The 28th Alabama Infantry Regiment
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Brief History
The 28th Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized March 29, 1862 at Shelby Springs (located about half way between Calera and Columbiana) to serve for three years or the duration of the war. The recruits were to report to Shelby Springs, the site of a large Confederate military training camp known as Camp Winn, on 13 March; they remained there until 18 April 1862. The Regiment consisted of companies from Blount, Dallas, Jefferson, Marshall, Perry, and Walker counties.
The Regiment was organized too late to participate in the Battle of Shiloh, but they did join Gen'l Pierre G. T. Beauregard's command at Corinth, Mississippi, following the battle, arriving there between 22 and 25 April, having marched through Selma to Mobile where they took a 5-day rail trip on the Mobile & Ohio Railroad. They were brigaded under Gen'l James Trapier at first, then under Gen'l Johnson Duncan. While at Corinth, many of the men fell victim to camp diseases. They were at Corinth until 24 May when they withdrew to Baldwin, then to Saltillo, then to Tupelo.
In June 1862, the Regiment was brigaded under Col. Arthur Middleton Manigault along with the 10th and 19th South Carolina and the 34th and 24th Alabama. Manigault's Brigade was assigned to Gen'l Braxton Bragg and his Army of Mississippi; the Brigade followed him to Chattanooga and subsequently throughout the Kentucky campaign of 1862.
The 28th stayed in Tupelo, MS, until 13 July when they moved to Smith's Cross Roads. On the 23rd, they began a rail movement to Chattanooga. They boarded trains of the Mobile & Ohio once more, to Mobile, then took a steamboat to Tensaw Station (north of Mobile on the Tensaw River). They boarded trains again to Montgomery, La Grange, and Atlanta before arriving at Chickamauga on the 10th of August. They then marched to Tyner's Station (west of Chattanooga) to await a wagon train. On the 22nd, they crossed the Tennessee River, 8 miles from Tyner's Station. After a week's rest, the regiment started on a march through Tennessee, passing through Smith's Crossroads, across Walton's Ridge (14 miles) to Pikeville, over the Cumberland Mountains (21 miles), through Gainsboro, Sparta to the Kentucky boarder where they marched into Thompkinsville and Glasgow to the railroad (Louisville & Nashville?). It was a 15-day and night march. In Kentucky, the 28th Alabama marched toward Munfordville, arriving there on 16 September to attack the Union fort. It surrendered the next day and the regiment earned praise from its commander. Col. John W. Frazier who stated in his official report that "it gratifies the commanding officer to be able to say that the men and officers were calm, cool, and cheerful during the entire day and obeyed every command with great alacrity and promptness."
The regiment then marched to Bardstown, stayed for two weeks, then moved to Harrodsburg, Perryville, and Lawrenceburg, then back to Harrodsburg. They went toward the Cumberland Gap via Lancaster, Crab Orchard, London, and Barboursville, crossing the mountains on 22 October 1862. They arrived to within ten miles of Knoxville on the 24th and remained there until the 31st. They boarded the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad to Chattanooga, went on to Bridgeport, AL, on the Tennessee River on 1 November, crossed the river in a steamboat and camped for three days. From its camp, the 28th marched to Tullahoma, TN (110 miles) and rested a week before proceeding to Murfreesboro where they went into Winter Quarters on 22 November 1862. However, fighting began there (Murfreesboro, or Stone's River) on the morning of 31 December. The 28th fought with the 24th and 34th Alabama, and these three regiments led the first and second charges in the battle. The 28th lost 17 killed and 88 wounded while serving as a part of Gen'l Jones Withers' Division. Col. Manigault stated in his official report following the battle, "the Alabama regiments partook in all attacks . . . and I again take this opportunity of bearing testimony to the heroic courage and fortitude displayed by them on that bloody field".
Following the stalemate at Murfreesboro, General Bragg moved his Army of Tennessee [the Army of Mississippi had ceased to exist on 20 Nov 1862 when it merged with the Army of Kentucky. Bragg became the first commander of the new Confederate Army of Tennessee] south to its winter quarters near Tullahoma, Tennessee, and then to Shelbyville. The regiment settled in for winter quarters and remained there until 27 June 1863.
In the following spring, Union Gen'l William S. Rosecrans, commanding the Army of the Cumberland, began a series of rapid flanking movements which dislodged Bragg's Confederates. The 28th left Shelbyville on thd 27th of June 1863 and reached Tullahoma on the 28th where they stayed until 1 July. Then they moved on to Chattanooga, a vital rail and river port city, arriving the 7th and camping a mile below town until 20 August.
Rosecrans' movements forced the evacuation of Chattanooga. Bragg moved his forces south to Lafayette, Georgia, and began calculating a counter move against Rosecrans. The 28th Alabama moved across Lookout Mountain (31 August) to the Lower Chickamauga Creek, about 19 miles distant. Then on 1 September, they moved to McFairlands' Springs, about 10 miles. On the 8th, they marched to Chickamauga Creek, 19 miles, and on the 10th, marched 9 miles to McLemore's Cove. Bragg saw his opportunity open at Crawfish Springs, GA, along the banks of Chickamauga Creek. He realized that Rosecrans had split his Union forces into three groups. Bragg attacked, hoping he could pick these groups off piecemeal, but Rosecrans recognized the threat and was able to reunite his Army before the full effect of the attack could be made.
