Confederate desertions in northern Alabama

copyright © Susan Taylor Aldridge

Comment on the large Confederate desertions early on in the war.

The Sellers boys were drafted and sent to Shelby Springs and were in the 28th D, but I happened to be looking into the 31^st Regiment of Chilton movements, organized at Talladega, 16 March 1862, with companies from Calhoun, Cherokee, Montgomery, Randolph, Shelby, and Talladega counties. and the time line. What is very surprising is that of all 10 Captains elected in the different companies of the 31st Alabama, only one remained as a Captain and did not resign (with the exception of one captain who was put to the surgery unit, but his replacement also resigned) and most all of these resignations were also in the year 1862. It appears that 90% of the Captains of the 31st took advantage of their positions to resign early on. This must be a reflection of the surprise that the War had not already ended and impatience that it had not, as well as hunger.

The Rebellion had begun April 12, 1861 and actually was rather slow to get going, in my opinion. Perhaps because the Confederacy had an early victory at Bull Run (the first battle) 21 July 1861, people were thinking they could sit back and wait. It may have been when President Lincoln issued January 31, 1862 a General War Order No. 1 calling for all United States naval and land forces to begin a general advance by Feb 22, 1862 George Washington's birthday, there may have been renewed concern. It was after that when the 31st Regiment was formed on 16 March 1862 thru April at Talladega Co., almost a year after the war began.

From reading autumn 1862 letters home from one of the 31st members, it appears that early on in the war there were few rations and the soldiers were losing weight. It must have been pretty clear that fighting will and zeal will not win a war in the long run-- if there is no food to back the army up. They were resorting to using their pay to buy food in the towns they passed thru, so as not to starve (and there were still 2 and a half years to go). This must have affected all Captains as well. Although the men resented Cobb in his Mims Crossing G unit, there were many other Captains resigning and doing exactly what their men were WANTING to do, but could not--however some went AWOL to get back home and do the planting by night and would turn back up at their company days later, having gotten "lost." james Cobb could not have been the only one resented.

How did it all get started? I mean the AWOls and the desertions and the resentment of being drafted to fight a rich man´s war. I think that the Rebellion leaders,particularly in SC where the richest planters with the most slaves lived and who had never thought about planting anything other than cotton, for which they needed slaves, thought the war would be quick and easy and would be won easily with the Southern ease with firearms. James Cobb was probably telling his men what all Captains were thinking at that time. Those who were not thinking it would be easy were the Unionists, as well as Southerners loyal to Andrew Jackson who had warned Southerners never to fight the Union for they would be foolish and surely lose. Ironically Companies were named after him even though he was against the Rebellion.

Many educated people who read newspapers were more realistic, most likely, understanding the production power of the north to make arms and money and the Southern Planter´s being dependent on slaves and backward of the times in terms of manufacturing goods. How many Yankee business men profited secretly from Southern gold paid for manufactured goods?

Another reason for the urgency of the formation of the 31st Regiment a year after the War began is that General Grant of the Union forces in Tennessee captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on February 6, 1862. This must have been alarming to the lowlander plantation families of Alabama, and there was a call to arms to protect their capital, the slaves and the way of life. Looks like it took a few weeks to get a Regiment and companies together by the middle of March to April and up to Talladega. Also in March the Peninsular campaign had begun from Washington arriving south of the Confederate Capitol ofRichmond.

But exactly 2 months after the capzure of the 2 forts in Tennessee by the Union on April 6, 1862 there was mixed news with battle of Shiloh on the Tennessee River in which 10,000 Confederates died but the Confederates "won" the battle. This news must have been frightening to the men of the 31st Alabama. that in order to win one battle 10,000 must die. At the time the 31st received this news, they were already mustered and up in Talladega and were "caught" so to speak in war they had no counted on being so deadly.At this time Unionists were operating out of Winston County- I suspect it would have been dangerous for the despised Robert Blackwell Gang of robbers operating in Shelby Co. to have operated further north than northern Shelby the future Chilton Co. in October 1864 because the more north one went, the more pro-Union the counties were and the more likely he could be arrested for murdering 8 Yankee prisoners and murdering two Confederate officers who tried to draft him and his gang in Tennessee. He fled south to Shelby Co. AL just ahead of the Yankees. General Wilson of the Union formed Wilson's Raiders at Elyton Headquarters March 28-31, 1865 near the Shelby Co. border. That was only 5 months after Blackwell started his killing spree under the guise of seeking draft evaders and desserters, one of which he himself was, in the Shelby woods.

