At the break of dawn on Sunday morning, the Federal guns began to shell the Confederate positions again, although a dense ground fog obscured their view of the Confederate line. The hungry Rebels, nestled behind the Unions’ second defensive line they had overrun the previous evening, began foraging for food, as the commissary wagons had not come up. General Rodes berated his Staff and the commissary officers, insisting the troops must be fed as action was imminent. Soon the wagons arrived and cold rations were hastily distributed as the bugles blew assembly. By 6:00 A.M. the men were formed. As mentioned, the 5th Alabama was on the left flank of the Brigade in the third and rear line of battle, Jackson’s old division the second line, with A. P. Hill’s the first. Federal troops had not been idle overnight. New earthworks of log and dirt extended across the turnpike and some distance north. The plateau at Chancellorsville was ringed with men and field artillery.[43] In a few moments General A. P. Hill’s Division was hotly engaged, and Jackson’s men moved forward to their support. Their advance bogged down under the intense Federal artillery barrage and the Confederates took cover behind a breastwork that had been abandoned by the Federals.

Shortly before 8:00 A.M., Rodes’ Division was summoned forward. The Division was aligned as it had been the day before with Iverson’s Brigade on the far left, O’Neal’s Alabamians next, their right flank on the roadway, then Ramseur’s, Dole’s, and Colquitt’s Brigades. General Rodes gave his Brigade commanders specific instructions that they were to push forward until the enemy was encountered and to engage him vigorously, running over friend and foe alike, if in the way. Federal artillery was sweeping the approaches and Rodes knew he could not hesitate or falter once the men had begun to advance.[44] As the men of the 5th Alabama moved forward “through the dense woods that border the heights around Chancellorsville, a most terrific storm of shot, shell, grape and canister ploughed into their lines. The air was alive with the roar of musketry, the boom of cannon, the bursting of bombs, the unearthly whizzing of shot and grape, and the confused din of strife.” [45]

After moving forward about a mile under a heavy fire from the enemy‘s artillery, the 5th Alabama along with the rest of O’Neal’s Brigade, passed over the second line of battle, the men of Jackson’s old division, that were then lying behind the log works in the woods. At about this time, the fearless Colonel O’Neal, the Brigade commander was shot through the thigh with an artillery fuse and limped to the rear.[46] Command of the Brigade fell to the 5th Alabama’s Regimental commander, Colonel Hall. This left Captain Renfro in charge of the Regiment because Lieutenant Colonel Hobson had been wounded the previous day. The men of the 5th Alabama moved steadily forward and soon overtook and passed the first line of battle, which threw the brigade in front.[47] During the advance past the other lines of battle, the battle line of O’Neal’s Brigade fragmented and the 5th, 26th Alabama, and part of the 6th Regiments became separated from the others. Due to the dense forest, this was not discovered immediately. These two regiments moved obliquely to the right under the immediate command of Colonel Hall and encountered the fire of the enemy’s infantry posted behind a barricade on the right of the road and not two hundred yards from the Federal artillery on Fairview Heights. The Confederates returned fire and the enemy was soon compelled to abandon the barricade and fall back. The Alabamians pressed on,[48] moving forward along the edge of the Orange Turnpike. At some point beyond the Bullock Road, the right wing of the 5th Alabama Infantry and the 26th Alabama crossed to the south side of the road.[49]

A man in the Alabama Infantry wrote the following regarding the noise, confusion and horror of the attack. “As we advanced, solid shot and shell greeted us, and when we got nearer, grape accompaniment was added. There must have been fifty guns at play in front and flank. The biggest tree afforded no protection. One might as well have been in front as behind it. Limbs and the tops were falling about us as if torn by a cyclone. Then from the rear shells came shrieking over our heads from Carter’s battalion of artillery. We were enveloped, as it were, in a dense fog, the flashing of guns could be seen only a few feet away. A fellow can’t see very far in a fight, but he sees plenty when he is scared. At every breath we were inhaling sulphurous vapor fresh and hot from cannon mouth and bursting shell. What a din. What a variety of hideous noises. The ping of the minnie ball, the sputter of canister, the whistling of grape, the “where are you” “where are you” of screaming shells and the cannon’s roar from a hundred mouths went to make up the music for the great opera of death. I saw the arm and shoulder fly from the man just in front exposing his throbbing heart. Another’s foot flew up and kicked him in the face as the shell struck his leg. Another disembowelled crawled along on his fours, his entrails trailing behind, and still another held up his tongue with his hand, a piece of shell having carried away his lower jaw. Others sank to the earth as if to rest, and some plunged forward, as though tripped by a snare, never to rise again.”[50]

