Jim Martin
An account with a source... (Hayes, Alan?)
Tue Apr 10 10:17:00 2001


Okay, here's an account of the 5th Alabama Battalion at the Wilderness with a source. What is "Jaynes"? This description means this counterattack occurred on the evening of May 5th, 1864.

To meet the threat, the sickly A.P. Hill ordered a small battalion from the 5th Alabama, numbering some 125 men, to charge the oncoming Federals, "firing fast and giving the Rebel yell as though regiment after regiment were coming" (Jaynes, 1986, p. 71). Meeting the demands of this emergency with the utmost bravery, the Alabamians stopped the approaching troops cold and forced them to halt their movements. Fortunately for the outnumbered Confederates, darkness fell upon the Wilderness before any more could be done. Wadsworth men had to stay put, but they still were a serious threat to the Confederate flank.

This was taken from: http://www.i5ive.com/article.cfm/american_civil_war/32375