with his guns, rode to the front as though no danger was imminent, coolly
placed his battery astonishingly near the lines of the enemy, and while
the enemy rained destruction in that quarter, he took time to get well
into position, and at once began with fatal effect on the lines of the
foe. Here he won new laurels, and in the accounts of the battle his name
was mentioned among those of the general commanders. A second time, Pelham
was congratulated by General Stonewall Jackson, who in person thanked him
for his skill and bravery.
At the battle of Sharpsburg Pelham was stationed on the left of the
Confederate forces, where most of the artillery fell under his immediate
command, and the havoc wrought by his guns was fearful. Again at
Shepherdstown there was a repetition of the same spirit which he had
exhibited on all other occasions. Accompanying Stuart on this memorable
march from Aldie to Markham's, Pelham was compelled to fight against
formidable odds along the line of march, and at one point he kept up his
firing till the enemy was within a few paces of his piece, when he
doggedly withdrew only a short distance, secured a better position for his
guns, and resumed his firing in a cool, businesslike way.
It was at Fredricksburg that Pelham was more conspicuous than in any other
battle. With a single gun he went to the base of the heights and opened
the fight with the same indifference with which he would have gone on the
drill ground for a parade. His astonishing intrepidity won the attention
of both armies, and Pelham at once became a common target to the batteries
of the enemy. He was fearfully exposed, and every moment was filled with
extreme hazard, but with an indifference which was sublime he kept up his
firing and made fearful inroads on the enemy. It was here that there was
evoked from General Lee the expression which has become historic.
Observing the brave youth from an eminence, as he kept steadily at his
destructive work while shells were bursting about him, General Lee said:
"It is glorious to see such courage in one so young." Without wavering,
Pelham held his position at the base of the ridge till his ammunition was
gone and he was forced to retire by a peremptory order. Assigned to the
command of the artillery on the right, he was throughout the day in the
thickest of the fray, and won from General Lee the designation: "The
gallant Pelham." For his gallantry on this occasion Pelham was promoted
from a majorship to a lieutenant colonelcy, but was killed before his
commission was confirmed by the Confederate Senate.
On March 17, 1863, he was visiting some friends at night, in Culpeper
County, when the booming of guns at Kelly's Ford fell on his ear. Excusing
himself, he mounted his horse and rode rapidly to the scene of action. His
own command had not yet arrived, but he found a regiment wavering in
confusion. Spurring his horse quickly to the front of the confused mass,
his cool ringing voice restored order, and, placing himself at their head
to lead them to battle, a fragment of shell struck the brave youth in the
head, and he was instantly killed. The news of the death of Pelham
occasioned as much mourning in the army and throughout the Confederacy as
there would have been had one of the great general chieftains fallen. Boy
as he was, his fame had become proverbial. His body was sent home for
burial, and his ashes repose today at Jacksonville, in his native county,
Calhoun.
CULLEN A. BATTLE
While known chiefly as a soldier because of his brilliant record in the
late war, General Cullen A. Battle was distinguished as a lawyer, orator,
and statesman, as well. The Battles were among the leading families of the
state, and were conspicuous in medicine, in law, in education, in
theology, in authorship, and in war. The family record is a brilliant one,
but our attention is now directed to a single member.
Graduating from the University of Alabama in the bud of manhood, General
Battle entered on the practice of law at the age of twenty-two, after
having read law in the office of the Honorable John Gill Shorter. Soon
after the completion of his studies preparatory to his profession, he
removed to Tuskegee and was diligently devoted to his profession for
almost ten years. His first appearance in public life was when he
canvassed the state in 1856 for Buchanan, being at the time a presidential
elector.
An ardent Democrat, he was on the electoral ticket of Breckinridge and
Lane in 1860, at which time he spoke throughout the state in company with
Honorable William L. Yancey. As an orator, he was gifted with a freedom of
utterance and a poetic imagination, while his delivery was one of
gracefulness and magnetism. No one more admired the witchery of his
oratory than Mr. Yancey himself, whom General Battle accompanied on his
tour to the North, and spoke with the South's peerless orator from the
same platform in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis and
Cincinnati.
