The 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment was a Confederate volunteer infantry unit from the state of Alabama during the American Civil War. Recruited from six counties in the southeastern part of the state, it fought mostly with Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, though it also saw brief service with Braxton Bragg and the Army of Tennessee in late 1863 before returning to Virginia in early 1864 for the duration of the war. Out of 1,958 men listed on the regimental rolls throughout the conflict, 261 are known to have fallen in battle, with sources listing an additional 416 deaths due to disease. 218 were captured (46 died), 66 deserted and 61 were transferred or discharged.15th Alabama Infantry Regiment: Statistics. Retrieved on 2010-05-21. This source does not indicate what happened to the 766 men still unaccounted for according to its reckoning. By the end of the war, only 170 men remained to be paroled.The Civil War in Alabama: Alabama 15th Infantry Regiment. Retrieved 2010-05-21. One source gives 219 men surrendered (15 officers, 204 men): 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment Overview. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
The 15th Alabama is most famous for being the regiment that confronted the 20th Maine on Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. after several ferocious assaults, the 15th Alabama was ultimately able to dislodge the Union troops, but was eventually forced to retreat in the face of a desperate bayonet charge led by the 20th Maine's commander, Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain.Desjardin, pp. 69-71, Pfanz, p. 232. This assault was recreated in Ronald F. Maxwell's 1993 film Gettysburg.
Recruitment, organization and equipment
Recruitment The 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized by James Cantey, a planter originally from South Carolina, who was residing in Russell County, Alabama, at the outset of the Civil War. "Cantey's Rifles" formed at Ft. Mitchell, on the Chattahoochee River, in May 1861. Cantey's company was joined by ten other militia companies, all of which were sworn into state service by governor Andrew B. Moore on July 3, 1861, with Cantey as Regimental Commander.
One of these companies, from Henry County, was formed by William C. Oates, a lawyer and newspaperman from Abbeville. Oates, who would later command the whole regiment at Little Round Top, put together a company composed mostly of Irishmen recruited from the area, calling them "Henry Pioneers" or "Henry County Pioneers". Other observers, after seeing their colorful uniforms (bright red shirts, with Richmond grey frock coats and trousers), dubbed them "Oates' Zouaves".Zacharias Tims, . "Tims" added in parenthases to distinguish this from other references of the same title. Retrieved on 2010-05-21.
According to one source, the youngest private in the 15th Alabama was only thirteen years old; the oldest, Edmond Shepherd, was seventy.Zacharias Tims, . Retrieved on 2010-05-21.
Organization The 15th initially consisted of approximately 900 men; its companies, and their counties of origin, were:15th Alabama Infantry Regiment. Retrieved on 2010-05-19.
Co. "A", known as "Cantey's Rifles", from Russell County; Co. "B", known as the "Midway Southern Guards", from Barbour County; Co. "C", no nickname given, from Macon County; Co. "D", known as the "Fort Browder Roughs", from Barbour County; Co. "E", known as the "Beauregards",. Retrieved 2010-05-19. from Dale County (which then included parts of present-day Geneva and Houston counties); Co. "F", known as the "Brundidge Guards", from Pike County; Co. "G", known as the "Henry Pioneers", from Henry County (which then included nearly all of present-day Houston County); Co. "H", known as the "Glenville Guards", from Barbour and Dale counties; Co. "I", "Quitman Guards", from Pike County; Co. "K", known as the "Eufaula City Guard", from Barbour County; and Co. "L", no nickname given, from Pike County.
Following its formal swearing-in, the 15th Alabama was ordered to Pageland Field, Virginia, for training and drill. During their sojourn at Pageland, the regiment lost 150 men to measles. In September 1861, the 15th was transferred to Camp Toombes, Virginia, in part to escape the measles outbreak. Despite the move, over 200 members of the regiment died of smallpox that winter.Barnett, The Glorious Old Fifteenth,33
Equipment Companies "A" and "B" of the 15th Alabama were equipped with the M1841 Mississippi Rifle, a .54 caliber percussion rifle that had seen extensive service in the Mexican–American War and was highly regarded for its accuracy and ease of use. The other companies in the regiment were given older "George Law" smoothbore muskets, which had been converted from flintlocks to percussion rifles.15th Alabama Unit History. Retrieved on 2010-05-20. Later, the regiment received British Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle-muskets and Springfield Model 1861 rifled muskets. Since the 15th had initially enlisted for three years, it received its arms from the Confederate government, which refused to provide weapons to any regiment enlisting for a lesser period.
While details of the specific uniforms worn by other companies of the 15th has not been preserved, Oates' Co. "G" is recorded to have sported, in addition to their red and gray clothing, a "colorful and diverse attire of headgear". Each cap bore an "HP" insignia, which stood for "Henry Pioneers" (though some said it actually meant "Hell's Pelters"). Each soldier also wore a "secession badge", with the motto: "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity", which had been the motto of the French Revolution.Information and quotations from Zacharias Tims, . Retrieved on 2010-05-21.
