An episode of The Alabama Experience documentary series
This program would be appropriate for history, social studies, military classes, and possibly in music classes where students are interested in writing and arranging music soundtracks. It would be especially helpful for units about Alabama's Civil War history. The program runs 26:40.
The music soundtrack was recorded entirely by musician/composer Bobby Horton of Birmingham, Alabama. Horton's compositions have been used by filmmaker Ken Burns in two PBS series, THE CIVIL WAR and BASEBALL. His arrangements have also been used in feature length movies, documentaries, and his own 12 volume collection of songs from the Civil War.
PAGES FROM THE CIVIL WAR IN ALABAMA explains how this horrible war affected people in Alabama. Although there were no major battles here, skirmishes and raids within the state's borders took a heavy toll. Alabamians also made many sacrifices to support the Confederacy, and suffered from shortages of food and material. The program concentrates on the Tennessee Valley area south to Selma and does not cover all battles which were fought in Alabama.
Although the Confederacy was formed in Montgomery and this city became the South's first capital, Alabamians were not united in their support of the Civil War. Indeed, Alabama stayed on the brink of internal civil war from 1861-1865 because of divided loyalties. Many Northern and Wiregrass (Southeast) Alabama counties remained loyal to the Union, but the rich plantations of the Black Belt ruled the state politically. These Black Belt planters forced the poorer counties to go along with secession. The tension was perhaps greatest in Northern Alabama where there were few plantations and slaveholders.
There were no major conflicts in Alabama. However, after the major battles in Virginia and Tennessee, the area from Northern Alabama to Chattanooga was one of the most hotly contested regions in the nation. Here ran the superhighway of the South--the Tennessee River--and an extensive railroad system. Both were used to transport men and supplies across the Confederacy. Union and Confederate forces fought for control of the Tennessee River Valley and North Alabama changed hands many times. This caused tremendous hardships for civilians as each army took food and livestock. Athens, for instance, was the subject to organized plundering and suffered horribly.
In 1863 Union cavalry Col. Abel Streight attempted a raid across Northern Alabama to a rebel railhead at Rome, Georgia. General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a clever and courageous Confederate general, learned of the raid and pursued Streight. This raid is one of the Confederate's most audacious victories. Streight's forces thought they had had outwitted Forrest when they burned a bridge after crossing it. But Emma Sansom showed Forrest where the stream was shallow enough for men and horses to cross without a bridge. Emma Sansom became one of the great heroines of the Confederacy. Though his forces were outnumbered three to one, Forrest deceived Streight into thinking that he was about to be attacked by superior Confederate forces. The weary Union general reluctantly surrendered, only to find that his 1466 men had been captured by 322 Confederate soldiers.
In the final weeks of the war, Union General James Harrison Wilson commanded the largest cavalry force of the war. His objective was to destroy important ironworks at Tannehill and Brierfield and the great foundry in Selma, a vital producer of the South's cannons and munitions. He would also attack General Forrest's troops. These raids left Alabama's important military objectives a smoldering ruin and greatly impaired the South's ability to make war. Forrest finally surrendered his troops in Gainesville, Ala., nearly a month after General Lee had surrendered at Appamattox. Forrest's men were the last troops of the Confederacy to lay down their arms.
Before viewing, ask your students to look for the answers to these questions as they watch the program, and to be ready for discussion after viewing.
1. Where was the Confederate government formed? (Montgomery, Ala.)
2. Where was the first capital of the Confederacy, and who was its president? (Montgomery; Jefferson Davis)
3. Why was the Tennessee Valley such a hotly contested region during the Civil War? (The Tennessee River and the railroads there made it a major supply route for the Confederacy.)
4. Who was Tom Clark, and why was he despised in North Alabama? (He was a robber and thief who took advantage of the absence of men during the war and committed many crimes.)
5. What was Streight's Raid? (A Union cavalry raid across Northern Alabama in 1863.)
6. Who was Nathan Bedford Forrest? (A daring Confederate general who, though his forces were greatly outnumbered, thwarted Streight's Raid.)
7. Who was Emma Sansom and how did she become known as a heroine? (This North Alabama girl showed Nathan Bedford Forrest where his forces could cross a stream and surprise enemy forces.)
8. Why were the communities of Tannehill, Brierfield, and Selma important? (Ironworks in these cities provided the materials used in Selma to make cannons and other weapons vital to the South's war effort.)
9. Where was the largest cavalry in history assembled and why? (The force was assembled in Gravelly Springs, Ala., and raided ironworks and foundries in Alabama to cripple the South's capability to produce weapons and munitions. This huge force also sought to engage Forrest in battle.)
10. Who were Wilson and Croxton? (Union officers who led forces that staged raids in Alabama in the final days of the Civil War.)
11. Where and when was the last Confederate army surrender? (In Gainesville, Ala., weeks after Lee had surrendered and Lincoln had been assassinated.)
Review pre-test. Make plans to visit a Civil War site in Alabama. Possibilities include Tannehill State Park, Fort Morgan, The White House of the Confederacy, the state capitol, the University of Alabama (site of Wilson's Raid), the Selma Foundry, Brierfield, The Confederate Memorial Park (near Vernon).
Cavalry: an army of troops mounted on horseback or moving in motor vehicles.
Confederacy: a body formed by separate people or states united in purpose, such as the 11 Southern states that seceded from the United States in 1860 and 1861.
Fireater: one with very militant or aggressive views on political issues.
Foundry: a place where metals are cast or formed into objects.
Plundering: stealing or robbing.
Railhead: where a railroad begins or ends.Secession: formal withdrawal from an organization.
Union: In the Civil War, the states that did not secede, but which remained as part of the United States.
You may wish to assign your students to do reports or projects on some of the episodes presented in this documentary:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
RELATED WEB SITES
19th Alabama Infantry Regiment, C.S.A.
Information by and for Civil War re-enactors. Includes historical notes about the 19th
Alabama Infantry Regiment, virtual tours of battlefields, battle orders, and explanations
of what is expected of re-enactors. Civil war students and enthusiasts will find this page
especially worthwhile.
Tannehill Historical State Park
Information about the birthplace of the the Birmingham iron industry and an ironworks that
was vital to the South's war effort. Includes a map to the park, photos, and extensive
historical information about the site.
Fort Blakeley, Alabama
Scene of the last battle of the Civil War.
Produced by The University of Alabama Center for Public
Television & Radio.
For additional information about using these materials in your classroom, call Alabama
Public Television Educational Services, 1-800-239-5233.
The Alabama Experience Home Page | Study Guides