Hayes Lowe
Home Guard
Fri Mar 9 08:25:10 2001


Not to answer for Alan, but until he sees your question and is able to reply, I can offer you a couple of answers.

First, if Home Guard service was the only service, then no, he was not eligible for a pension. As I understand it, State of Alabama service did not qualify one for a pension. And, this was State service.

Second, he likely was never actively engaged against the enemy, but some Home Guard units were. For example, the Pickens Greys Home Guard was engaged in April 1865 (and won against a similar sized group of seasoned Union Cavalry).

Third, there has been a great deal of discussion on this board regarding the Home Guard. There purpose/effectiveness/duties, etc. have been debated. It seems that those of us who have looked at the issue have come to different conclusions based, I guess, on local evidence and incidents. Use the search term "home", using the search feature at the bottom of the page, and this will retrieve those discussions for you.+

• ditto — Alan J. Pitts, Fri Mar 9 10:28