The following is a brief sketch of his war record:

Blackford, Eugene, New Co. A, Major. He was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on April 11, 1839, and was educated at the University of Virginia. He was teaching in Clayton, Alabama, when the war broke out. He was enlisted in Company K on May 15, 1861, at Clayton, Alabama, as Captain of the Company. He appears on the Company Muster Rolls for 1861 listed as “Present”. He was appointed Major of the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment on April 29, 1862. He accepted his appointment on May 15, 1862, and was promoted to Major on July 17, 1862. He appears on a Register of Institute Hospital, Richmond, Virginia, listed as having been admitted on August 28, 1862, suffering from Typhoid Fever. He was furloughed on September 9, 1862. He appears on a Register of C. S. A. General Hospital, Charlottesville, Virginia, listed as having been admitted on April 20, 1863, suffering from “Debilitas”. He appears on a List of General, Field, and Staff Officers of Major General D. H. Hill’s Division commanded by Brigadier General R. E. Rodes, present with their commands, at the Battle of Chancellorsville, May 2 and 3, 1863. He appears on a Report of Field, Staff, and Company Officers of Rodes’ Brigade actually engaged or under fire, at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 and 3, 1863. He took command of the Regiment after the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House on May 12, 1864. Both Colonel J. M. Hall and Lieutenant Colonel E. L. Hobson had been wounded at Spotsylvania, leaving Major Eugene Blackford as the senior officer of the Regiment. His bout with Typhoid Fever had left him with very painful varicose veins in his legs and torso. At times it was difficult to walk or ride his horse. During the Battle of Cedar Creek on October 19, 1864, he was unable to keep pace with the Regiment due to the crippling pain. He subsequently faced a Court-Martial charged with “Absence Without Leave” and “Misbehaviour Before The Enemy”. He was convicted and subsequently dismissed from the service on November 3, 1864. However, after further review, his sentence was remitted by President Jefferson Davis on February 11, 1865. He died in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1907.

Of course, under the command of General Robert Rodes, Major Eugene Blackford was selected to develop the first Sharpshooter Battalion of the Army of Northern Virginia. For more information, I highly recommend "Shock Troops of the Confederacy" by Fred L. Ray.

I believe Fred Ray is also writing a biography of Major Eugene Blackford and this may already be in print.