I do think that ALL soldiers of both USA and CSA can be proud for what they had to endure, whether they were drafted against their wills (like the Sellers boys-one lost his life, one lost his arm and the youngest ran away and had to "lay out") and also whether or not they joined freely, as in the case of Cobb´s unit. The problem with Cobb´s unit and 90% of ALL units was that the Captains who had the initial enthusiasm for war quit and went home after awhile, "abandoning" their neighbors they had encouraged to join. There must have been resentment all over Alabama about this, for I cannot imagine that this 31st Shelby unit was any different than any other unit/regiment with the hig percentage of Captains using their rank to resign. Cobb however had the unique problem of associating (reportedly) with Robert Blackwell and his gang. At first he was probably not aware that Blackwell was a criminal, disguised as a Southern patriot. Would you as a business man and father of young girls gladly associate with a criminal? Cobb was probably working with him before he found out the true character of the man. . After all, we have the problem of Cobbs´ brother being killed by the Blackwell Gang. James Cobb and his brother were neighbors. Now would you help a man who murdered your brother? If Cobb were such an evil man, why was he voted Captain? They had known him all their lives. We actually need a forsenics expert about this interesting case, for Cobb was one of two choices, either purely evil or innocent of the charges.

Alabama had a force of 2000 men who fought for the Union, called the Alabama 1st Calvalry http://www.1stalabamacavalryusv.com/1sthistory.asp

"At a time when the country was about to go war, many Alabama unionists spoke about how President Jackson would have dealt with secession by hanging the ringleaders and crushing the rebellion before it got started. 
Indeed, Jackson warned South Carolina on Dec. 10, 1832 that he was prepared to do just that. 

“Are you really ready to incur its guilt? If you are, on the heads of the instigators of the act be the dreadful consequences; on their heads be the dishonor, but on yours may fall the punishment. On your unhappy State will inevitably fall the evils of the conflict you force upon the Government of your country. It can not accede to the mad project of disunion, of which you would be the first victims.”

"And many Alabama unionists would remember the parting words of their fathers and grandfathers who served with Jackson, and who sensed years before that a war over secession could erupt. The old veterans would warn on their deathbeds to be loyal to the “Old Flag.” And their words were remembered and taken to heart."

Here is a poster from the times-
Yeomanry. Loyal Southerners. Come to Your Country's Call!

To put down TREASON and REBELLION and hand down to our Children, unimpaired, the Rich Legacy of the Glorious Union achieved and sealed with the blood of our forefathers.

DO NOT CAST YOUR LOT

WITH THE REBELS.

The secessionists, the flatlanders, the planters, the so-called gentlemen whose fine daughters do not acknowledge your existence would have you fight their RICH MAN'S WAR. If you join their rebel army it will be a POOR MAN'S FIGHT.

TROUBLESOME TIMES IN ALABAMA FOR UNION MEN.

Loyal Union men of good moral habits - farmers and farmer's sons - are now joining THE FIRST ALABAMA UNION CAVALRY, UNITED STATES VOLUNTEERS. Our flag is THE OLD FLAG. Our country is in peril and needs men of valour to fight for Freedom and Uncle Abe.

Muster rolls are open at secret sites in Winston, Franklin, Marion, Blount, Morgan, Randolph, Walker, Jefferson, St. Clair, Lawrence, Fayette, DeKalb and Jackson countie

The 31st Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized at Talladega, 16 March 1862, with companies from Calhoun, Cherokee, Montgomery, Randolph, Shelby, and Talladega counties. (Both Randolph and Shelby had many Union sympathizers.) It reported to Gen'l Danville Leadbetter at Chattanooga shortly after. It then moved up to Knoxville, where it was brigaded under Gen'l Seth Barton, in Carter Stevenson's Division. The regiment was at the investment ofCumberland Gap, TN and it took part in the fight at Tazewell, Claiborne Co., TN. With Gen'l E. K. Smith's column,the 31st was in the Kentucky Campaign, without coming up with the enemy.. 
Quoting O. G. Swingburg, 125th Ohio U. S. on September 9, 1863 at Cumberland Gap, 

"The trees, which had formerly covered the mountains, were all cut down. Their trunks lie tangled and scattered in all directions to prevent rapid charges of infantry. Surely, a valley of death could not have been more skillfully constructed. All who walked that road today would agree that had the charge been made, it would have been the last road walked in eternity. It would have been murder to have ordered that assault."

