USA > Alabama > Memorial record of Alabama. A concise account of the state's political, military, professional and industrial progress, together with the personal memoirs of many of its people. Volume I > Part 50
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of cavalry, which he tendered to the governor to be used in sustaining the state's policy. A state legislature was elected, a majority of which, it was said, was pledged to this policy of keeping out of the strife. But when the legislature had met and organized, the situation was quickly changed. The neutrality theory was exploded by formal act, and soon the state was occupied by Federal soldiers and Federal marshals; and many of the leading citizens were arrested and hurried away to prisons beyond the Ohio river. Early in the afternoon of a September day, in 1861, a messenger, sent by one of Col. Hawkins' friends, came in haste to inform him that troops had been sent to Bath county, and that Federal marshals were already on the way to arrest him. To him no course was left but to get out of the way as speedily as practicable. Hurriedly he summoned a few of the young men of the company of volunteers he had organized and drilled, and, they joining him, preparations were hastily made; and at 12 o'clock midnight this little band of gallant souls, armed with shotguns, mounted their horses and rode away to battle for what they believed to be the cause of constitutional liberty and American free- dom. The next afternoon the party was joined by thirteen other young men, well armed and equipped, and having the same purpose in view. Arriving at West Liberty, the courthouse town of an adjoining county, they found several companies in process of being properly organized to. join the Confederate forces. An agreement was entered into, whereby these companies were to follow Col. Hawkins and join him at Prestons- burg, on the Big Sandy river, and there await developments.
Within a few days about 400 men had gathered at Prestonsburg, among them being several well organized and equipped companies. A mass meet- ing was held, and it was resolved to go into camp and prepare for war. A leader was needed to assume charge of the camp, and by common con- sent, and with remarkable unanimity, Col. Hawkins was chosen for this honorable and responsible position. Hon. J. H. Burns, the circuit court. judge, took part in the meeting. He was made commissary of the camp (and afterward of the regiment), and did great service, for he was amongst his own home people, and in him they had great confidence. Within a short time hundreds of men came to that camp of volunteers upon the Big Sandy river. On one day five full companies from the in- terior of the state arrived, all well mounted and well armed, most of them carrying Enfield rifles. This was the outlet for Gen. Breckinridge. Col. John (Cerro Gordo) Williams, afterward United States senator, came to the camp, and he was sent to Richmond to obtain government recog- nition and to muster Col. Hawkins' forces into the service of the Confed- eracy. Before Col. Williams' return, Col. Hawkins, seeing that he had no company and would probably have no command when Col. Williams did return, resigned his position as commandant of the camp, and recommended as his successor, Hon. John Ficklin. Mr. Ficklin was chosen. Within a few days Col. Hawkins had organized a company of seveuty men for
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cavalry service, he preferring that arm of the service, if he could be at liberty to report to only the colonel commanding. Upon this condition Col. Hawkins tendered the services of his company as soon as Col. Will- iams returned from Richmond with the authority to muster the troops into active service. Col. Williams refused to accept the company as mounted rangers, whereupon Col. Hawkins called his men together and told them that he preferred the infantry rather than to be placed in the battalion of mounted men. His company was thereupon disbanded, and, together with thirty of his men, he was mustered in as a private soldier. Probably no similar record can be found in the annals of the Civil war. Col. Hawkins gave up the certainty of commanding a fine company of cavalry, and took his place in the ranks of the infantry; and this fact is a stong illustration of his character as soldier and as citizen. But the course he then pursued proved to be the wisest. Three days after the occurence he was mustered in as captain of a company of 115 men, and permitted to nominate every subordinate company officer, each one of whom was unanimously accepted. When the regiment was organized Capt. Hawkins was elected major, only one company voting against him, and that company had a worthy candidate of its own for the same position, and Capt. Jack May of company A, of the regiment was made lieu- tenant-colonel; some months after that Col. Williams was made a briga- dier-general. In 1862, Col. May resigned, and the. honor of commanding the regiment was conferred upon him who had done so much for its wel- fare and its efficiency. Once more it was Col. Hawkins. His regiment was the Fifth Kentucky infantry, and from the time he assumed command till the close of hostilities that regiment bore a conspicuous part in the great struggle. And it was a glorious record that famous regiment made. At Princeton, Va., Resaca, Chickamauga, at Mission Ridge, Rocky Face Gap, at Dallas, at Intrenchment Creek-in every battle it was in the thick of the fight, and its gallant and heroic colonel was at its head. At Intrenchment Creek, July 22, 1864, Col. Hawkins' clothing was many times torn by bullets; one ploughed through his sword belt, and finally a ball struck him in the left hip, producing a dangerous wound. It being a flesh wound he soon recovered, and resumed command of his regiment, taking an active and conspicuous part in harassing detachments of Gen. Sherman's army in its march to the sea. Of his valor in battle his gallantry and noble bearing at all times the record of those dreadful years of strife tell in the terse but elegant language of the soldier. His men loved him fondly and trusted him implicitly; and the high regard entertained for him by his military superiors is best shown by a letter from Maj .- Gen. S. B. Buckner to the secretary of war, recommending Col. Hawkins for promotion to a brigadier-generalship, and a letter from Gen. Humphrey Marshall making the same recommendation. Gen. Buck- ner's letter is dated January 20, 1864, and he refers to Col. Hawkins as "an officer of zeal, intelligence, gallantry and ability." Gen. Marshall
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wrote under date of January 27, 1864, to President Jefferson Davis, that Col. Hawkins was "attentive to his duties; of most excellent character and deportment; of cool courage under fire; of fine military bearing, and of great skill and caution."
