Memorable Memorial Day Names: Marcellus, Maxcy and Moonlight
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Before you fire up the barbie or pack up the picnic basket, why not take a minute to think about what Memorial Day memorializes.
The holiday—originally called Decoration Day—was first commemorated on May 30, 1868, not long after the Civil War had ended, and was given that name because it was when flowers were placed on the graves of the Union and Confederate soldiers buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In the course of this brutal war that tore the country apart, over a thousand soldiers reached the rank of general, several of whom went on to reach high offices in government, including six presidents– Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Johnson, Benjamin Harris, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur.
And of course this mid-nineteenth century period was one of remarkable names in America—elaborate Latinate appellations, multi-syllabic Old Testament examples, unusual word names such as Speed and Zealous and Strong. It’s interesting to note that, particularly on the Union side, a great many of these young soldiers had been given aspirational hero names as their two middles—so there were a number of them who had had Christopher Columbus, Americus Vespucius, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry or Ethan Allan inserted between their first and second names. There was even one general named States Rights Gist. Looking through the lists of records of these high officers on both sides, the following names stood out:
UNION GENERALS
A**mos**
Catharinus
Delevan
Mosby
Speed
Strong
Zealous
CONFEDERATE
Cadmus (known as Billy Fixin’)
Carnot
Goode
Jubal (known as Jube and Jubilee)
Maxcy
Raleigh (known as Parlez)
Theopholus (nicknamed Granny)
…And a few cool surnames from both sides:
Cullum
Kenly
Maxby
Moonlight
Sprague
Zook
Find any inspiration here?
Happy holiday, Berries!
WE HAVE A WINNER OF THE NAMEBERRY ONESIE! Congratulations to Shawnna Fontaine aka our Twitter follower @smfmama2boys.
TODAY’S AWESOME GIVEAWAY: A complete set of this keepsake-quality personalized china, for your child to use now and then pass on to the next generation! For a chance at winning the baby plate, bowl AND cup, like us on Facebook and then email us at contest@nameberry.com with “china” in the subject line to tell us so.
If you’re already our Facebook friend, refer a friend and then send your name AND your friend’s name to us at contest@nameberry.com so you both get a chance to win. Good luck, everyone!