Duff Green Calhoun was born on April 21, 1839, in Alabama to Andrew and Margaret Calhoun. His father was a planter who owned $110,000 of real estate and $184,400 of personal property by 1860. The family lived in Marengo County, Alabama, until the 1850s, when they moved to Pendleton, South Carolina. He graduated from South Carolina College in 1859.

 

As his father explained in March 1861, Calhoun was “on the eve of applying for admission to the practice of the Law when the State seceded, since when he has devoted himself to his military profession.” In May 1861, he received a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 1^st South Carolina Infantry. The regiment helped defend Charleston, South Carolina. He eventually earned a promotion to 1^st lieutenant and then to captain. He remained in the army until at least March 1865.

 

Calhoun left the country after the war. He eventually returned and settled in Honey Grove, Texas. He married Elizabeth M. Beasley on July 13, 1871, and their son Andrew was born around 1872. He died in Texas on August 15, 1873.

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