More On "Elzi Benson"

Military Images, May/Jun 2006 by Fitzpatrick, Mike

On page 34 in the March/April 2006 issue of MI there is a photograph of a Confederate lieutenant wearing a "7" on his collar and identified as "Elzi Benson." I noticed that, according to the National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors website, there was an "Eli Benson" in Company F, 7th Georgia Infantry who entered as a private and rose to the rank of captain. The name is not an exact match, but it seems to me that "Eli" could be short for Elijah or Eliza and that "Elzi" could easily be a derivative nickname. Anyway, my best guess is that the Eli Benson in the 7th Georgia may be a very good candidate for the man in the photo.

Mike Fitzpatrick

Annapolis, Maryland