Hilliard's Legion or Hilliard's Alabama Legion was a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

unit which fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Unlike most Civil War formations, it was a combined arms force, with infantry, cavalry and artillery components.

History

On April 24, 1862,

Henry Washington Hilliard Henry Washington Hilliard (August 4, 1808 – December 17, 1892) was a unionist U.S. Representative from Alabama and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. In later life, he became a proponent of abolitionism ...

was made a colonel and authorized to raise a legion, consisting of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions (infantry), 4th Battalion (artillery) and 5th Battalion (cavalry). It was organized in Montgomery, Alabama, on June 25 of that year, with a strength of almost 3000 men. The cavalry battalion eventually was detached and assigned to the 10th Confederate Cavalry Regiment; and Company C, 4th Artillery Battalion, was separated as the Barbour Light Artillery. The Legion was sent to eastern Tennessee to participate in the ultimately successful siege of Cumberland Gap. Hilliard resigned on December 1, 1862. Lieutenant Colonel Jack Thorington, commander of the 1st Battalion, was promoted to colonel and placed in charge. In April 1863, the unit was attached to General

Gracie Gracie may refer to: Names * Gracie (name), a given name and a family name (includes a list of people with that name) * Gracie family, a Brazilian family known for their practice and development of martial arts * Hurricane Gracie, a 1959 Atlantic ...

's Brigade and fought in the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between United States, U.S. and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union Army, Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign ...

, where it suffered heavy losses: 45% of its 902 men. In the 1st Battalion alone, 169 of 239 soldiers were either killed or wounded. On November 25, the Legion was disbanded at Charleston, Tennessee, and the remaining men reassigned to the 59th and 60th Alabama Regiments. The 2nd Battalion and the 4th Artillery Battalion became the 59th Alabama. Four companies of the 1st Battalion and the 3rd Battalion became the 60th Alabama, and the remaining three companies of the 1st Battalion became the 23rd Alabama Battalion Sharpshooters.Sifakis, Stewart. ''Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Alabama''. New York: Facts on File, 1992, pp. 89-90, 129-130

References

Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Alabama Legions of the American Civil War 1862 establishments in Alabama {{AmericanCivilWar-unit-stub

History

See also

Further reading

References