The trees were alive with the heavy shelling from the Union artillery. “The scene was awful,” recounted a soldier of the Brigade, “the thunder of the cannon shook the earth, while trees, struck by solid shot, toppled and fell with a crash as if smitten by lightening.” Another man said that “grape shot rattled through the timber like hailstones.”[51] Ahead of them was a hill which had twenty-six pieces of artillery planted upon it behind a strong breastwork. It was supported by three lines of infantry.[52] Still the order was “forward!” and after moving forward a short distance, the men soon found themselves confronting the breastwork of trees, and the battery which had been playing such havoc with them. The men were then ordered to lie down[53]and immediately open fire. Being somewhat protected by an elevation in the earth, the right wing of the regiment made up of Companies B, D, F, G, and I, fired at the cannoneers and the horses that were occupying the earth works to the right of the road. The left wing, Companies A, C, E, H, and K, shot at the line of the enemy on the left of the road, that was immediately in their front, not more than seventy-five yards away.[54] So heavy was the fire of the Alabamians on the Federal artillery on the hill, the gunners had great difficulty staying at their pieces and the artillery fire soon slackened. The Confederate infantry fire was kept up for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. During this time, Colonel Hall had discovered that they had been separated from the rest of the brigade and Captain Whiting, the Assistant Adjutant General, went back to bring forward the balance of the brigade. Very soon after halting, a Union Battery opened fire on their left, completely enfilading the entire line. However, due to their position, most of the shots passed harmlessly overhead. Colonel Hall again sent back orders to bring up the balance of the brigade, but it could not be found. The battery on the left continued its enfilading fire and now, heavy volleys of musketry indicated that the enemy was there with a strong force.[55] The enfilading fire from the left started to take its toll, dealing destruction throughout the ranks. This is where many of the gallant men of the 5th Alabama were wounded. 1st Sergeant John Corwin received a mortal wound while gallantly fighting near the Regimental Colors.[56] Colonel Hall then sent a message to General Rodes that if he was not reinforced, he would not be able to maintain his position. Shortly after sending this message, Colonel Hall noticed that the enemy in the works on the hill seemed in some confusion and had slackened their fire.[57] The Federal troops in front of the left wing of the regiment began to fall back and the artillery in front of the right limbered up for a retreat.[58]

Believing that the enemy on the left was being driven back, Colonel Hall immediately gave the order to charge. Once again, as they had on the battlefields of Seven Pines, 1st Cold Harbor, and Malvern Hill, the men were to make a direct frontal assault on Federal batteries spewing their missiles of death. However, not all the men of the Regiment had heard the order. Captain Renfro and many of the men charged through the thickest of the fight onto the heights at Fairview. There, at the very mouth of the enemy’s cannon, fell Captain Renfro, pierced with four balls, all of which struck him at about the same time, inflicting a mortal wound.[59] Due to the mortal wounding of Captain Renfro, while bravely leading the advance, Captain Thomas M. Riley of Company C, being the senior officer, now assumed command of the regiment.

The regimental Color Sergeant was also mortally wounded as they advanced. “Just as we were ordered to charge, our color-sergeant was wounded (Color Sergeant Henry Clay Estell of Company B) and George Nutting, seizing the colors, waved them in proud triumph and cried, “Come on, boys!” That portion of the regiment who heard the order to charge stormed the heights, charging up the hill. The colors of the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment were the first planted in the breastworks.[60] Now in possession of the works, the men continued firing upon the retreating enemy. The 26th Alabama and part of the 6th Alabama, joined the 5th Alabama in the works. The flag of the 26th Alabama was planted within a short distance of the 5th Alabama’s flag. It was about 9:00 A.M. Noticing at that time that all the men had not moved forward at the order to charge, Colonel Hall moved back and ordered the rest of the men forward. While hurrying these men forward, Colonel Hall saw a body of men to his left, running, He called to an officer that was passing, wanting to know whose men they were and what was going on. He was informed that they were from the Iverson’s Brigade on their left and that they wouldn’t fight. Colonel Hall pointed to the works and told him that his men held them, and called on the officer to rally his men and assist in resisting the Federal troops now advancing to their left and rear. The men could not be rallied.[61]