In December 1862, the Thirty-first accompanied Stevenson's division to Vicksburg. In May 1863 it was initiated into the hardest part of the war at Port Gibson, where the regiment suffered severely. It fought at Baker's Creek, and the loss was very heavy. As part of the garrison of Vicksburg, it was surrendered with the fortress. Placed in parole camp at Demopolis, the Thirty-first was soon exchanged. With Gen. Pettus in command of the brigade, the regiment joined the army of Tennessee, and was engaged with slight loss at Mission Ridge.
The 31st wintered at Dalton, and in the memorable campaign from Dalton to Atlanta it bore a full share in the dangers and hardships which have made it a bloody page in Southern annals. Dalton at Chickamauga (September 19-20, 1863) is the site of the bloodiest two-day battle of the Civil War. The battle was won but at a great cost of life. This battle was why my ancestor Henderson Sellers lost his life. His brother Alison lost his arm and was allowed to come home and the third brother Emanuel Henry Sellers ran home soon after being conscripted in January of 1863 where he was hidden in the woods by his Unionist father Emanuel Sellers, along with other runaways. Henderson age 38 his 2 younger brothers were all conscripted into the 28th Alabama Company D in January 1863 which originally formed 28 March, 1862 from Jefferson Co but at Shelby Springs in Shelby Co.. Was there too much resistance in Jefferson? 
During the winter January 1863, at Dalton, the Twenty-eighth Alabama had to re-enlist "for the war." It participated in the severe campaign from Dalton toAtlanta, taking part in all the fighting, and losing largely in proportion to the men it had present for duty. Later, the regiment followed Gen. Hood intoTennessee after Atlanta was taken, and took part in the desperate and fruitless struggles at Franklin and Nashville, with severe loss.
Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Rebel army in October and November of 1863. With General Sherman sitting a scant 10 miles away General Joseph Johnston, the newly assigned commander of the Army of Tennessee CSA, began to reinforce the town of Dalton, Georgia and the adjoining mountains. He didn't have long to wait. On February 22, 1864, General George Thomas born at Southhampton County, Virginia of the Union forces began a "demonstration" on the mountains west of Dalton. Although Thomas nearly turned the Confederate line, he withdrew on February 27, following the completion of a federal attack onMeridian, Mississippi.

In May at Tunnel Hill General Thomas ordered a division to attack a line of skirmishers securing the Rebel position. The Confederates withdrew, unable to complete their orders - destroy the tunnel through Chetoogetta Mountain. The Army of the Cumberland then began a slow march to Rocky Face Ridge and Dug Gap, to give James McPherson's Army of the Tennessee a chance to move south to Resaca along Taylor Ridge and to let John Scofield's Army of the Ohio move south from Chickamauga Station, Tennessee. Fighting began on the west side of Rocky Face Ridge on May 8, 1864. This is generally considered the first engagement of the Atlanta Campaign. Sherman possessed Atlanta September 2, 1864. In October, 1864 (the month Robert B. Blackwell arrived from Tennessee, having murdered a Confederate officer who tried in conscript his gang), General John Bell Hood of GA returned briefly to the Dalton area with about 35,000 men. He attacked at Tilton, Georgia, a few miles south of Dalton on October 13, 1864. Hood continued north to the Battle of Nashville which he lost while Sherman headed west to Savannah on the March to the Sea with 62,000 men. 
This is where lots of Alabama boys were cut off from their regiments by the Yankees march to Atlanta and to the sea. They must have seen it was a hopeless cause. Most had all been conscripted against their wishes, as Shelby Co which was not fully enough Unionist to resist the planters as did Winston County.

The year 1864 ended with Sherman's grand army in possession of Savannah, Georgia The fall of Atlanta had assured the re-election of Abraham Lincoln that November, and the tide of war shifted in favor of the Union. The 31st Alabama (what was left of it and had not got lost in battle or run away in fright or died) followed Gen. Hood into Tennessee, and after sustaining severe losses at Columbia and Nashville, was the rear-guard of the retreating army. Transferred to North Carolina, the regiment was hotly engaged at Bentonville, NC March 19-21, 1865 and a few men who were left of the 1100 with which ithe 31st Alabama entered the service stacked arms at Greensboro, as part of Pettus' brigade. This major battle, the largest ever fought in North Carolina, was the only significant attempt to fight the large Union army of Gen. William T. Sherman during its march through the North and South Carolina spring 1865. 