Early service and campaigns
Valley Campaign At Camp Toombs, the 15th Alabama was brigaded with the 21st Georgia Volunteer Infantry, the 21st North Carolina Infantry Regiment and the 16th Mississippi Infantry regiments in Trimble's Brigade of Ewell's Division, part of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. After that force moved over toward Yorktown, the 15th was transferred to Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson's division, where it participated in his Valley Campaign. During this time, the 15th participated in the following engagements:History of 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
Battle of Front Royal on May 23, 1862; negligible losses. First Battle of Winchester on May 25, 1862; negligible losses. Battle of Cross Keys on June 8, 1862; 9 killed and 33 wounded, out of 426 engaged.
Following the Battle of Cross Keys, the 15th was mentioned in dispatches by its division commander, Maj. Gen. Ewell, who stated that "the regiment made a gallant resistance, enabling me to take position at leisure". Its brigade commander, Brig. Gen. Trimble, also singled out the regiment for honors during this engagement: "to Colonel Cantey for his skillful retreat from picket, and prompt flank maneuver, I think special praise is due".The 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment: Extracts from the Official War Records. Retrieved on 2010-05-23. During this particular engagement, soldiers of the 15th Alabama had the unusual opportunity of participating in every major phase of a single battle, starting with the opening skirmish at Union Church on the forward left flank, followed by withdrawing beneath the artillery duel in the center, and then finally participating in Trimble's ambush of the 8th New York and subsequent counterattack on the Confederate right flank, which brought the battle to its conclusion. National Park Service description of the Battle of Cross Keys. Retrieved 2010-12-26
Seven Days Battles Following the victorious conclusion of Jackson's Valley Campaign, the 15th participated in Jackson's attack on Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's flank during the Seven Days Battles. During this time, the 15th fought in the following sorties:
Battle of Gaines' Mill on June 27–28, 1862; 34 killed and 110 wounded, out of 412 engaged. Battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862; negligible losses.
Northern Virginia Campaign Following McClellan's retreat from Richmond, the 15th was engaged in the Northern Virginia Campaign, where it participated in the following battles:History of 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment and History of the 15th Alabama. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
Battle of Warrenton Springs Ford on August 12, 1862; losses not given. Battle of Hazel River, Virginia, on August 22, 1862; losses not given. Battle of Kettle Run (called "Manassas Junction" in regimental records) on August 30, 1862; 6 killed and 22 wounded. Second Battle of Manassas, on August 30, 1862; 21 killed and 91 wounded, out of 440 engaged. Battle of Chantilly, on September 1, 1862; 4 killed and 14 wounded.
Maryland Campaign Next up was Lee's Maryland Campaign, where the 15th Alabama saw action at:
Battle of Harper's Ferry from September 12–15, 1862; negligible losses. Battle of Antietam (called "Sharpsburg" in regimental records) on September 17, 1862; 9 killed and 75 wounded, out of 300 engaged. Battle of Shepherdstown on September 19, 1862; losses not given.
After Antietam, acting brigade commander Col. James A. Walker cited Cpt. Isaac B. Feagin, acting regimental commander, for outstanding performance while extolling the regiment as a whole: "Captain Feagin, commanding the Fifteenth Alabama regiment, behaved with a gallantry consistent with his high reputation for courage and that of the regiment he commanded".
Fredericksburg and Suffolk; reassignment Following the Confederate defeat at Antietam, the 15th Alabama participated with Jackson's corps at the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 15, 1862. Total casualties there were 1 killed and 34 wounded. The regiment was then reassigned in May 1863 to General James Longstreet's corps,Glenn W. LaFantasie, . Retrieved on 2010-05-19. which was then participating in the Siege of Suffolk, Virginia. Here it formed part of the newly created "Alabama Brigade" under Evander Law in General Hood's division, The 15th and lost 4 killed and 18 wounded at Suffolk.
The Great Snowball Fight On January 29, 1863, the 15th Alabama participated with several other regiments of the Army of Northern Virginia in what became known as "The Great Snowball Fight of 1863". Over 9000 Confederate soldiers engaged in a spontaneous, day-long free-for-all using snowballs and rocks, in which only two soldiers were seriously injured (neither from the 15th).Zacharias Tims, . See also , section "January 1863". Retrieved 2010-05-21.
Oates takes command Along with its change in Divisional assignment, the 15th Alabama received a new regimental commander: Lt. Col. William C. Oates, who had originally organized Co. "G" when the regiment first formed in 1861. Oates had lived a drifter's existence in Texas during his early adulthood, participating in numerous street brawls and spending time as a gambler. However, by 1861 he had returned to Alabama, finished his schooling, studied law, and set up a successful practice in Henry County that also included ownership of a weekly newspaper in his hometown. Opposed to Abraham Lincoln's election, Oates cautioned against precipitate secession; however, once Alabama decided to leave the Union, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the Southern cause, raising a company of volunteers that became Co. "G" of the 15th Alabama. After Cantey's promotion and transfer to a new position, Oates assumed command of the regiment as a whole. In later years, Oates would serve as Governor of Alabama, and would also command three U.S. Brigades (none of which saw combat) during the Spanish–American War.