42nd Alabama Infantry

Sowbelly and Hardtack

2nd Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 5, 2023


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Book cover An Analysis Of Unit Cohesion In The 42nd Alabama Infantry


"On 16 May 1862, 904 soldiers formed ranks for the first time and unfurled the virgin colors of the 42nd Alabama Infantry Regiment. These 904 soldiers were a mixture of veterans, volunteers, conscripts, and substitutes. The regiment participated in nine western theater battles and their associated campaigns. These campaigns included Corinth, Vicksburg, Lookout Mountain, Atlanta, and Bentonville. Not one battle was a victory but the heat of battle forged a band of brothers tempered with time. The regiment cased its colors for the last time on 9 April 1865 in a desolate North Carolina field; only ninety-eight soldiers remained at the end of this bloody national struggle. This thesis will identify the timeless factors of cohesion within the 42nd Alabama. This thesis will further determine the most prominent of these factors, specifically within the remaining ninety-eight soldiers. Finally, this thesis will explore the value of cohesion to the current military force. This thesis incorporated sources from the The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Confederate Veteran, The Southern Historical Papers, personal diaries and letters, census records, compiled service records, sources from the Alabama State Archives and the National Park Service. After the examination of numerous factors, to include discipline, leadership, and morale, the common factor that held the core members of the unit together until the end was the "original volunteer" soldiers of 1861. These soldiers formed the cohesive bond of the unit by instilling a common conviction and devotion to duty within the 42nd Alabama. The final analysis reinforces the value of the volunteer soldier and the worth of an "all-volunteer" force".
 

Within a Square of the Tishomingo Hotel: At Corinth with the 42nd Alabama

Private Patrick McGlynn, Co. H, 42nd Alabama Infantry
(Photo courtesy of Stan Hutson)


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I believe the 42nd was one of the largest regiments in the AoT when it arrived at Bentonville. It, along with the 37th, 40th, and 54th, had been on garrison duty and recruiting at Mobile during Hood's Tennessee campaign, and missed the horrendous casualties most units suffered there.

This is another Regimental Group that I like to recognize -- I sometimes call them Pairs -- the 37th almost always served with the 40th and 42nd in some capacity.
 
Great to see a new thread on the 42nd Alabama Infantry regiment. My Grandfather and his brother were in Co.E.

As posted above, after Vicksburg the 42nd and 40th Alabama and to a large extent the 37th Alabama fought together through the end of the war.
 

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