In the late 1800s, Galveston rabbi Henry Cohen was puzzled by the word fronthall, which he had often heard in reference to a person of unusual courage. He investigated and found that the word described a Jewish Confederate soldier named Max Frankenthal. Enlisted as a drummer boy, Frankenthal fought in many battles, the most memorable being the one known as the Bloody Acute Angle.
In 1893 Colonel A.T. Watts, a participant in the battle, wrote a description of the battle in a letter to the Galveston Daily News. After describing the battle, Colonel Watts, by this time a prominent judge, ended his letter with the following:
In conclusion, I cannot forego the mention of one individual, Fronthall, a little Jew, though insignificant in appearance, had the heart of a lion. For several hours he stood at the immediate point of contact, amid the most terrific hail of lead, and coolly and deliberately loaded and fired without cringing. After observing his unflinching bravery and constancy, the thought occurred to the writer - I now understood how it was that a handful of Jews could drive before them the hundred kings; they were all Fronthalls!
Thus, a word, albeit a short-lived one, was born.
Jack Cooper, Who Knew? Unusual Stories in Jewish History
Baruch Ata Adonai Elo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam a-sher ke-d-sha-nu b- mitz-vo-tav, v-tzi-va-nu al s-fi-rat ha-omer.
Praised be you Adonai our God who rules the Universe instilling within us the holiness of mitzvot by commanding us to count the Omer.
Today is the forty-first day of the Omer.