At the outbreak of hostilities, in 1861, General Battle raised a company
of volunteers at Tuskegee, which company became a part of the Third
Alabama Regiment, of which Tennent Lomax became the colonel and Cullen A.
Battle the lieutenant colonel. This regiment represented in part the pick
and flower of the young chivalry of the South.
The Third Alabama Regiment was under fire at Drewry's Bluff, but engaged
first fiercely in battle at Seven Pines, where the brave Lomax fell, and
Battle led the regiment through the fight. In the series of battles below
Richmond he was at the head of the gallant Third Alabama, having been
promoted meanwhile to the colonelcy of the regiment. He received a slight
wound at Boonsboro, and at Fredricksburg was seriously injured by his
horse falling on him. Later we find him serving on the staff of General
Rodes in the battle of Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg the whole brigade
was quickly repulsed with great loss, all giving way but the Third Alabama
Regiment, but rallying later and fighting with renewed power. Under
conditions like these Colonel Battle attached his regiment to General
Ramseur's command and rendered conspicuous service in checking the tide of
temporary defeat.
So pleased was General Ewell with the timely gallantry of Colonel Battle
that he promoted him to a brigadiership on the field, which act was soon
after confirmed. To him were assigned, as the component parts of a
brigade, the Third, Fifth, Sixth, Twelfth, and Sixty-first Alabama
regiments. This brigade was the first to encounter General Grant in the
Wilderness, and in his report on the battle of Spottsylvania General Ewell
says: "Battle's brigade was thrown across Hancock's front and there
occurred the hottest fighting of the war." The contest was hand-to-hand
fighting, the opposing forces using the bayonet. At Winchester, Battle's
brigade entered the action just in time to allow Evans' brigade to rally,
while driving the enemy before him. By this time "Battle's brigade" had
become so conspicuous a factor in the Army of Northern Virginia as to be
signally named for its gallantry. At the battle of Cedar Creek, General
Battle led his brigade with singular coolness and courage against the
formidable front of the Eighth Army Corps of the federal forces, which
corps was commanded by General Crook. In this action, General Battle was
struck in the knee, which permanently disabled him so that he could not
resume active duty on the field, but he was rewarded with a commission of
major general, the commission bearing date of his wound, October 19, 1864.
It was in January, 1864, while Lee's army was in winter quarters south of
the Rapidan, that one of those momentous incidents occurred which
sometimes profoundly affect large bodies of men. Three Alabamians of the
Monroe Guards went at night to the headquarters of Captain T. M. Riley,
who was in command of the Fifth Alabama Regiment, and proposed to enlist
for the war. These were Sergeant William A. Dudley, a native of Lowndes
County, and Privates Daniel C. Rankin and his brother, Duncan A. Rankin,
who now resides at Bynum, Texas. This fact was communicated by Captain
Riley on the following day to General Battle, who commanded the brigade,
who promptly appeared in person before each regiment of his brigade and
appealed for the proposed step to be taken. This was the first brigade or
command to re-enlist unconditionally for the war. This act made General
Battle historically conspicuous in the annals of the Civil War, and
elicited from General Robert E. Rodes the following communication:
"Conduct like this in the midst of the hardships we are enduring, and on
the part of men who have fought so many bloody battles, is in the highest
degree creditable to the men and officers of your command. I was always
proud, and now still more so, that I once belonged to your brigade. As
their division commander, and as a citizen of Alabama, I wish to express
my joy and pride, and as a citizen of the Confederacy my gratitude at
their conduct. To have been the leader of this movement in this glorious
army throws a halo of glory around your brigade which your associates in
arms will recognize to envy and which time will never dim."
This communication from Major General Rodes was reinforced by a joint
resolution of thanks by the Confederate Congress, in which resolution the
name of General Battle is conspicuous as the moving and ruling spirit of
this conduct on the part of his brigade.
Resuming the practice of law, at Tuskegee, after the close of
hostilities, General Battle was elected to congress from his district, but
the Republicans denied to him and to others their seats, and he, and
others like him, were disfranchised. He never again appeared in any
official capacity, but lived a life of retirement to the close.
