The 25th Alabama Cavalry Battalion
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Brief History
Although the 25th Alabama Cavalry Battalion was not formed until very late in the war, its origins go back to the summer of 1862, when Lemuel Green Mead of Jackson County resigned as captain of Co. "C", 50th Alabama Infantry Regiment and was recommissioned a cavalry captain with orders to operate behind enemy lines in North Alabama and Tennessee. Mead quickly recruited a company of partisan rangers, but the Union withdrawal in September 1862 limited his activities. However, the Union Army returned to North Alabama in mid-1863, and Mead's operations began again in earnest. Mead's forces so rapidly increased that on 18 January 1864 he was authorized to expand his company into a cavalry battalion. Mead's men constantly harassed the Union invaders, attacked the railroad, captured wagon trains and forage parties, and forced the Union Army to keep several regiments tied down to defend against them. Mead's cavalry cooperated with Col. Alfred A. Russell's 4th Alabama Cavalry Regiment in November and December 1864, in support of Gen'l John Bell Hood's Nashville campaign. Mead's most famous independent operation was the seizure of the Union post at Paint Rock Bridge on 31 Dec 1864, where he captured Co. "G", 13th Wisconsin Infantry, and a Napoleon howitzer. A letter from Col. Russell (17 Jan 1865) indicates that Gen'l Nathan B. Forrest wanted Mead's battalion attached to his own command, which would have been done "but for the contrary influence of some of the staff officers of Brigadier General [Philip D.] Roddey and S. D. Cabaniss, inspector of conscription." On 11 March 1865, Lemuel Mead was promoted to colonel and authorized to reform his men into a regiment. Companies "A", "C", "E", "F", and "G"of Mead's Battalion became Companies "A", "B", "C", "D", and "E" of the 25th Alabama Cavalry Battalion. Captain Milus E. "Bushwhacker" Johnston, who had been acting as major, was promoted to lieutenant colonel and placed in command. At the same time, Mead's Tennessee companies became the 27th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion. Mead was recommended by Gen'l John B. Gordon for temporary promotion to brigadier general, but the war ended before that occured. Johnston's 25th Alabama Battalion surrendered at Huntsville on 11 May 1865. Col. Mead held out on Brindley Mountain for a few weeks longer before finally disbanding the remainder of his men
Field and Staff
- Colonel:
- Lemuel Green Mead
- Lieutenant Colonel:
- Milus E. Johnston
- Major:
- Eugene C. Gordon
Companies and the Counties from Which they Came
- ?
Battles, Skirmishes and Engagements
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