Bragg wasted no time in beginning the fight and the two armies battered each other to no avail on September 19, 1863. The Union and Confederate soldiers had fought to a standstill, but on the morning of the 20th, a gap was found in the Union line near the Brotherton house, and thousands of Confederates, including the 28th Alabama, poured through. Rosecran's Army of the Cumberland was put in rout. A solid counterattack by Gen'l John Thomas Wilder's "Lightning Brigade," armed with Spencer repeating rifles, slammed into the flank of Manigault's Brigade and the 28th Alabama. The Confederates were stunned from the awesome firepower of Wilder's Brigade and were forced to retreat almost a mile.
After the Confederate victory at Chickamauga, Rosecrans retreated to Chattanooga. The Army of Tennessee followed, and Bragg ordered the city to be placed under siege. He positioned his Confederates around the city, effectively boxing in the Union forces.
The Federal troops in Chattanooga endured the siege for two months. Union Gen'ls U. S. Grant and William T. Sherman made their way into Chattanooga in October. Grant immediately assumed command of the Union forces and gave top priority to lifting the siege and establishing a supply line to feed and rearm his soldiers.
Grant plotted a course of action against Bragg where on 24 November, Grant ordered Gen'l "Fighting Joe" Hooker to attack the western flank of Lookout Mountain overlooking Chattanooga. Hooker did so successfully, and Bragg was compelled to establish his main line of defense on Missionary Ridge on the east side of Chattanooga. The following day, 25 November, Grant's soldiers stormed Missionary Ridge and broke through the Confederate lines, forcing them to retreat into north Georgia.
The 28th Alabama, in Manigault's Brigade and assigned to Gen'l Patton Anderson's Division, fought superbly. Although the Union breakthrough did take place through Anderson's sector, Manigault's men held firm. The 28th lost 172 killed, wounded, or captured in the battle.
After his defeat at Chattanooga, Bragg withdrew his forces toward Dalton, Georgia and established winter camp. Gen'l Joseph E. Johnston was assigned to replace Bragg, and Johnston surmised that the Union forces were planning to strike at Atlanta.
In the spring of 1864, Union Gen'l Sherman began his thrust toward Atlanta. Johnston slowed the Union advance at Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, Cassville, and Kennesaw Mountain. In the battle at Ezra Church, west of Atlanta, the 28th lost four killed and 24 wounded. The Alabamians participated courageously in all of these actions while sustaining heavy losses. During the time the 28th was a part of Manigault's Brigade, Hindman's Division and Hood's Corps, Lt. Colonel William L. Butler commanded the Regiment.
After the fall of Atlanta, the 28th followed Gen'l John Bell Hood into Tennessee and participated in the tragic Franklin and Nashville campaigns. During the Battle of Franklin, in which Hood's Army of Tennessee was almost annihilated, the 28th lost its brigade commander, Gen'll Manigault, to a serious wound. During the battle, the regiment participated in the last formal assaults against Union entrenchments.
Although Hood's Confederates were no longer a viable attacking force, Hood incredibly continued to pursue his goal of taking Nashville. Before the Confederates could launch their attack, Union Gen'l George Thomas ordered an attack which crushed the remnants of Hood's Army. During the battle, the 28th fought on the south side of Nashville, near Redoubt No. 4, before that fortification fell.
The survivors of the 28th and the Army of Tennessee went home or joined Gen'l Johnston in North Carolina following the 1864 Tennessee Campaign. The 28th, now few in number, was consolidated with the 24th and 34th Alabama and placed under the command of Colonel J. C. Carter of Montgomery. The regiment officially surrendered at Durham Station, Orange County, North Carolina on April 26, 1865
Field and Staff
- Colonel J.W. Frazer* of Tennessee; resigned. J.C. Reid.
- Lieutenant Colonels John C. Reid of Perry; promoted. W. Lavelle Butler; wounded and captured at Nashville.
- Majors T.W.W. Davies of Coosa; transferred to the navy. W.L. Butler; promoted.
- Adjutants Sumter Lee of Perry; resigned. Charles R. Harris of Perry; wounded and captured at Nashville
Companies and the Counties from Which they Came
- Co. "A", Perry County: W. Lavelle Butler (promoted); James H. Graham (wounded, Chickamauga); John F. Wilson (wounded, Franklin)
- Co. "B", Blount and Marshall Counties: John H. Turpin (wounded, Murfreesboro, and captured); E. R. Kiker (captured, Missionary Ridge)
- Co "C", Blount County: Maxmillan Tidmore (resigned); John Couch.
- Co "D", Jefferson County: William H. Nabors.
- Co "E", Walker County: H. A. M. Henderson (resigned); Hugh G. Loller (KIA, Resaca)
- Co "F", Walker County: Franklin A. Gamble (resigned); L. E. Gilbert.
- Co. "G", Jefferson County: Miller (resigned); John C. Morrow (resigned); G. W. Hewitt (wounded, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga)
- Co. "H", Jefferson County: J. F. Tarrant (resigned); W. M. Hawkins (KIA, Murfreesboro); William. R. McAdory (KIA, Missionary Ridge); William. A. McLeod (KIA, Atlanta)
- Co. "I", Dallas County: F. M. Hopkins (captured, Missionary Ridge); Lt. P. G. Wood
- Co. "K", Perry County: Charles R. Harris (resigned); Homer M. Ford.
- Co. "L", Walker County: F. A. Musgrove (wounded, Murfreesboro)
Battles, Skirmishes and Engagements
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