Col. Hawkins has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Mary Workman, daughter of James Workman, of Bath, Ky., whom he wedded September 8, 1853. She died August 1, 1860. His second wife, who still survives, was Mrs. L. A. Boykin, of Eufaula, Ala., whom he married while on "wounded leave, " after the battle of Intrenchment Creek, Sep- tember 22, 1864. He is without children. His second marriage was really the beginning of his career in Alabama. After Johnston's surrender at Greensboro, N. C., in 1865, Col. Hawkins returned to Eufaula and engaged in farming, a few miles from that town, in Barbour county, in which oc- cupation he is still engaged. In his leisure moments he resumed the study of law, having fitted himself for admission to the bar before the war. He early took a high place in his adopted county, and soon became its most noted progressive farmer. To all his neighbors he endeared him- self, and his public spirit, his energy, and his ripe intellect made him a conspicuous figure, not only in his county, but in the life of the state. In 1870, Col. Hawkins was chosen president of the Union Female college at Eufaula; his accomplished wife was made lady principal, and during the three years in which he had control of that institution, the number of pupils increased 100 per cent; and that this great increase was due to his personal influence and worth is demonstrated by the fact that, after he resigned, the attendance fell off one-half. In 1882, Col. Hawkins was elected a member of the lower house of the Alabama legislature, as a democrat, and re-elected in 1884 without opposition, thus receiving prac- tical demonstration of the people's confidence. In the legislature his record proved him to be an enlightened and broad-minded patriot. He was honored each term with the chairmanship of the committee on agriculture and was instrumental in securing much needed legislation in that interest, among which was the act establishing the department of agriculture, of which he was the author. He has for many years been a leader in the agricultural organizations of Alabama and for a term of two years, 1889-91, was the second officer of the great National grange organization, and for five years has been master of the Alabama State grange, a position of honor and trust, which he still holds. In 1890 he was elected president of the Alabama State Agricultural society, and has been chosen his own successor at each meeting since then. He was chosen president and gen- eral manager of the Alabama State fair, with headquarters at Birming- ham, in 1891, and re-elected in 1892. The wisdom of this choice was dem- onstrated by the fact that the fair of 1891 was the most successful ever held in his state. So in all the duties of life he has proved himself to be an able, honest, fearless man, and he has won a place in the affections of the people that ought to gratify the ambition of any man. He is strong,
ALTO V. LEE.
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self-reliant, and upright, and the people of Alabama love him as a man, and esteem him as one of the representative men of the south of to-day. Lucien Julien Walker.
