Douglas R. Anderson
35th Alabama Infantry
Thu Sep 7 12:50:19 2000


As many of you may or may not know, the "official" rosters of many North Alabama units are not the complete rosters of these units. I discovered this some time ago while researching my family history. I have a great grandfather who served as a private in the 35th Alabama Infantry. My source for this information is his Confederate headstone. As I researched various sources for a roster of the 35th I discovered that his name was not among those listed as members of the regiment. No records seemed to exist regarding my ancestor. I began to entertain doubts as to whether he actually served in the 35th Alabama or not. I read every article on the 35th that I could find. I tracked the regiment's movements across Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia with the help of the Official Records and still I found no reference to my ancestor. Just as I was about to give up finding "proof" of my great grandfather's involvement with the regiment, my cousin gave me some photocopies of a few tattered pages found in an old book that had languished for many years, untouched, on a shelf in my grandfather's old farmhouse. These pages held the proof for which I had searched for so long. The pages were from a book written by the Rev. Albert Theodore Goodloe of Tennessee. In those dark days of war he was attached to Company D of the 35th Alabama Infantry. Some years after the war he set to work writing down his memories and put them into a book entitled, Some Rebel Relics from the Seat of War, published in 1893 by the Publishing House of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Nashville, Tennessee. In a few brief paragraphs Lt. Goodloe noted that my great grandfather, Rufus Hafley and another soldier named Milton Gray, were sent out to scout enemy movements west of Atlanta, Georgia on the 20th of August, 1864. In short order they returned from the scout with a young Yankee Lieutenant in tow. They had captured Union General Cox's Aide-de-camp!

Since finding the elusive proof I have been compiling a list of all soldiers that are known to have served in the 35th Alabama Infantry. Once the list is complete I hope to publish it in either book or electronic form. I do not just want to publish a list of names, but I would like to add a little substance in the form of a biographical sketch to each soldier who took up his country's banner during those dark days. If any of you researchers have any information regarding the 35th Alabama Infantry, I would gladly share information from my research with you. I have identified in excess of 800 men associated with the regiment and feel that there are more to be found. Help me give these men the recognition they deserve.






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