John C. Carter
Pope Walker brigade
Mon Mar 19 11:35:20 2001


Alan...thanks for the information.

The mention of the Pope Walker Battalion was a quick afterthougt at the end of a letter from William Cowan McClellan of the 9th Alabama to his family back in Limestone. A better quote from his brother, Robert A. McClellan,to William on that subject was sent in a letter from Limestone Co. on October 5, 1861: "Nick [Davis] will be Col. of the regiment now forming at Huntsville. Clint [Davis] was out a day too since. He has a cavalry company about made up. It will belong to Pope Walker's brigade under Colonel James Clanton of Montgomery..." He is using "brigade" instead of "battalion."

Later in a letter dated October 18, 1861 from Camp Bradshaw near Huntsville, Alabama, Robert wrote to William: "There are now three thousand men here and we are daily expecting three thousand more. The whole so given to Gen. L.P. Walker's brigade. This army composed of as it is will be exclusively of Alabamians bound together by state pride as well as national patriotism...Our company is now a battalion, whether we can get four more companies the requisite number to form a regiment I do not know..."

After that, his next letters written in November are postmarked Shoalford, Alabama and are written from home, so it looks like he gave up waiting. Robert joined the 7th/9th Alabama Cavalry a few months after that. I know that Nick Davis never got his regiment, but I have seen his name mentioned as a Colonel in a Battalion. Several of the Limestone men contemplating joining this outfit ended up later in the 26th-50th Alabama.

Any further information you have on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John






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