

You are correct.

Mac and Mag are both prefixes meaning "son of".

The root of Guffin/Goffin is the Gaelic word Gobha, meaning smith. There is also a Geffen and Giffin variant.

So both names mean "Son of the Smith".

That's great info, I'll tell Philo later this week - mind you he might already know as his uncle is a history Professor at (and my poor old brain just went blank) LOL.