THE FORTY-NINTH ALABAMA INFANTRY

The Forty-ninth regiment was organized at Nashville early in the year 1862, and brigaded in April, under Colonel Trabue, in Breckinridge's division. It was first known as Hale's Thirty-first, and some confusion has arisen in the documents of the War Records between the Forty-ninth and Hundley's Thirty-first regiment, but great pains have been taken in collecting the extracts below. The first battle of this regiment was Shiloh, April 6 and 7, 1862, when it was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Gilbreath and fought nobly, losing quite a large number. It was warmly praised by Colonel Trabue. It formed part of the defense of Vicksburg during 1862, when Lieut. W. H. Boggess was killed, and again at Baton Rouge, August 15th where it lost severely. It followed Van Dorn to Corinth, and there again met heavy loss in the attack on that place. The winter of 1862-63 was spent in the vicinity of Port Hudson. For a short time General Beall commanded the brigade, then General Buford. At the long siege of Port Hudson, the regiment lost a large number of its men; the balance were captured. The regiment, when exchanged, was reorganized at Cahaba, and assigned to General Scott's brigade with the Twenty-seventh, Thirty-fifth, Fifty-fifth and Fifty-seventh Alabama. Sent to Johnston's army, the brigade, then in Loring's division, wintered at Dalton, taking part in the Dalton-Atlanta campaign, continually fighting and skirmishing, but with comparatively small loss until it came to Atlanta, where many were sacrificed on the altar of patriotism. The regiment, reduced to a paltry number, was merged into the Twenty-seventh, in July, 1864, by consolidation with the Twenty-seventh and Thirty-fifth Alabama, which had also been reduced to mere squads, and was commanded by Col. S. S. Ives, of the Thirty-fifth, with Lieut.-Col. John D. Weedon, of the Fortyninth. The regiment was on detached service at Selma. With Hood, it fought in the battle of Franklin, November 30th, where Colonel Ives was wounded; again at Nashville, December 15th and 16th, where many were killed and many captured. Ordered to North Carolina, commanded by Capt. W. B. Beason, it surrendered with Johnston's army near Smithfield, March 31, 1865. The captains killed were John R Gardner, at Shiloh, and John D. Rivers and F. A. Payne, at Port Hudson. Capt. W. S. Bruce was captured at Port Hudson, and died in prison; Capt. G. C. Leadbetter died in service. The field officers were Cols. I. D. Hale and Jeptha Edwards; Lieut.-Cols. M. Gilbreath, W. N. Crump, John D. Weedon; and Majs. B. Johnston and Thomas A. Street.

Source: Confederate Military History, vol. VIII, p. 207

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