Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Alabama in the Civil War

4. Lee’s Alabama Boys

As he stared up the slope of Malvern Hill on the afternoon of  July, Maj. Robert Sands of the rd Alabama Infantry flinched as a heavy-caliber shell plowed into the earth about twenty feet from his regiment. Fortunately, the projectile did not explode, but its arrival notified the major that he faced not only the  enemy cannon arrayed along the high ground to his front, but he also had to contend with gunboat fire coming in from the nearby James River. A twentyseven -year-old cotton farmer, Sands hailed from Mobile, where at the outset of the war he had raised the Mobile Cadets, apparently arming his volunteers with rifles seized from the U.S. arsenal at Mount Vernon. Shortly thereafter, the Cadets became Company A, rd Alabama. At Malvern Hill Sands was acting commander of the regiment, which had just been reassigned to Robert Rodes’s now all-Alabama brigade. For two hours, the  soldiers in the rd deployed as a skirmish line, then Sands received the signal to advance with the whole brigade as part of a general assault. On leaving the protection of some woods at the base of the hill, the regiment had to cross at least  yards of open ground in order to reach the main Yankee line. Artillery raked the Alabamians as they rushed upward along the east side of Quaker Road. With  yards still to go, Sands instructed his men to hug the earth while he sent forward fifty of his best marksmen to try and pick off the Union gunners. The major’s decision backfired: “This was done and brought us to the notice of the battery, which, opening on us with grape, canister, and shell, subjected us to a most terrific fire for some time.” Acting brigade commander Col. John Gordon then ordered everyone to charge. With men dropping by the scores, the Alabamians got to within  yards of the guns before the hurricane of enemy metal finally broke the assault. Sands’s description of his color guard’s ordeal vividly testifies to the futility of the overall attack: “There were  men shot down while carrying the colors forward, the seventh bringing off the field after the fight a portion of the staff, the colors being literally cut to pieces.”After delivering a few ineffectual volleys from a prone position, the rd Alabama joined neighboring formations in a hasty retreat. Casualties in the regiment were a staggering  killed and wounded, while Major Sands received special mention for his “gallant conduct” during the battle.31 Photo courtesy of ADAH  ROBERT MARTIN SANDS carte de viste Chapter  Toward the end of June , three fresh Alabama regiments arrived outside of Richmond. Recruited largely from the northeastern part of the state, the th, th, and th Alabama Infantry added approximately , badly needed reinforcements to the Army of NorthernVirginia.Although disease would soon reduce these regiments to only a few hundred effective soldiers each, their presence raised Alabama’s contribution to the Confederate war effort in the East to nineteen units.For the next year,Lee’s Alabama boys participated in some of the most famous, albeit horrific, engagements of the entire war. With his victory over George B. McClellan in the Seven Days’ Battles, Robert E. Lee had saved Richmond, but he was determined to stay on the offensive. To the north, a recently organized army of , men under Maj. Gen. John Pope was threatening another advance on the Confederate capital.Lee meant to expel Pope’s command before it received additional forces from McClellan’s army. In early August the Rebel general commenced a series of daring movements designed both to confuse and to trap his Union counterpart.Thus began the campaign that culminated in the Second Battle of Manassas. Lee’s favorite subordinate, Stonewall Jackson, initiated the operation, moving rapidly north with , men, including four Alabama infantry units. On  August Jackson clashed with enemy forces at Cedar Mountain. Often overlooked in general histories of the Civil War,Cedar Mountain was a rather fierce contest,one that exhibited the worst and best of the Alabama troops in Jackson’s command.Eager to destroy what he assumed was an unsuspecting Union corps, Jackson issued vague orders and rushed his brigades into action. Tactical gains were made by the Rebel right wing, where the th Alabama helped secure a good position on the slope of Cedar Mountain...