Captains, and counties from which the companies came. As an officer, one could resign, a comfortable position to have if you wanted to go home:

• Co. "A" (Cherokee County; some of company paroled as of Co. "K", 23rd AL Infantry, Consolidated): Isaac P. Moragne (resigned, 13 Aug 62); Henry W. Pickens (resigned, 30 March 63); W. L. Hughes (wounded, Jonesboro)
• Co. "B" (Talladega County; also called Co. "A"; company paroled as part of Co. "K", 23rd AL Infantry, Consolidated): William S. Chapman(resigned, 26 Sept 62); Robert A. Hardie (resigned, 12 Dec 63); William H. Hancock (transferred); William J. Rhodes (wounded, Kinston, Bentonville)
• Co. "C" (Cherokee County; also called Co. "B"): Marshal J. Alexander (resigned, 28 Aug 62); Joseph J. Nix (wounded, Champion's Hill, Jonesboro; captured, Champion's Hill; resigned, 26 April 63 and March 65)
• Co. "D" (Calhoun County; evidently became Co. "G", 23rd AL Infantry): E. T. Thompson; (dropped from rolls, 2 June 64); John Rose (paroled as Capt.,Co. "G", 23rd AL Infantry)
• Co. "E" (Talladega County; also called Co. "D"): Archibald Carter (resigned, 27 Aug 62); G. W. Watts (resigned, 19 Nov 63); Frank M. Shouse
• Co. "F" (Talladega County; also called Co. "E"): Robert M. McKibbin only original Captain to stay with his his men and not resign or get paroled.
• Co. "G" (Shelby County; also called Co. "K"; mustered 22 March 62 as Cobb's Co., Frazer's 23rd AL Infantry, and on 4 May 62 as Cobb's Co., Hundley's 31st AL Infantry): James Cobb (resigned, 2 Sept 62); William H. Shelby (resigned, 21 Nov 63); Robert B. Pruitt. James Cobb formed or mustered the Co. G on 22 March 1862 at Mimms
  Crossroads. He was paid as Capt by the Confederacy beginning 24 March
  1862. A later register reflects that he was not commissioned until 5 May 1862.He tendered his resignation on 15 Aug 1862 citing his health. The resignation was accepted on 2 September 1862 when he was discharged.(Malissa Hogan)
• Co. "H" (Randolph County): Augustus A. West (resigned, 27 Aug 62); Andrew J. Reeves (resigned); James L. Williams (captured, Missionary Ridge)
• Co. "I" (Montgomery County): John M. Shields (resigned, 10 Sept 62); Thomas M. Arrington (promoted); L. W. Vick
• Co. "K" (Shelby County; some of the company finally paroled as Co. "H", 23rd AL Infantry, Consolidated): Norman P. Reeves (appointed, surgeon); John W. Pitts (resigned, 10 Nov 62); Samuel W. Morgan (dropped from rolls, 17 June 64); J. T. McClanahan

Co. "G" (Shelby County): James Cobb (resigned, 2 Sept 62) 


I read quite a few letters written from Milton Avery Hardin of Co, B. 31st Alabama Infantry. He had enlisted 10th day of May, 1862 at Talledega,Alabama in Company B of the 31st Alabama. He was from Cherokee Co.. He speaks already in November 1862 in letters home of a great discontent among the men, of 8-10 desertions a day, and he himself thinks about it and talks about so many being fed up and going home without permission. They definitely did not have enough food by 1862, three years before the end of the war. His brother in law was Robert Sloan who also lived to come home in May 1865 and who went AWOL on numerous occasions in order to come home and do the plowing (at night and his wife would walk and hold a torch for him to see the furrows). So going AWOL and returning may have been common. How could a man leave wife and children for 5 years? Impossible. If he had not "desserted" on occaaion to do the plowing the family would have starved. I am sure toward the end, the men could not take the lost cause anymore and stayed home instead of going back. Or some came home only the one time and never went back. Robert Sloan must have been pretty good in the woods and with traveling to go home for every crop planting and plowing. maybe some were not so good as he and were afraid to leave, except that one time. if 8 to 10 deserters a day or AWOLs were occuring in the 31st, how many is that in the year 1862? Although Marvin lived to be parolled May 1865 in GA, he van be found in no census in 1870 or thereafter. He may have died on the way home or of sickness after reaching home and before 1870.
At any rate, I doubt that capt. James Cobb knew he was dealing with a common criminal when or if he helped Blackwell. But being only one of maybe two people in his Yellow Leaf District to have been pro cessession, James Cobb should have known better than to isolate himself even more by encouraging the run aways to return to fighting. It made him appear to be a Blackwell supporter, whether he was or not.

Susan Aldridge