Alabama. Governor (1857-1861 : A.B. Moore). Military correspondence, 1860-1861.
Title:
Military correspondence, 1860-1861.
This series consists of Gov. A.B. Moore's military correspondence from 1860 to 1861, containing correspondence, reports, legislative acts and resolutions, financial statements, receipts, and petitions. An act approved 1860 Feb. to "provide for the efficient military organization of the state" greatly expanded the Governor's military authority. The act established a Military Commission composed of the Governor, Adjutant and Inspector General, and Quartermaster General, and provided for a volunteer corps of eight thousand men. Much of the correspondence is from volunteer companies which after organizing and electing officers, sought the Governor's official recognition in order to draw pay and receive equipment. Also included is correspondence from county sheriffs and judges of probate in compliance with a law requiring them to locate and collect state-owned military equipment which had fallen into private hands. A great deal of correspondence concerns James R. Powell's efforts to purchase arms for the state in Washington, D.C., Richmond, Va., New York, N.Y., New Haven, Ct., and Chickapee, Mass. One of the most frequent correpondents is Duff C. Green, Moore's Quartermaster General. Topics discussed by them include the occupation by Ala. troops of the U.S. Army Arsenal at Mt. Vernon, and the capture of Forts Morgan and Gaines. Included is a copy of a letter by Moore to U.S. President James Buchanan in which Moore offers an explanation for the occupation of the Mt. Vernon Arsenal. Also included is correspondence between Moore and Fla. Gov. M.S. Perry, concerning the use of Ala. troops to aid in the capture and occupation of U.S. forts near Pensacola, Fla. Present also is correspondence with members of the government of the Confederate States of America, such as Jefferson Davis, Judah P. Benjamin, C.G. Memminger, L.P. Walker, and Thomas Hill Watts; with military officials such as Braxton Bragg and Tennent Lomax; with Ala. business leaders such as Daniel Pratt and Josiah Morris; and with state political leaders such as William Brooks, A.B. Meek, George S. Houston, Jeremiah Clemens, Edmund W. Pettus, Percy Walker, George Goldthwaite, and Rufus W. Cobb. Of particular interest is a group of letters forwarded to Moore 1861 July and Aug. from sheriffs, judges, and private citizens concerning public demonstrations of pro-Union sentiment by many people in Tuscaloosa, Walker, and Blount counties. As evidence of sedition are several letters from "Unionists" and "Lincoln men" who attempted to dissuade their friends and relatives from supporting the Confederate war effort.
ArchivalResource:
Originals: 0.5 cubic ft. (1 archives box).Copies: 2 microfilm reels.
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/81455638 View
View in SNAC
