AskMen has a pretty nifty article about the 5 Things You Didn't Know About Sideburns. For instance, how the facial hair style got its name:
1- Sideburns are named after a Civil War general
Ambrose Everett Burnside lived from May 23, 1824 to September 13, 1881. A Union Army general in the Civil War and later a Rhode Island politician, Burnside was well known and well liked. He wasn’t known as a good general, often getting his forces in trouble, but people forgave him because of his freaky facial hair. Two burly muttonchops grew dangerously long and connected to a handlebar mustache. Originally they became known as burnsides, but over time the syllables were switched around.
http://www.moonstruckrecords.com/img/artist/rl_burnside_full.jpg
There was an officer in the Civil War named Joeseph Hoooker, and he always had girls over in his tent. Every night, different girls. They were known as Hooker's girls.
:D