HON. ALTO. V. LEE, solicitor of the third judicial district of Alabama, belongs to one of the oldest and most respectable families of Barbour county, which moved to this state from Atlanta, Ga., early in the twen- ties. His father, Lovard Lee, was born in Georgia and accompanied his parents to Alabama when a boy, and became quite a prominent citizen of Barbour county, where he still resides. He is a veteran of the Indian war of 1836, led a company in the late Civil war, and prior to 1860 was general of militia for one of the southern Alabama districts. His wife, whose maiden name was Susan Lovelace, bore him two children, namely : Julia, deceased, who married A. T. Williams, and the gentleman whose name appears at the beginning of this sketch. Capt. Alto V. Lee was born near Louisivlle, Barbour county, Ala., on the 28th day of December, 1844. He prepared himself in the schools of his county for admission to the university of Alabama, but the war breaking out interferred with his plans, and instead of becoming a student he entered the army as orderly, sergeant in the first company organized in Barbour county, the Clayton Guards, which became a part of the First Alabama infantry in January, 1861. He served with the command twelve months at Pensacola, Fla., and upon his return home, at the expiration of his year's service, assisted in the organization of the Lee Guards, so named in compliment to his family, of which he became second lieutenant. This company be- longed to Hilliard's legion and did active service in the western army, but Capt. Lee did not remain long with his company, owing to physical disability, which necessitated his retirement from the ranks. After resigning his commission, he accepted a cadetship in the Alabama university, where he pursued his studies for a period of eight months, at the end of which time, his health being fully restored, he returned home and raised what was known as the "boy company" for service on the southern coast. Of this company he was elected captain and he led it in the battles of Blakely and Spanish Fort, and with it fell into the enemy's hands at the latter place and spent several months thereafter a prisoner on Ship island. Upon the declaration of peace he was paroled at Meridian, Miss., and returning home began the study of law in the office of Col. D. M. Seales at Clayton, under whose instruc- tions he continued until his admission to the bar in 1867. Since that year he has given his entire attention to the profession and has made a record as a successful attorney in the courts of Barbour and other counties, second to that of no other practitioner in the southern part of his state. From 1868 to 1872 he was solicitor of his county, filled the same position again from 1874 to 1876, and in the latter year was honored by an election as solicitor of the eighth judicial district of Alabama. In 1880, the number of circuits being reduced and renumbered, Captain Lee
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was elected solicitor of the third judicial circuit and by re-election suc- ceeded himself in 1886, now filling the office with distinguished success, and earning a reputation as a prosecutor which has brought him into prominent notice among the leading lawyers of the state. Capt. Lee is known as being one of the most thorough and well posted lawyers of the Barbour county bar. He is a close student, and owing to his practical and thorough acquaintance with the writings of eminent lawyers is ena- bled to unravel and make plain the most intricate legal questions. As a citizen Capt. Lee is deservedly popular, and few men of Barbour county occupy as high a place in the confidence and esteem of the general public. He is a trustee of the university of Alabama, appointed as such in 1890, and as a democrat is prominent in party affairs in his part of the state. He belongs to the K. of H .. and Masonic fraternities, in the latter of which he has taken a number of degrees, including that of Sir Knight and thirty-second degree, Scottish rite. Capt. Lee and Lillie Lawrence, daughter of Judge W. H. Lawrence, were married in Tuscaloosa, Ala., December 19, 1865, and are the parents of nine children, seven of whom are still living, as follows: Lawrence H., attorney at Clayton; Lillie Vela, wife of George W. Peach; William L. and Charles W. (twins) ; William, student in Alabama university; Charles, medical student at Vanderbilt university, at Nashville, Tenn .; Fitzhugh, Alto V., Jr., and Lucien Tennent. The captain and his wife are members of the Metho- dist church.
ANDREW J. LOCKE, postmaster of Eufaula, is a native of Alabama and was born in Pike county on the 6th of June, 1836. His father, Rich- ard Locke, a planter, was born in North Carolina in the year 1790; mar- ried, in that state, Elva Davenport, and later moved to Georgia, settling in Jasper county; thence to Pike county, Ala., locating near the town of . Monticello, where he lived a number of years. During his residence in Monticello, Mr. Locke was appointed probate judge of Pike county, in which position he served some years, and he is remembered as a man prominently identified with public and political affairs as long as he was a resident of Alabama. His first wife, by whom he had eight children, died in 1836, and he afterward moved to the couunty of Montgomery, where he was again married, his second wife bearing him two children. He was married four times and became the father of thirteen children, of whom the following are living at this time, namely: Jesse, resides at Perote, Ala .; Mary, widow of Green Montgomery, a pensioner of the Indian war of 1836, liivng at Eddy, Texas; Thomas S., resides at Bel- cher, this state; Nancy, widow of Baldwin Miles, lives in Texas; Andrew J .; Elias H., of Troy, Ala .; R. D., lawyer, formerly prosecuting attor- ney of Barbour county and at the present time postmaster at Macon, Ga., and Mary. The father, after a few years' residence in Montgomery county returned to Pike county, and died there in the month of February, 1864. Andrew J. Locke was educated in the common schools and left