His death occurred at the age of seventy-six at Greensboro, N. C., and he
was buried at Petersburg, Va. The closing utterance of this hero of many
battles was: "All is bright, there's not a cloud in the sky."
PHILIP D. RODDY
There is the flavor of the romantic in the life and career of General
Philip Dale Roddy. That he should have become the conspicuous figure that
he was in the Confederate struggle, was due solely to inherent merit. Born
in the town of Moulton, Lawrence County, in conditions humble if not
obscure, he was an ordinary tailor in that country town, growing to
manhood without an education, and enjoying none, save as he was able to
pick up the scraps of advantage afforded in a community noted for its
intelligence and educational facilities. There was that about him,
however, which won him friends, and when he was twenty-six years old he
was elected the sheriff of Lawrence County. Later he was engaged in
steamboating on the neighboring Tennessee, in which employment the
conflict of 1861 found him.
Raising a company of cavalry for the Confederate service, Roddy became its
captain, and was assigned to duty in connection with the western army. He
rapidly developed into an excellent scout in Tennessee, was daring, shrewd
and tactical, and in the battle of Shiloh, his company was made the escort
of General Bragg. His soldierly qualities and genuine military leadership
and gallantry were so displayed at the battle of Shiloh, that he received
special mention for his bravery. With honors still fresh on him, he
returned to north Alabama and easily raised a regiment of horse, in
prospect of the threatened invasion of that quarter.
He had a theater of operation all his own in the valley of the Tennessee,
and with dexterity he would fall on the enemy here and there, harassing
him at every point and checking and foiling his movements. In the latter
part of the second year of the war Colonel Roddy succeeded in swelling his
small command into a brigade of horse, with which he met an invasion from
Corinth under General Sweeney. He met the enemy at Little Bear Creek,
outwitted Sweeney, and forced him back to Corinth.
Alert to the movements of the federals, who were intent on gaining a solid
footing in north Alabama, Roddy encountered still another raid at
Barton's, and a second time saved that quarter of the state from invasion.
The enemy was forced back, Roddy capturing a part of his artillery and
inflicting on him severe loss in killed and wounded.
He was now master of the Tennessee valley, and as opportunity would
afford, he would cross the river in a rapid raid, make valuable captures,
and replenish his stores. At one time he dashed into the federal camp at
Athens, taking the enemy completely by surprise, burned a quantity of
stores and was off again, the enemy knew not where. Still later, Roddy
fell suddenly on Corinth and secured as a trophy of victory six hundred
horses and mules, and when pursued by Colonel Cornyn to Iuka, he turned on
the enemy and forced him back.
General Roddy became "the swamp fox" of the Tennessee Valley and from
unconjectured quarters would pounce on the enemy, inflict severe blows and
reap trophies. When Colonel Streight entered on his daring raid through
north Alabama, with a force picked for that perilous undertaking and
splendidly equipped, and while he was being pursued by General Forrest
with a force much inferior, the federal General Dodge entered the valley
to cover the movements of General Streight. Acting in conjunction with
Forrest, who was in hot pursuit of Streight, and whose command he
eventually captured, Roddy, with an inferior force, checked Dodge and
contested every inch of advance through Colbert County, thus enabling
Forrest to overtake and bag Streight. By this indirect agency General
Roddy was a sharer in the brilliant victory of Forrest.
The splendid qualities of General Roddy now attracted the attention of the
Confederate government, and, though the theater of his exploits was
contracted, he was thought of in connection with John H. Morgan and Mosby.
General Forrest had great confidence in his ability as a commander, as was
shown on more than one occasion.
For two years Roddy had so stubbornly resisted the movements of the enemy
in the effort to broaden the basis of his occupancy in North Alabama, that
the skillful commander had restricted him to the two points of Huntsville
on the north and Corinth on the south. But Roddy was needed at Dalton for
a season, in connection with the general movements of the army, and thence
with his command he was ordered. This left the Tennessee Valley open to
the enemy, and he entered it and strongly fortified himself at Decatur.
