Alan J. Pitts
Re: William Henry Simpson-Camp of Instruction
Tue Jul 3 07:57:13 2001


You may want to use the search word Talladega to find other messages exchanged on this topic. Briefly, Talladega was one of two camps of instruction established in Alabama for collecting recruits. The Confederacy was faced with a serious manpower shortage in the winter of 1862, and Congress determined on a compulsory military service law which went into effect in April 1862. Most men between the ages of 18 and 35 would be obliged to enroll, with exceptions for certain professions and other situations. Talladega and Notasulga were selected as camp sites to collect recruits, which had been volunteers up to this time. Enrolling officers in each county collected men and took them to camp, where they were enrolled and eventually assigned to a front-line unit.

As you see, Talladega was only a temporary site for recruits. Most men who were there should also have a record in an Alabama Confederate military unit. There are no photographs of the camp or the men there, collectively or individually. I'm sure there are descriptions of the camp and its operation in local histories of Talladega. But you should see other discussions as noted above.