Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 7.djvu/235

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216
CONFEDERATE MILITARY HISTORY.

THE FIFTY-FIFTH ALABAMA INFANTRY.

The Fifty-fifth Alabama was made up of Snodgrass' and Norwood's battalions. Snodgrass' (Fourth) battalion was in Breckinridge's reserve brigade in February, 1862, and was employed for some time near Pensacola, under command of Liecutenant-Colonel Conoley. In Trabue's brigade it lost 30 men at the battle of Shiloh, April 6 and 7, 1862, where it fought under Maj. J. M. Clifton, and was highly commended in official reports. It was engaged in the defense of Vicksburg in 1862, where Maj. G. L. Alexander was killed, and at the battle of Baton Rouge, August 5, 1862, where it fought bravely and suffered severely. It fought in Rust's brigade near Corinth, in October, 1862, and was highly commended by its brigade commander. In March, 1863, at Port Hudson, it was consolidated with Norwood's battalion and formed the Fifty-fifth regiment, about 900 strong, under Col. John Snodgrass, in Buford's brigade. The regiment fought at Baker's Creek with great loss; also at Jackson and subsequent engagements in Mississippi. Transferred to Scott's brigade, it served continuously in the army of Mississippi, until, as part of Stewart's corps, it joined the army of Tennessee in the spring of 1864, and took part in the continuous fighting of the Dalton-Atlanta campaign. At Peachtree Creek it was fearfully mutilated, losing more than half its number. It also lost heavily in Hood's winter campaign, suffering severely at Franklin and Nashville. Proceeding to North Carolina, it was consolidated after April 9, 1865, with the Twenty-seventh, Thirty-fifth, Forty-ninth and Fifty seventh, under Colonel McAlexander, and was surrendered at Greensboro with Johnston's army. Col. John Snodgrass led the regiment with untiring bravery throughout the war. At Peachtree Creek, which proved so disastrous to the regiment, many officers were lost. Maj. J H. Jones, Adjt. J. C. Howell, Capts. J. W. Evans and Arthur B. Carter were killed, and Lieut.-Col. John W. Norwood, Capts. J. H. Cowan, J. M.