When, later, General Roddy returned to the former scene of his operations
he was unable to dislodge the federals from Decatur, but the rest of the
territory he steadfastly held. When General Hood succeeded General
Johnston in command of the western army, one of his chief reliances was
Roddy, to keep open his communications.
Later in the war, Roddy came into more intimate and vital touch with
Forrest, who was very fond of him, and co-operated with the great
commander in many of his movements, and shared with him in some of his
most brilliant victories. A brief sketch like this affords but an inkling
of the power of generalship developed by General Roddy. He was a military
genius. He was born to command. He was ever alert and active, and had a
fondness for the dash of the field. He loved hard service, and rarely
failed in an enterprise, for, with all his dash and daring, he was
invariably cautious.
No commander in the Confederate army enjoyed more completely the
confidence and devotion of his men. After the close of the war he removed
to New York, embarked in the commission business, and there died.
W. H. FORNEY
The heroic services and patriotic devotion of General William Henry Forney
entitle him to recognition on the roster of Alabama worthies. The
contribution of service made by General Forney to the erection of the
greatness of the commonwealth of Alabama is deserving of perpetual
recognition.
General Forney descended from a family eminent in North Carolina, his
grandfather being General Peter Forney of that state, and a granduncle
being a distinguished member of congress from the same state. Himself a
native of North Carolina, General William H. Forney came to Alabama with
his father's family in 1835, when he was a mere boy of twelve years.
Reared in Calhoun County, he was educated at the state university, from
which he was graduated in 1844, after which he entered on the study of the
law.
When the Mexican War broke out, young Forney enlisted in the First
Regiment of Alabama Volunteers, commanded by Colonel Coffey, in which
command he became a lieutenant, serving as such at the siege of Vera Cruz.
Returning home after the expiration of the term for which he enlisted,
which was one year, he entered again on the study of his law books.
Licensed to practice in 1848, he was the next year chosen a representative
from Calhoun County to the legislature. With this single interruption he
was devoted to his profession till the declaration of hostilities between
the northern and southern states. He entered the army as a captain in the
Tenth Alabama Regiment which was destined to suffer from unusual
casualties from the first conflict in which it was engaged to the close of
the war. The regiment of which he was a member was doing some detached
duty at Drainville, Va., when it became engaged with the enemy, and among
the seriously wounded was Captain Forney, who was shot in the leg, but
within sixty days he was again in command of his company at the front.
Meanwhile he had become the major of his regiment, with which he was
engaged in the battle of Yorktown. At Williamsburg he was again shot,
receiving a very serious wound in the shoulder which disabled his right
arm. Removed to the buildings of William and Mary College, which were
temporarily improvised as a hospital, Major Forney fell into the hands of
the enemy and was detained as a prisoner for four months.
On his return to his command after his imprisonment, he found himself at
the head of his regiment by reason of logical promotion. He had the
misfortune to receive another wound at the battle of Salem Church, though
the injury was not of a serious nature. While leading his regiment at
Gettysburg, he was again most seriously wounded, the arm wounded at
Williamsburg, and even disabled, being now shattered. He fell on the field
from the terrible shock, and while prostrate, he received another wound by
a ball carrying away part of his heel bone. In this precarious condition,
he fell into the hands of the enemy, and was retained a prisoner of war
more than a year. While confined as a prisoner at Fort Delaware, he was
among the fifty officers chosen to be exposed to the Confederate guns on
Morris Island, and was taken near the scene ready for such exposure as a
matter of retaliation, but humane and timely intervention checked the
atrocious design, and in due time Colonel Forney was exchanged. Still a
cripple and hobbling on crutches, he returned to his command in 1864, and
was commissioned a brigadier general. Though seriously hampered by his
maimed condition, he stolidly and heroically bore his misfortune, and led
his brigade in the battles of Hatcher's Run, High Bridge, and Farmville.
He steadfastly and doggedly clung to his command, rendering valiant and
efficient service throughout the entire struggle, and was with his
tattered veterans at Appomattox when General Lee surrendered.
Broken in health and disfigured as the result of the casualties of the
war, he turned his face homeward, and in his permanently disabled
condition reopened his law office for such business as could be found
under the widespread demoralization incident to the close of the Civil
War. The people honored him with a seat in the state senate, but under the
military rule of the period it was denied him. He closed his career at
Jacksonville, Ala.
