The Alabama Brigade (American Civil War)

Also known as Law’s Brigade, the Alabama Brigade was a military formation of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was established on 19 January 1863 and participated in major combat operations such as the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Lookout Valley, the Knoxville Campaign, the Battle of the Wilderness and the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign. The Alabama Brigade consisted of five Alabama infantry regiments and was considered one of the great fighting brigades of the Army of Northern Virginia. It was commanded by Evander M. Law and was deployed in the army of North Virginia, headed by General Robert E. Lee. For a brief period in 1863 it was transferred to the Army of Tennessee where it fought in the Battle of Chickamauga before being transferred back into the Army of North Virginia in 1864. It participated in the Appomattox Campaign that resulted in Confederate General Lee’s surrender and the conclusion of the American Civil War. Along with the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia, the brigade was paroled and its surviving members returned to Alabama as civilians. After the war, a number of the brigade’s veterans went on to become distinguished political, business, and education leaders in Alabama.

4th Alabama Infantry Regiment
The 4th Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized at Dalton, Georgia, on 2 May 1861. It fought passionately in battles including the First Manassas, Seven Pines, Cold Harbor, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, and Chickamauga. Colonel Egbert I. Jones commanded this regiment until he was killed in the First Manassas. He was replaced by Evander McIvor Law, and this was the basis for the Alabama Brigade.

15th Alabama Infantry Regiment
The 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized in the summer of 1861 at Fort Mitchell, Alabama. After being sent immediately to Virginia, it was placed in a brigade under General George B. Crittenden and fought in many battles including the First Battle of Cold Harbor, Front Royal, the Second Manassas, and Harper’s Ferry. When it was put into the Alabama Brigade on 19 January 1863, it was under the command of William C. Oates, who after the war became the Governor of Alabama. Alexander Lowther later replaced Oates as commander in 1864.

44th Alabama Infantry Regiment
The 44th Alabama Infantry Regiment was created in Selma, Alabama, under Colonel James Kent in 1862. Kent resigned 1 September 1862, leaving the regiment under William Perry’s command. The 44th fought in battles such as the Second Manassas, Harper’s Ferry, and Sharpsburg. This regiment was severely decimated at Sharpsburg on 17 September 1862, where almost 47% of the regiment sustained casualties. It was added to the Alabama brigade, which then comprised the 4th Alabama infantry regiment, two months later in November 1862. Over the course of the war, 1094 men had been in this regiment at some point but only 209 survived to surrender at Appomattox.

47th Alabama Infantry Regiment
The 47th Alabama Infantry regiment was assembled at Loachapoka, Alabama, on 22 May 1862 under Colonel James McCarthy Oliver. When it travelled to Virginia is was placed into General Taliaferro’s brigade. This regiment lost many men in numerous battles such as Cedar Run, the Second Manassas, and Harper’s Ferry. Oliver resigned 11 August 1862 and was replaced by James W. Jackson, who was promoted to Colonel. After being decimated at Sharpsburg on 17 September 1862 and again at Fredericksburg on 13 December 1862, it was transferred into the Alabama Brigade in January 1863.

48th Alabama Infantry Regiment
The 48th Alabama Infantry Regiment was started in Auburn, Alabama, and put under General William B. Taliaferro’s brigade along with the 47th regiment. The first commander of the regiment was Col. James Lawrence Sheffield, who resigned in the fall of 1864. Captain John W. Wiggington, who had been promoted to the rank of Major in the fall of 1864, was the commander of the 48th at their surrender at Appomattox. During the war, it fought at battles such as Cedar Run, the Second Manassas, and Sharpsburg. It was decimated at Fredericksburg, which was fought 11–15 December 1862. Along with the 47th Alabama Infantry Regiment, it was placed into the Alabama Brigade in January 1863.

Leadership
The brigade’s main commander was Evander McIvor Law. Law started off as the Lt. Col. of the 4th Alabama infantry regiment, which was part of Barnard E. Bee’s 3rd brigade. The brigade fought at the First Manassas, where Bee was killed in action. Law was then promoted to Col. of the 4th Alabama regiment, which fought in the Seven Pines battle and later in the Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, and Fredericksburg. Law was promoted to Brigadier General on 3 October 1862. In November, the 44th Alabama regiment was added to his brigade (the 4th Alabama regiment). The Alabama brigade was reorganized a final time in January 1863, and the 15th, 47th, and 48th Alabama regiments were added. Law was severely wounded several times throughout the war, but after an eye injury at the Battle of Cold Harbor, he was replaced by William Flank Perry on 3 June 1864, who commanded the Brigade until its surrender at Appomattox. Law was transferred to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia where he helped defend South Carolina under the Army of Tennessee.