Alabama Civil War Facts

On January 11, 1861 Alabama became the fourth state to leave the Union, its secession convention calling for a meeting of delegates from all Southern states in Montgomery, the state capital, on February 4. At this meeting the new provisional government of the Confederate States of America was organized, with Montgomery selected as its temporary seat and Jefferson Davis elected president. The Confederacy went to war financed largely by a $500,000 loan from the state of Alabama.

In one section of northern Alabama, where antislavery feeling was strong, there was a movement to form a pro-Union state. State Rep. Hugh Clay feared that an attempt would be made "to excite the people of North Alabama to rebellion vs. the State and we will have a civil war in our midst," but the movement failed.

At the beginning of hostilities Alabama state troops seized forts at the entrance to Mobile Bay and the Union arsenal at Mount Vernon. There was no fighting in the state early in the war, but in 1862 invading Federal forces held sizable areas. To resist the invasion, almost every white Alabamian old enough to carry a gun enlisted in the Confederate forces. Some 2,500 white men and 10,000 blacks had already enlisted in the Union army.

Alabama supplied most of the iron used by the Confederacy, with an average annual output of 40,000 tons during the 4 years of war. Not only did its 16 ironworks steadily produce iron for shot and shell, but the state's munitions plants manufactured the products.

There are no statistics on Alabama's contributions to the Confederate army, but estimates vary between 75,000 and 125,000 fighting men from a population of just above 500,000 whites. Estimates of losses range from 25,000 to 70,000. The state furnished the Confederacy with 60-65 regiments of infantry, 12-15 regiments of cavalry, and over 20 batteries of artillery.

P.O.W. Camps in thew state: Cahaba (Castle Morgan), Mobile, Montgomery , Selma , Talledega, Tuscaloosa .

In 1895, 76 years after being admitted to the Union, the Alabama Legislature authorized the "crimson cross of St. Andrew on a field of white" in the "Acts of Alabama." Reminiscent of the Confederate battle flag, it was designated that the crimson bars must be 6 inches broad and were to extend diagonally across the flag. Because act 383 did not specify a particular format, the flag is depicted sometimes as a square and at other times as a rectangle.

Confederate - 15 States and Territories   Union - 43 States and Territories
Total number of men recruited 107,547 Total number of men recruited 7,547
Percentage of CSA Army 2.8% Percentage of Union Army 0.3%
Percentage of South's Pop. ? Percentage of state's population 0.8%
Overall rank 12 Overall rank 30
Number of Actions in State 336    
       
Regiments of foreign-born soldiers Regiments of foreign-born soldiers
None   None  
Confederate Army Deaths Union Army Deaths
Killed/Mortally Wounded Officers ? Killed/Mortally Wounded 50
Killed/Mortally Wounded Enlisted ? Disease 228
Died of Wounds Officers ? Disease in Prison 22
Died of Wounds Enlisted ? Accidents/Drowning 5
Died of Disease Officers ? Murdered ?
Died of Disease Enlisted ? Military Execution ?
Total ? Executed By Enemy ?
    Known/Not Classified 2
    Unknown 38
    Total 345
State Military Units State Military Units
Artillery over 20 batteries Artillery  
Cavalry 12-15 regiments Cavalry  
Infantry 60-65 Regiments Infantry  

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