In 1962 the Alabama Civil War Centennial Commission reprinted pages 589-705 of Willis Brewer's Alabama which contain brief historical sketches of the military organizations raised in Alabama for Confederate service. The limited number of copies ordered by the Centennial Commission failed to meet the demand for them while the Commission was in existence; nor has the demand diminished since the close of the Centennial years. In an effort to answer requests for the information which Mr. Brewer compiled, the Alabama State Department of Archives and History made a limited number of the excerpts from Brewer's Alabama available as a reprint in 1966. We have made numerous changes / additions to Brewer's original work based on our own research and more recent findings. They provide an introduction to the study of Alabama men who organized to serve in military units during the Civil War. We have also included a section on How to Research Alabama Civil War Soldiers and an extensive bibliography of available books on Alabama history and the Civil War.
FINALIST FOR BIOGRAPHY, 2008, ARMY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION DISTINGUISHED BOOK AWARD WINNER, 2009, THE DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN AWARD FOR BEST BOOK ON SOUTHERN HISTORY Jedediah Hotchkiss, Stonewall Jackson’s renowned mapmaker, expressed the feelings of many contemporaries when he declared that Robert Rodes was the best division commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. This well-deserved accolade is all the more remarkable considering that Rodes, a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and a prewar railroad engineer, was one of a very few officers in Lee’s army to rise so high without the benefit of a West Point education. Major General Robert E. Rodes of the Army of Northern Virginia: A Biography, is the first deeply researched scholarly biography on this remarkable Confederate officer. From First Manassas in 1861 to Third Winchester in 1864, Rodes served in all the great battles and campaigns of the legendary Army of Northern Virginia. He quickly earned a reputation as a courageous and inspiring leader who delivered hard-hitting attacks and rock steady defensive efforts. His greatest moment came at Chancellorsville in the spring of 1863, when he spearheaded Stonewall Jackson’s famous flank attack that crushed the left wing of General Hooker’s Army of the Potomac. Rodes began the conflict with a deep yearning for recognition and glory, coupled with an indifferent attitude toward religion and salvation. When he was killed at the height of his glorious career at Third Winchester on September 19, 1864, a trove of prayer books and testaments were found on his corpse. Based upon exhaustive new research, Darrell Collins’s new biography breathes life into a heretofore largely overlooked Southern soldier. Although Rodes’ widow consigned his personal papers to the flames after the war, Collins has uncovered a substantial amount of firsthand information to complete this compelling portrait of one of Robert E. Lee’s most dependable field generals. Darrell L. Collins is the author of several books on the Civil War, including General William Averell’s Salem Raid: Breaking the Knoxville Supply Line (1999) and Jackson’s Valley Campaign: The Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic (The Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series, 1993). A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Darrell and his wife Judith recently relocated to Conifer, Colorado.
" ... provides updated county and town listings within the same overall state-by-state organization ... information on records and holdings for every county in the United States, as well as excellent maps from renowned mapmaker William Dollarhide ... The availability of census records such as federal, state, and territorial census reports is covered in detail ... Vital records are also discussed, including when and where they were kept and how"--Publisher decription.
No scholarly reference library is complete without a copy of Ancestry's Red Book. In it, you will find both general and specific information essential to researchers of American records. This revised 3rd edition provides updated county and town listings within the same overall state-by-state organization. Whether you are looking for your ancestors in the northeastern states, the South, the West, or somewhere in the middle, ""Ancestry's Red Book has information on records and holdings for every county in the United States, as well as excellent maps from renowned mapmaker William Dollarhide. In short, the ""Red Book is simply the book that no genealogist can afford not to have. The availability of census records such as federal, state, and territorial census reports is covered in detail. Unlike the federal census, state and territorial census were taken at different times and different questions were asked. Vital records are also discussed, including when and where they were kept and how""
This is a remarkably detailed history of the state of Alabama from the time of the Spanish explorer Desoto's arrival in 1540 to the year of its original publication in 1872. Containing elements that will appeal to the genealogist and historian alike, Brewer's "Alabama" is arranged in three parts. The first eleven chapters comprise an outline history of the state, with pages devoted to exploration, the Indian population, natural resources, economic development, Alabama's territorial period, and state politics in general. Included in this section is a complete listing of Alabama governors, supreme court and circuit court judges, chancellors, attorney-generals, secretaries of state, and U.S. and Confederate Senators and Representatives, giving the name of the office holder and dates of service. The middle section of the book, the longest, contains a chapter on each of Alabama's sixty-five counties. Each chapter profiles the county's formation and organization, economic base, chief roads and water courses, biographical and family sketches of prominent citizens of the county, and a complete list of that county's state senators and representatives. The final section of this auspicious work recounts Alabama's involvement in the recently concluded Civil War, and it features sketches of every infantry and cavalry regiment to have served in the Confederacy. The sketches invariably recount the organization of the regiment, campaigns or battles fought in, and the names of the regiment's field and staff officers. An index to the 600 principal subjects of the biographical sketches may be found at the end of this extremely detailed volume.
Describes the society and the institutions that went down during the Civil War and Reconstruction and the internal conditions of Alabama during the war. Emphasizes the social and economic problems in the general situation, as well as the educational, religious, and industrial aspects of the period.
With a closeness perhaps unique to siblings orphaned young, Orlando and Artimisia “Missie” Palmer exchanged intimate letters throughout their lives. These letters (interspersed with additional letters from Oliver Kennedy, the Palmers’ first cousin) offer a clear and entertaining window into the life and times of a junior Confederate officer serving in the Western Theater of the Civil War. Though he initially felt Americans would see “the folly and the madness” of going to war, Orlando enlisted as a private in what would become Company H of the First (later Fifteenth) Arkansas Infantry, informing his sister that he had volunteered “not for position, not for a name, but from patriotic motivation.” However, he was ambitious enough to secure an appointment as Maj. Gen. William Joseph Hardee’s personal secretary; he then rose to become his regiment’s sergeant major, his company’s first lieutenant, and later captain and brigade adjutant. Soldier letters typically report only what can be observed at the company level, but Palmer’s high-ranking position offers a unique view of strategic rather than tactical operations. Palmer’s letters are not all related to his military experience, though, and the narrative is enhanced by his nuanced reflections on courtship customs and personal relationships. For instance, Palmer frequently attempts to entertain Missie with witticisms and tales of his active romantic life: “We have so much to do,” he quips, “that we have no time to do anything save to visit the women. I am in love with several dozen of them and am having a huge time generally.” The Folly and the Madness adds depth to the genre of Civil War correspondence and provides a window into the lives of ordinary southerners at an extraordinary time.