The Federals continued to press upon the left flank and had nearly surrounded the men in the works. The Confederates fired a few rounds, and seeing that the enemy was too numerous for their small force, they retired, discovering at about this time that their right wing was now in the rear and was being driven back. Simultaneously, Carter’s Battery opened upon the enemy on their left, and Captain Riley ordered the men to fire into the enemy on their right, in order to create as much confusion in their ranks as possible, which was promptly obeyed by all who heard the command. By this means many made their escape passing directly through the enemy’s lines.[62] However, not everyone escaped. George Nutting, who had been slightly wounded while advancing with the colors, was captured along with the regimental colors, and many of the men on the right flank.[6

The Yankees had surrounded the remnants of the regiment within the breastworks and ordered George Nutting to surrender the Colors, but he refused. Two other men of Company D were with him, and when the Yankees threatened to shoot them all, the others had begged him to surrender the flag. George threw it into the woods as far as he could, saying; “There is not a damn Yankee living that I would hand that flag to.”[64]

The flag was soon recovered and many of the men of the 5th Alabama who had made this gallant charge were captured at that time. According to Colonel Cobham of the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry, the colours of the 5th Alabama were surrendered to him by Captain Elijah Buckley Mosley of Company F, along with his sword. These men were quickly moved to the rear of the Union lines. They would be sent to Washington, D.C., the next da

The men who were able to escape the redoubt or had not heard the order to charge, fell back into the woods. Private Jeremiah Tate of Company H recalls the moment, “…the remainder of the Company made their escape as I did by hard running the enemy was on three sides of us and there was but one little gap to run out at we made it safe, the balls came thicker around us than ever you saw June bugs around a peach tree. I expected any minute for one to strike me but I came out safe. The tide of affairs soon changed and the Yankees were going the other way as fast as quarter horses…”[65] Going to the rear, the men joined with the troops advancing to the attack and carried the works again, but were a second time driven back, as before, from the left, due to insufficient support.[66] On the slope of Fairview, a Union Major told a friend that “the Rebs seemed drunk,” the way they kept charging in solid waves, three deep.[67] In a few moments the Stonewall Brigade charged up and the men of the 5th Alabama reformed their line of battle and went forward with them re-occupying their position atop the breastworks for a third time. This was about twenty minutes after the initial capture of the works in which the flag had been lost. Many of the men of the regiment, who were now in the works, were surprised to see on the field of battle so many of the 5th Alabama dead and wounded, not knowing that a short time ago other men of the regiment had occupied those breastworks.[68]

