Civil War
From Tuskaloosa
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Civil War and Tuskaloosa
The two representatives, Robert Jemison, Jr., and William R. Smith were opposed to Alabama's secession The leaders of the state felt that the free blacks would pose a threat to the state and they introduced legislation to force them to leave the state Robert Jemison, Jr. submitted a relief bill to exempt his free black friends Perteet and King from the exile orders. Federal prisoners taken at Bull Run, were brought to Tuscaloosa Sargent Henry Wirz guarded the prisons on their trip to Tuscaloosa. Wirz was then given command of the prison - the prison was actually warehouses and hotels in town. When the camp at Andersonville, Georgia was built, Wirz and his prisoners were transferred there. Wirz later became the only man hanged for war crimes during the civil war. Prices of food during the civil war were very high in Tuscaloosa. Flour was $600.00 per barrel Sugar was $30.00 per pound A turkey was $175.00
The Raid on Tuscaloosa
Although Tuscaloosa did not see a major battle during the Civil War, there was a raid on the city by General John Croxton. He and his 1500 men entered the city, five days before the end of the war, and burned much of the University of Alabama. Below are some of the highlights of this raid: The war came to Tuscaloosa five days before General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Grant. March 1865 - Brigadier General John Croxton was given orders to "proceed rapidly by the most direct route to Tuscaloosa to destroy the bridge, factories, mills, university and whatever else may be of value to the rebel cause." Croxton's Raiders were actually about 1500 federal troops. The raiders burned the University, a Confederate hospital, hotel, and factories. They pillaged home, taking money, food, jewelry, horses, mules and other stock. Even the vaults in a cemetery were pried off as the raiders looked for valuables. The invaders approached the city from the North. It took Croxton's troops nearly a day to ferry across the Warrior River. Several of his men didn't make it across the river and were seen floating under the bridge between Tuscaloosa and Northport. The city was surrendered by then Mayor Berry and Catholic Priest William McDonough. They carried the white flag down River hill to the invading troops. Bombs were thrown into the doors and windows of the Universities Rotunda. Four dormitories, a faculty house, laboratory, and library were also burned. The President's Mansion, the observatory, Gorgas House and a round guard house were spared. During the raid on Tuscaloosa 2 Confederate soldiers were wounded and only 1 was killed. Croxton lost 32 men including two officers. Capt. Benjamin F. Eddins, a retired 53 year old Confederate Officer, was wounded during the fighting at the covered bridge late on the night of April 3, 1865 and died from his wound on April 10, 1865. Capt. Eddins is the only known person from Tuscaloosa County to die while defending it from an invading army. The 5th Alabama Infantry Regimental Band was formed by 14 members from Tuscaloosa, Greensboro, Uniontown, and Cahaba in 1861 and served through the war in the army of northern Virginia. Remnants of this proud unit were with General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox. They were reformed several years ago and now more than 40 dedicated people from Tuscaloosa, South Alabama, and the West Alabama areas play for re-enactments, civic organizations, and Civil War Preservation fund raising benefits..For more information you can visit their page at http://www.angelfire.com/al/FifthAlabamaBand/
Day by Day
March 29, 1865 (Saturday)
General Wilson, commanded a force of more than 12,000 Union cavalrymen and 1,500 dismounted men, came from Jasper in Walker county. He then ordered Croxton to proceed to Tuscaloosa Croxton's Raiders came directly down the Huntsville Road towards Tuscaloosa. This was the first time enemy troops had entered the county.
April 1, 1865 (Sunday)
At Trion, now Vance, they camped at the farm of John White. At Mr. White's farm the Raiders were attacked by General W. H. Jackson. General Jackson managed to drive the Raiders back towards Birmingham. He believed that he had won a victory over Croxton and his Raiders. No Confederate soldiers were killed during this battle. Croxton's Raiders lost thirty-two men, including two officers. Croxton and the Raiders were not defeated, instead they made their way towards Black Rock Shoals, more than thirty miles upstream from Tuscaloosa In the evening the Raiders came to Lynn's Park at Sanders Ferry (some accounts call it Johnson's Ferry.) The ferry in on the line between Tuscaloosa and Walker counties. The actual ferry was a large flat boat. As the troops crossed rain swollen river the men and wagons would be in the boat and the horses would have to swim along side. Some men and horses didn't make the trip across the river. Their bodies were seen floating in the river between Tuscaloosa and Northport. In an e-mail from a Dennis Campbell - Nat Sanders was just a young boy at the time and was tending the ferry. As the story goes, the Yankees forced Grandfather Sanders to ferry them across the river and when he had finished, they sent him back to the opposite river bank with instructions to chop holes in the bottom of the boat. When he reached the other side, he jumped from the boat and hid behind trees on the bank. Of course, the Yanks fired their rifles - but they were unsuccessful in hitting their target.
