Cedar Creek Guards fought at the 'bloodiest single day in U.S. military history' and other major battles

The Battle of Antietam

Today – July 1 – is the anniversary of one of the most momentous days in Wilcox County’s military history as it marks 158 years since the arrival of the 44^th Alabama Infantry at Richmond, Virginia on July 1, 1862. The 44^th Alabama included the Cedar Creek Guards, whose ranks were filled with men from Wilcox County. As it turned out, July 1, 1862 was only the start of the unit’s many adventures during the War Between the States.

According to “Men of Wilcox: They Wore the Gray” by Ouida Star Woodson, the Cedar Creek Guards “drew men from Wilcox, Dallas and Butler counties to its ranks. John W. Purifoy was elected captain of the company at its organization in March 1862. It became Co. C of the 44^th Alabama Infantry at the time of the regiment’s organization at Selma on May 16, 1862.”

A short time after their arrival in Virginia, the Cedar Creek Guards found themselves in action at the Battle of Second Manassas (also known as the Second Battle of Bull Run), which was fought on Aug. 29-30, 1862. During this historic battle, the Cedar Creek Guards fought on the right wing of the Army of Northern Virginia. Even though the Confederates were outnumbered by an estimated 27,000 men, the battle resulted in a Rebel victory.

A few weeks later, on Sept. 17, the Cedar Creek Guards fought at the Battle of Sharpsburg (also known as the Battle of Antietam), which was one of the most important battles in American history. With a combined number of 22,717 dead, wounded or missing, this was the bloodiest single day in U.S. military history and resulted in a strategic Union victory. Five days later, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the states that had seceded from the Union.

Two years after their first arrival in Richmond, the Cedar Creek Guards found themselves at another decisive battle in American history, the Battle of Gettysburg. Here, as part of the First Corps, they fought at Devil’s Den, Big Round Top and at the famous Peach Orchard. Sources also say that the Cedar Creek Guards captured the only two Union cannons brought off the battlefield by Confederates at Gettysburg.

Nearly a year later, in May 1864, the Cedar Creek Guards fought at the Battle of Spotsylvania and the Battle of the Wilderness. From there, they fell back to Petersburg, where they helped repel a Union siege that lasted over nine months. As the war came to a close, what was left of the Cedar Creek Guards found themselves at Appomattox, where General Robert E. Lee surrendered his beleaguered army to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.

In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading audience with more information about the Cedar Creek Guards. No doubt a number of these soldiers returned to their Wilcox County homes after the war, but records are unclear as to just how many survived the war. With that said, it’s likely that some of their descendants still call Wilcox County home today and might be able to provide more details about one of the local military companies that fought in so many of the nation’s historic battles.