Judy Wills
Rudulph Volunteers
Tue Sep 19 18:34:07 2000


Merle,
Sorry I missed your message. First of all I have all
three of the men you mentioned in Co. I of the 45th AL. You
might be interested to know that John F. Sansom was related
to the sainted Emma Sansom, who as a young girl, helped Gen.
Nathan Bedford Forrest find a fordable place in the river
near Gadsden so that he could get his men across after his
retreat into N. Alabama. This was when he was trying to lure Gen. Sherman away from his infamous "March to the Sea" after the Battle of Atlanta.
Secondly, the name is Rudulph Volunteers as the militia
company was known before it became Co. I of the 45th AL. It is named for Col. John B. Rudulph. Of interest is the fact
that the Rudulph Volunteers were in service at Ft.Barran- cas, FL as early as March 1861 before Ft. Sumter was fired
on. Had Lincoln chosen to pick another fort to resupply and
fortify, the War Between the States could have started at
Pensacola instead of Charleston, SC.
Judy Wills
PS: Please email me privately and let's swap information.
JKW

• To Judy Wills and Mr. Hanes re: Randolph — Rick Greene, Wed Sep 20 17:54