The state has never had a more loyal citizen, as was illustrated by his
unselfish devotion to its interest, and the army of the Confederacy no
braver soldier. To General Forney patriotism was a passion, as was
abundantly shown by the philosophic fortitude with which he bore his
misfortunes and sufferings. Others may have been more brilliant and
dashing than he, but he was an illustration of the hero who did what he
could, and by dint of actual merit, he rose to prominence in the army and
to equal prominence as a civilian.
EDMUND W. PETTUS
Long and notable was the career of Edmund Winston Pettus. Born two years
after the admission of Alabama into the Union, he was practically
identified with all the great periods which came into the history of the
state. Entering life early, he shared in all the epochs from the early
stages of statehood till his death at an advanced age.
In many respects, the career of General Pettus was a remarkable one. Left
an orphan by the death of his father while yet an infant, General Pettus
was reared by a careful and devoted mother. The best possible scholastic
advantages then extant were given him, and he was able to lay the basis of
a long and eventful career. His scholastic course was taken at Clinton
College, Tennessee.
General Pettus was a man of solid qualities, both mentally and physically.
He was six feet high, well proportioned, with broad, massive shoulders, a
large head and a commanding presence. He began the practice of the law at
twenty-eight, and, excepting the interregnum of his career as a soldier of
the Confederacy, continued in the profession until he was elected to the
National Senate from Alabama. In that capacity he was serving when he
died, at the advanced age of eighty-four.
His career as a lawyer began at Gainesville, Sumter County, where he was
first associated with Honorable Turner Reavis. His ability was promptly
recognized, and soon after beginning to practice, he was elected district
solicitor, and re-elected after the expiration of his term, but resigned
in 1851, and removed to Carrollton, Pickens County, where he resumed
private practice.
In 1853 Mr. Pettus was appointed by Governor Collier to fill a vacancy in
the district solicitorship. Characteristically fair and just, he won great
favor and popularity throughout west Alabama, so that when he offered for
the judgeship of the circuit, in 1855, he was easily elected. This
position he surrendered in 1858, in order to remove to Cahaba, then a
thriving center of wealth and intelligence, where he practiced law till
the opening of the war. During the early part of the year 1861, troops
were rapidly raised and organized into regiments, and as rapidly as
possible, sent to the front. In co-operation with Colonel Garratt of Perry
County, Pettus raised a regiment of infantry, which became the Twentieth
Alabama, of which regiment he became the major, and somewhat later was
made the lieutenant colonel of the command.
Assigned to duty in the western army, the regiment did not long remain
inactive. Colonel Pettus won laurels by leading the army of General E.
Kirby Smith in driving the enemy into Covington and Cincinnati. His
regiment was afterward ordered to Mississippi and Colonel Pettus was
engaged in the battles of Port Gibson and Baker's Creek. He was captured
at Port Gibson, but succeeded in effecting his escape and in rejoining his
command. On the occasion of the promotion of Colonel Garratt at Vicksburg
Pettus became the colonel of the regiment.
A notable incident in connection with the siege of Vicksburg gave to
Colonel Pettus fame for leadership, and for unquestioned courage
throughout the army. At an important point in the works the enemy had
captured a valuable redoubt, and General Stephen D. Lee was anxious to
have it retaken. The undertaking was full of peril, and the success of the
undertaking was doubtful. To perform the perilous undertaking, Colonel
Pettus volunteered to the commanding officer his services. Neither his own
regiment nor any of the others were willing to be led into so perilous an
undertaking, but Waul's Texas Legion volunteered in a body to make the
hazardous attack. So formidable was the redoubt that the enemy supposed
himself secure from attack. Taking advantage of this condition, Colonel
Pettus, at the head of the brave Texans, dashed unawares on the enemy,
threw the forces into utter confusion, and retook the redoubt, together
with one hundred prisoners and three flags. Thirty big guns were at once
trained on the point, but Colonel Pettus bore away his spoils without the
loss of a man.