The following is an account from a Union soldier, Lieutenant Clay MacCauley, that involved a man in O’Neal’s Brigade, quite possibly a man in the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment. “It was an ugly give and take,” he recalled. “We could not see the enemy but the whizz and ting of bullets proved that they were not far away.” In the excitement some of his troops stood to load and shoot, and kept standing in spite of the enemy fire. One of MacCauley’s men forgot to pull his ramrod. He fired and it went whanging off through the leaves. To get him another, MacCauley slipped back to where he had seen a musket lying. He had gone only a few feet when “an irresistible sense of loneliness and dread seized me……Soon I was practically panic-stricken.” Running, he picked up the lost musket and rushed back to the line. “I never felt more alone or helpless than in those few moments of isolation from my comrades,” he wrote. “I was sure that each moment would bring death.” Bullets cut the brush around him to waist height. Ammunition was dwindling. One after another, MacCauley’s men stopped firing. “Something had gone wrong. The men began to feel it. As our fire slackened, I notice a foreboding disorder on our right…..a feeling of suspense and doubt seemed to thrill along the line.” A spent bullet painfully bruised his ribs. “The disorder, changing into tumult, came nearer and nearer. At last it swept in on the company next to mine. Then it struck my own company’s right. The companies, rising in successive ranks from the ground, the men with questioning looks at one another, started at first slowly and then rapidly backward.” It was not a panic, MacCauley said, but “a rather disorderly falling back of almost helpless men, from a coming danger they felt themselves powerless to resist.” “A wave rolling backwards on a curving beach does not more steadily sweep broken on its’ way than did the retreat of our battle line from right to left,” MacCauley wrote. The Rebels seeing this, charged along the Union line. Suddenly, MacCauley was alone. He started to run, but his legs got tangled with his sword and he tripped. Getting up, he tried to force his way through the thicket as the bullets slashed around him. He fell again, too exhausted to get up. He crawled beside a badly mangled man and started to give him water from his canteen. Looking up, he saw Confederates coming. It was like “some dreadful dream,” he said. He tried to run, but an advancing Rebel pointed his musket straight at him. Half-risen, MacCauley stared for what seemed minutes into the muzzle of the oncoming weapon. Everything else around him, men rushing through the woods, seemed in a faraway mist – “my brain was concentrated on that one advancing figure.” When the Rebel came close, he lowered his bayonet at MacCauley’s chest and yelled, “You God damn son of a bitch, give me that sword!” The attacker was a big, tawny-bearded Alabamian. Then, seeing how young MacCauley was, he leaned over and asked if MacCauley was hurt. “I don’t know,” said the scared Lieutenant. “Get me out of this.” MacCauley realized that the Yankee cannon would tear the woods apart as soon as the Rebels showed their colors. “I had no desire to be killed by grape, canister, shell, or anything else from our own guns,” he said. He urged the Alabamian to run with him, fast, and his captor put an arm under his shoulders, half carrying him to the Rebel rear. Barely a hundred yards back, “the expected happened. It seemed as if a tornado out of a clear blue sky had all at once burst upon that forest.” The two men dived into a hole. For ten minutes, “a roaring torrent of iron plunged through the air above us. We were almost covered by fallen tree limbs and branches. The noise was horrible.” When the shelling lifted, bleeding survivors of the 5th and 6th Alabama came streaming back. MacCauley and his friend ran with them until their flight was halted by officers in the next battle line. MacCauley was taken further back, where he formally surrendered his sword to General Rodes. Rodes sent him to the rear, past scores of Union and Confederate dead. Twice, MacCauley said, batteries racing to the front along the Plank Road ran over these fallen soldiers, “the hoofs of the horses and the carriage wheels crushing and mutilating the bodies of friend and foe.” Hundreds of wounded lay by the road, sheltered from the sun by blankets held up by muskets, each weapon with its bayonet stuck in the ground and its hammer closed on a blanket corner. Despite the uncaring cruelty of the artillery drivers, MacCauley got “nothing but kind words and treatment from the Rebels on the battlefield.”[69]

The fighting which had been primarily carried by the infantry all morning, now changed into an artillery duel. The Confederate batteries battered the retiring enemy, while the Union guns worked to prevent any further advance by the Rebel troops. All the men were far too exhausted to carry the fight any further. As the artillery shells continued to explode amongst the trees, the underbrush caught fire. Hundreds of the wounded were burnt to death before they could be reached by the stretcher-bearers.[70] An account written for the newspaper provides more detail. “Whilst the press teem with individual acts of heroism exhibited in the late battles of Chancellorsville, permit me to mention one, which I consider second to none in this army of heroes. The men belonging to the "Ambulance Corps," being required to keep very near the rear of the Regiment to gather up the wounded, are constantly exposed to the fire of the enemy, and not having an opportunity to return the fire of the enemy there is no excitement to drown the thought of danger. At every step one meets with his dead and wounded comrades, and so powerful is the effect upon the nerves that many men who have acted well in line of battle, falter in this position. After the battle had been raging for some hours on Sunday, the woods, being thickly covered with dead leaves, were fired by the shells, where hundreds of our brave wounded comrades lay helplessly scattered. Upon these woods the enemy poured a most terrific and deadly fire and it seemed death to enter them in this awful hour. But Jesse R. Bettis, (a Private in Company I) of the "Ambulance Corps," exhibited the heroic courage of a Christian soldier. He did not falter for a moment, but went through the woods, raked the leaves from around them and thus saved hundreds of helpless wounded men from perishing in the flames. Hundreds of the wounded enemy were burned, because we could render them no assistance. It required the courage of a lion to face the shower of deadly missiles that swept every part of the woods where our helpless wounded were lying—and he who braved the storm to rescue them deserves to have his name written in letters of gold.”[71]

The regiment was now reformed on the left of the Orange Turnpike with the remainder of the brigade, to support the troops in front, but as the enemy soon retreated, their services were not needed again that day. Late in the day they were marched to Chancellorsville, and formed a line near that place,[72] at the intersection of the Orange Turnpike and the eastern connection to the Orange Plank Road. The taking of the breastworks on the heights of Fair View clinched victory for the Confederates. The two wings of their army were now united. The Federal Army retreated to a strong defensive position north of the Chancellor House with their flanks protected by the Rappahannock River. The Confederates slept undisturbed on the field that night.

