Hilliard's Legion: Caesar and Brutus together again?

          Ever tripped over something, face-planted on the ground and climbed to your feet wondering what happened? Your loyal blogger has left blood on the virtual sidewalk looking for an answer to this one:

          His name was Julius Caesar Brutus May. Improbable, yes, but the name seems to be one thing easily agreed upon.

          May was born in about 1839 in Alabama. A farmer, he was 21 or 22 years of age when he enlisted in the Confederate army in1862. His wife, Virginia, was 16 at the time of the United States census recorded in August of 1860.

          It appears that May enlisted in the 45^th Alabama Infantry Regiment but two websites show May as a member of the 2^nd Battalion of Hilliard’s Legion, another Alabama unit. Ancestry.com lists a man with the same name in both units (in Company I of the 45^th and in the battalion’s D Company).

          There is also a listing for May in the 59^th Alabama, but that would be consistent with being a member of Hilliard’s Legion. The Legion was split into three regiments after the battle of Chickamauga and one of the three was the 59^th.

          Every listing found so far that includes May’s enlistment date, both in the Legion and the 45^th, shows him enlisting on March 13, 1862.

          Either two men named Julius Caesar Brutus May enlisted in different Alabama units on the same day or one man is somehow carried on the muster lists of both units. It is unlikely, though not impossible, that May could have served in the 45^th before transferring to the 59^th.

          A father and son, you wonder. Cousins, perhaps?

          The Confederate Army normally put family members in the same military unit, especially if they enlisted at the same time. Men enlisting from a particular town were usually grouped together as well. The thinking was that the possibility of news reaching home that a particular soldier failed to do his duty, thus reducing his standing in the community, would spur the men to remain in the ranks.

          Thus, it is much more common to see fathers and sons or brothers and/or cousins serving together rather than apart.

          The Alabama Department of Archives and History database of Alabama Civil War soldiers shows May enlisting at Fort Deposit on the date in question. The National Parks Service database shows Julius C.B. May as a private throughout his service with the 45^th.

          Julius C. May is shown by Ancestry.com as a member of the Legion, but it does not show an image of the muster roll. It also shows an alternate name of J C. B. May. Just to complicate things a bit more, the same soldier is shown as a member of both companies G and D of the 59^th.

          Another, less authoritative, website uses information from a researcher that puts May among the wounded during the battle of Knoxville November 29 of 1863. This website says May was left in the hands of the enemy when the Confederates retreated from that engagement.

          Maybe so, but which outfit was he fighting in?

          This type of minutiae can drive a researcher mad. Your loyal blogger has sent off for records related to the Confederate military service of Julius Caesar Brutus May in both outfits and the results will be posted here.

          Then, of course, it would be very interesting to learn the story behind the name. Why would anyone name their child after both Caesar and Brutus? Think about it: You wouldn’t name your kid Marianne Hatfield McCoy Hilltopper, would you?

          You would? Yikes!

 

          Thanks for reading.