Civil War: Alabama Militiamen meet a Tragic Fate

Civil War era church in Campbellton

One of the most tragic episodes involving Alabama's Civil War militia or, as they are often termed, "home guards," took place along the Florida state line on September 27, 1864.

As the war had progressed and larger and larger numbers of men and boys went away to fight on the main fronts, Alabama turned for much of its defense to a state militia organization. Companies were organized in counties across the state, with regiments formed from every few counties. These operated under the command of regimental officers, while the local commanders were elected by the men themselves.

Original Salt Kettle at St. Andrew Bay, Florida

In the fall of 1864, detachments of militiamen from Dale County were assigned to guard oxcarts carrying salt from the works on St. Andrew Bay in Florida back to Alabama. Salt was a vital commodity both for the Confederate military and for the civilian population as well. A necessity for use in preserving meat in those days before refrigeration, it was vital to survival for people from all walks of life.

On September 27, 1864, as Union troops under Brigadier General Alexander Asboth attacked the Florida city of Marianna, a detachment of Dale County militiamen were making their way nearby with an oxcart loaded with salt. They had somehow missed the Federal column as it made its way to Marianna that morning, but things took a tragic turn when they reached the stateline town of Campbellton that afternoon.

Lt. Col. A.B. Spurling, 2nd Maine

As the Dale County men came into Campbellton, they saw gray-uniformed soldiers ahead. But these men were not what they seemed. The "Confederates" turned out to be disguised Union soldiers led by Lieutenant Colonel Andrew B. Spurling of the 2nd Maine Cavalry. Spurling had been detached with a small group of men from the main Union column four days earlier, with instructions to pursue a body of Confederate cavalrymen who had eluded capture at Eucheeanna in Walton County, Florida.

Spurling and his men donned Confederate uniforms and took off into the stateline country. Please click here to read more about his brief visit to Geneva, Alabama.

They reached Campbellton at the same time as the Dale County men and, according to an account of Spurlings operations, captured an "army wagon" and three Alabama militiamen.

Tragically, these three men disappear from the record and are never heard from again. Local tradition in Dale County holds that they went off to "get salt at the bay and never came home." Their fate seems to have been dark.

Spurling and his men were operating undercover, behind enemy lines. Because they were wearing Confederate uniforms, they knew that if they were detected they would face immediate execution as spies. Carrying along prisoners could prove fatal to the colonel and his men if they stumbled across a Confederate patrol.  This left them with only two options:  1) release the men, and 2) kill them.

Since the men never returned home, the only logical conclusion is that they were taken into the woods and killed by the undercover Federals. Their bones likely rest somewhere near the state line in Jackson County, Florida, to this day.

To learn more about the 1864 Marianna Raid and Spurling's undercover activities, please consider my book: The Battle of Marianna, Florida: Expanded Edition .

It is also available as an instant download for Amazon Kindle and iBooks devices. You can also read more about the raid at www.battleofmarianna.com.

September 1864 - Undercover Yankees in South Alabama

Lt. Col. Andrew Spurling, U.S.A.

One of the most bizarre episodes of the Civil War in Alabama took place in September of 1864 when a party of men wearing Confederate uniforms rode into the South Alabama town of Geneva. Led by a man who identified himself as Lieutenant Clark, they said they were members of the 15th Confederate Cavalry.

The people of Geneva had heard that a major Union raid was underway just across the state line in Walton County, Florida, so they were thrilled to see these men and welcomed them with open arms. Things, however, were not what they seemed.

On September 23rd a force of 700 mounted Federals led by Brigadier General Alexander Asboth had stormed into the Florida village of Eucheeanna (near present-day DeFuniak Springs). The attack came during the early phases of Asboth's 1864 West Florida Raid and the small Confederate force camped at Eucheeanna was quickly overrun. Nine of the Southern soldiers were captured, but the others managed to escape, fleeing on horseback up the road that led north to Geneva, Alabama (about 35 miles away).

Brig. Gen. Asboth in the field (with his dog)

The escape of the Confederate cavalrymen concerned Asboth, who feared they might spread the alarm across the eastern Panhandle and alert the military post at Marianna, Florida, that he was coming. He decided on a novel plan to try to round them up:

...It being feared that they would arouse the country and trouble our progress, Lieut.-Col. Spurling, accompanied by Lieutenant Jones of Company D, Sergt. Butler, Company B, Second Maine Cavalry, and ten men, all disguised in rebel uniforms, left the main body, for the purpose of securing them. - Letter dated Barrancas, Florida, October 8, 1864.

Moving behind enemy lines in the uniform of your enemy is a dangerous proposition and the men of Spurling's detachment knew that if captured they would be treated as spies and executed. According to one participant: "Each man was equipped with two Remington six-shooters and a Spencer repeating carbine carrying eight cartridges, seven in the magazine and one in the chamber, and it was distinctly understod that in case of discovery there was to be no surrender."

The detachment headed north up the Geneva road, following the prints left by the Confederate horses. They crossed the state line and reached Geneva on September 24th:

...The citizens of Geneva welcomed the colonel with open arms and furnished him and his men with everything needful to their comfort, including arms and ammunition. He announced himself as Lieut. Clark, Fifteenth Confederate Cavalry regiment, and stated that he had been stationed at Milton, Fla., but was ordered to scout from that point by the way of Euchesana (sic.) to Geneva, to ascertain the movements and intentions of the Yankees. - Letter dated Barrancas, Florida, October 8, 1864.

Choctawhatchee River near Geneva

While it might seem surprising that a group of men from Maine could show up in South Alabama and convince the locals that they were Confederate soldiers, the ruse worked. Spurling made "friends" in the town and even agreed to return and do some hunting when he finished witht his "more congenial pleasure of hunting the Yankees." He was also a hit with the women of Geneva:

...The ladies of Geneva were much pleased with Lieut. Clark (i.e. Spurling); his welfare and success were prime objects of solicitude with them, the evidently took kindly to him, and he was solicited by one of these fair beings to bring her some trophy off a dead Yank, which he promised to do on his return. - Letter dated Barrancas, Florida, October 8, 1864.

The men of the detachment took up positions in the town, waiting for either the missing Confederates or the main body of Asboth's column to come up. They seem not to have known that the general planned to cross the Choctawhatchee River in Holmes County, Florida, to begin his final advance on Marianna.

When neither arrived, they left Geneva - still in disguise - on September 25th and headed back south into Florida. For the next several days they trailed behind the main Union column, unable to catch up, and did not rejoin Asboth until after the Battle of Marianna. So far as is known, no one in Geneva ever figured out the identity of their visiting "undercover Yankees."

To learn more about the events of Asboth's raid, including what one of Spurling's men described as his "jaunt through rebeldom," please consider my book: The Battle of Marianna, Florida. It can be ordered by following the ad at left and is also available as an instant download for your Amazon Kindle reading device or Amazon's free Kindle software for your computer or smartphone by clicking here: The Battle of Marianna, Florida. The book is also available at iBooks.

You can also read more about the raid at www.battleofmarianna.com.