The next day no advance was made by either party and both sides were busily engaged in fortifying their position. The 5th Alabama and her Brigade mates remained positioned on the north side of the Orange Turnpike just west of Chancellorsville. The quiet was unbroken except for the occasional firing of the pickets. The Sharpshooter Battalion remained close to enemy lines, sniping and exchanging fire with the Yankee sharpshooters under Berdan. On Tuesday, May 5, 1863, the sharpshooters were ordered to advance and find out as much as possible about the strength and position of the enemy. Major Blackford later wrote that they “advanced to within a few hundred yards of their works, and made a fair plan of their position.” The Union troops, believing that the whole Confederate line was advancing, opened a raking fire of grape and canister upon them. The Confederate batteries replied “and for a few moments, the din and roar were fearful.” The Sharpshooters probed the enemy lines; however, they suffered great loss from the grape, canister, and musketry that was rained upon them.[73] That night, there was a severe rain storm, and Hooker’s Army took advantage of this to withdraw back over the Rappahannock River.

In the morning, yet another probe was order. This time the Sharpshooters found the works abandoned. The sharpshooters had been the first to engage the enemy and they had also been the last. The Confederates discovering, that the Union forces had retreated, immediately sent out parties to pick up prisoners, and gather up arms and other property. Blackford continues, “Pursuing them to the river, my men took many prisoners and acquired much plunder. One of their prizes was a tiny jackass, “not more than four feet tall,” that one of the sharpshooters captured. The rifleman, “after hearing something in the bushes, “waited patiently for his shot, only to see the pathetic little animal, loaded with ammunition, crashing through the underbrush.” Blackford renamed the diminutive beast “Johnny Hooker” and took him to carry his baggage. Although finding a pack animal was a pleasant surprise, many of the scenes on the battlefield were horrific. “All the Yankee wounded were burnt to death by the burning leaves which the shells set afire.” wrote Blackford after reaching the river. “The sight was perfectly horrible – enough to make one’s hair turn gray. The whole atmosphere was impregnated with the odor of burning flesh.”[74] At about 2 or 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the 5th Alabama left the field. They reached their old camp near Grace Church at about 10 o’clock that night.[75]

The Confederate victory at Chancellorsville had cost both sides dearly. On the second day of the battle, May 3, 1863, there had been a casualty every second for five and a half hours! It had been a horrendous contest. The Union losses were greater at just over 17,000 killed, wounded, or missing. The Confederates listed just under 13,000 men killed, wounded, or missing, but Chancellorsville will always be remembered with great remorse on the Confederate side. For it was there in the darkness on May 2, 1863, that General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was mortally wounded by his own troops. The 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment lost about 291 men. (K/W/C) Twenty-five men were killed on the field, sixteen others were mortally wounded. One Hundred and forty-three men were wounded, but would survive their wounds. Twenty-eight of the wounded were subsequently captured along with at least an additional one hundred and eleven men. On Sunday, May 3, 1863, Company D had carried thirty-two men into the charge on the Yankee breastworks. Of those men, four were killed, one was mortally wounded, another fourteen were wounded, and the remainder were captured in the works.[76] Not one man of Company D answered the roll on May 6, 1863.

[1] “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” by Fred L. Ray, page 52

[2] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[3] “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” by Fred L. Ray, page 53

[4] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[5] “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” by Fred L. Ray, page 53

[6] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[7] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[8] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[9] “The Battle of Chancellorsville” text by Joseph P. Cullen, Civil War Times Illustrated, Eastern Acorn Press, page 22

[10] “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” by Fred L. Ray, page 53

[11] “Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave” by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 166

[12] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[13] “Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee’s Army” by James K. Swisher, page 93

[14] “Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave” by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 5

[15] “The ‘Burning Shame’ of Chancellorsville” by John F. Krumwiede, America’s Civil War Magazine, May 2001, page 31

[16] “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” by Fred L. Ray, page 53-54

[17] http://fredericksburg.com/CivilWar/Battle/chanc_story?dy=07272002&fn=677511 Robert K. Krick

[18] “Chancellorsville and the Germans” by Christian Keller, page 60

[19] “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” by Fred L. Ray, page 54-55

[20] “Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee’s Army” by James K. Swisher, page 94

[21]Douglas, Henry Kyd I Rode With Stonewall. St. Simons Island, Georgia: Mockingbird Books, Inc.