April 3, 1865 (Monday)
The raiders start their march from the ferry. They traveled on what was known as Watermelon Road. In advance of the troops, Croxton had spies in the city. One of the Federal spies was shot and placed in the Confederate hospital in Tuscaloosa, the others escaped. While in Tuscaloosa, the spies learned that there were two cannons in town and they learned where the cannons were hidden.
April 4, 1865 (Tuesday)
Early in the morning, the troops reached the outskirts of Northport As Croxton neared the covered bridge between Northport and Tuscaloosa, he discovered that the confederates were destroying the floor of the bridge. After a very short exchange, the federals gained control of the bridge. The wool hat factory on the Northport side of the river was destroyed. Two six pound cannons were were captured by the Federals. Also captured was Captain John Perkins as he hitched the horses to the cannons. It was thought that if the citizens of Tuscaloosa had been able to place the cannons on top of River Hill, there would have been a lot more blood shed on the Federals side. Instead, only a few shots were fired on each side. A Confederate Officer, Captain Carpenter was captured by the Federals at his wedding party. Because they were so outnumbered (300 cadets to 1500 soldiers) the cadets from the University of Alabama were ordered to retreat and they marched to Hurricane Creek - nine miles from Tuscaloosa. The next day they tore up the floor and barricaded the King's bridge over Hurricane Creek and then proceeded to Marion in Perry county. There they disbanded and made their way home. General Croxton stayed at his headquarters in the city and sent troops to the University. As the troops were destroying the building, the professor of modern languages, Andrew Deloriffe, tried to show the commanding officer of the Federals how useless it was to burn the library. The officer wrote a note to General Croxton asking if he could spare the library. The answer was "My orders leave me no discretion." The commanding officer then took a copy of the Koran, the Mohammedan Bible, as a "Memento" and ordered the building torched. Mrs. Garland saved the President's house and Mrs. Chapman saved the Observatory. After the University was ablaze, the troops then destroyed the saltpeter factory about a half mile south of the University. Then they burned the cotton factory of Baugh, Kennedy and Company, the tan yard of C. M. Foster, the foundry of Leach and Avery, and the cotton warehouses on each bank of the Black Warrior River. The only thing the Federals did to the insane hospital was to confiscate their horses and mules. The Confederate Depository was robbed of $1,000,000 in Confederate money and $2,000,000 in vouchers.
April 5, 1865 (Wednesday)
General Croxton began to devise a plan for rejoining General James Wilson. There was a rumor that "Jackson is coming" to Tuscaloosa. They thought he was only a few miles out of town, so the decision was make to quickly leave. As the Federals were leaving Tuscaloosa, they placed the captured cannons in the middle of the bridge, poured on a flammable substance and lit the bridge. In their haste to leave the town, all the Federal troops didn't make it across the bridge before it burned. The company that was left behind went to Saunders' ferry road and crossed the ferry nine miles below town. After leaving Tuscaloosa, the Federals stopped in Romulus
April 6, 1865 (Thursday)
Several of Croxton's men became separated from the main group. One of those separated was Major W. H. Fielder. Major Fielder and two privates were captured by a local farmer named John Horton. These three were carried to Eutaw and placed in jail.
April 7, 1865 (Friday)
The Federals moved back to Northport and waited to hear from General Wilson.
April 8, 1865 (Saturday)
The Federal troops moved up the Byler road. About six of the Federals used brutal violence to rob a Mr. John Prewett of $26,000 in gold. Mr. Prewett had hidden the gold in a cave and refused to tell the Federals where it was. The only way they discovered the gold through subjecting one of his old slaves to punishment.
April 11, 1865
Croxton and his raiders traveled up Jasper Road, through Windom Springs and finally out of Tuscaloosa County into the Wolfe Creek community of Walker County.
The information on this page came from two sources - The Old Tuskaloosa magazine and Tuscaloosa-portrait of an Alabama County. Although I have tried to be as accurate as possible - there are some conflicting dates and times. As more material becomes available, I will update the information on this page.