[22] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[23] “Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave” by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 183

[24] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[25] “Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee’s Army” by James K. Swisher, page 94

[26] “The ‘Burning Shame’ of Chancellorsville” by John F. Krumwiede, America’s Civil War Magazine, May 2001, page 31, 32

[27] “Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee’s Army” by James K. Swisher, page 94

[28] Diary of Sergeant T. J. Evans – 25th Ohio Infantry Regiment

[29] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[30] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[31] “Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee’s Army” by James K. Swisher, page 94

[32] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[33] “The ‘Burning Shame’ of Chancellorsville” by John F. Krumwiede, America’s Civil War Magazine, May 2001, page 32

[34] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[35] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[36] “The Beacon” Greensboro, Alabama – June 5, 1863

[37] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 951

[38]Shelby W. Chadwick- letter to “The Beacon” May 11, 1863

[39] “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” by Fred L. Ray, page 55

[40] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[41] Letter of Jeremiah Tate dated May 10, 1863 – The Gilder Lehrman Collection, New York Historical Society (GLC2082.33)

[42] Diary of Samuel Pickens

[43] “Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee’s Army” by James K. Swisher, page 97

[44] “Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee’s Army” by James K. Swisher, page 98-99

[45] Shelby W. Chadwick- letter to “The Beacon” May 11, 1863

[46] “Chancellorsville- The Soldiers Battle” by Frank A. O’Reilly, Blue & Gray magazine, XXIX, No. 5, 2013, page 42

[47] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry

[48] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 943

[49] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 965

[50] “Third Alabama! The Civil War Memoirs of Cullen Andrews Battle, CSA” edited by Brandon H. Beck, pages 71-72

[51] “Chancellorsville- The Soldiers Battle” by Frank A. O’Reilly, Blue & Gray magazine, XXIX, No. 5, 2013, page 24

[52] Clarke County Journal- May 21, 1863. http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/al/clarke/military/ghillgurd.txt

Submitted by Jackie Feldman Jackiefeld@aol.com

[53] “Chancellorsville- The Soldiers Battle” by Frank A. O’Reilly, Blue & Gray magazine, XXIX, No. 5, 2013, page 42

[54]Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry

[55] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 954

[56] “The Beacon” Greensboro, Alabama – June 5, 1863

[57] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 954

[58] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry

[59] “The Beacon” Greensboro, Alabama – June 5, 1863

[60] Letter Written to “The Beacon” by Shelby Chadwick Dated May 11, 1863

[61] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 954

[62] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry

[63] Letter Written to “The Beacon” by Shelby Chadwick Dated May 11, 1863

[64] Greensboro Record, January 14, 1904, “Captain Jonathan Whitehead Williams – His Life and Times With the 5th Alabama, C.S.A. Company “D” Greensboro Guards”

[65] Letter of Jeremiah Tate dated May 10, 1863 – The Gilder Lehrman Collection, New York Historical Society (GLC2082.33)

[66] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry

[67] “Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave” by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 239

[68] “The Flag of the 5th Alabama Regiment,” Greensboro Record, April 9, 1904

[69] “Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave” by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 237-238

[70] Letter of Jeremiah Tate dated May 10, 1863 – The Gilder Lehrman Collection, New York Historical Society (GLC2082.33)

[71] Clarke County Journal, June 18, 1863, page 2, column 4

[72] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry

[73] “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” by Fred L. Ray, page 58

[74] “Shock Troops of the Confederacy” by Fred L. Ray, page 59

[75] Letter Written to “The Beacon” by Shelby Chadwick Dated May 11, 1863

[76] Greensboro Record, January 14, 1904, “Captain Jonathan Whitehead Williams – His Life and Times With the 5th Alabama, C.S.A. Company “D” Greensboro Guards”