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home to work for himself at the age of fourteen, going to Eufaula and engaging as clerk in the goods house of Dennis & Locke, in which ca- pacity he continued for a period of four years, attending school, during certain seasons, in the meantime. Subsequently he accepted a similar position with the firm of Campbell & McRae, with whom he remained five years, and for one year thereafter sold goods for Messrs. Locke & Sylvester. In 1859, he embarked in the clothing business at Eufaula, and conducted that branch of trade with very encouraging success until 1861, at which time, becoming imbued with a patriotic spirit, he entered the service of the Confederacy as a member of company A, First Ala- bama regiment, with which he served at Pensacola until discharged, on account of impaired health, a few months after his enlistment. In 1862, Mr. Locke and two comrades raised a battalion of artillery, in which he received the apointment of senior lieutenant, and which became a part of Hilliard's legion. He remained with the command until a severe attack of rheumatism compelled him to retire from active service, but after a short period from the ranks, he again did valorous duty by assisting in the organizaton of another company, of which he became second lieuten- ant. He accompanied this company to Pensacola, Fla., where he re- mained until the expiration of his term of enlistment, when he returned home and, in 1864, helped raise and equip a third company, which joined Lee's army at Petersburg, Va., where, in the trenches, Lieut. Locke saw his first service in the eastern campaign. He was made first lieutenant of the last company, and assisted in recruiting, but did not long remain at the front on account of the recurrence of his rheumatism, which be- came so severe that he was again compelled to resign his commission and seek the more congenial climate of his home state. On severing his con. nection with the army, Mr. Locke resumed clerking in Eufaula, which he continued from 1865 till 1869, at which time he purchased a stock of goods and engaged in the commercial business on his own responsibility. After two years of very successful business, he disposed of his store, and during the succeeding two years was engaged in purchasing cotton in Barbour county, and other counties of southern Alabama. Discontinu- ing the business he again accepted a clerkship, and was so employed until 1877, at which time he was appointed postamster of Eufaula, the duties of which position he discharged until the close of President Hayes' administration in 1880. From that time until 1890, he was identified with the mercantile interests of Eufaula, but on the 18th of March, in the latter year, was again appointed postmaster, which office he still con- tinues to hold. Mr. Locke is one of the few republicans of Eufaula, and he has always been bold and decided in the expression of his political convictions, and that, too, at a time, when it required very great per- sonal courage to uphold the banner of his party in Barbour county. During the reconstruction period, when the partisan spirit was exceed- ingly bitter, Mr. Locke was compelled to defend his political faith in the
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face of the most intense opposition; but with a determination which never for a moment entertained any idea of surrender, he vigorously de- manded the right which the constitution accords to every citizen-the right of free speech and equal protection under the law, and eventually compelled recognition and respect from his political adversaries. He is earnest in his support of the principles of his party, does all he can to promote its interests, and is one of its most potent factors in Barbour county. Personally he enjoys great popularity among all classes, irre- spective of party affiliations, and he is in every respect one of the wide- awake, enterprising and respectable ciitzens of Eufaula. Mr. Locke was married May 7, 1867, in Clay county, Ga., to Miss Viola E. Ricks, who has borne him two children, both deceased.
J. H. LONG, a prosperous planter of Barbour county, son of Commo- dore P. and Martha Long, is a native of Alabama, born in the county of Barbour on the 16th day of February, 1838. Commodore P. Long was born in Richomnd county, N. C .. in 1819, and by occupation was a planter, He was married in his native state about the year 1836 to Martha Streeter, and in 1838 moved to Alabama, settling in Barbour county, in the vicinity of Spring Hill, where his death occurred in 1873. His wife had preceded him to the grave, in 1847. The Longs are of Scotch-Irish descent and came to Virginia in colonial times, and several members of the family dis- tinguished themselves in the war of the Reolvution. Of the five children born to Commodore and Martha Long, but two are now living, James H. and B. F., whose biographies are herewith presented. On attaining his majority, J. H. Long entered the Confederate army, enlisting in com- pany D, Fifteenth regiment, Alabama infantry, and served throughout the greater part of the war, most of the time with Gen. Lee in Virginia. He was in Jackson's command until that general's death, subsequently served under Hood, and was then transferred to Gen. Longstreet's division. He bore a brave and gallant part in many of the bloodiest battles of the war, among which were Cross Keys, Seven days' fight around Richmond, Chan- cellorsville, Fredericksburg, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry, Petersburg, Malvern Hill, Chickamauga, and many smaller engagements and numerous skirmishes. He was made prisoner at the battle of Gettys- burg, but succeeded in effecting his escape a short time after his capture; and during his period of service received twenty-six bullet wounds, the most severe of which was a wound in the leg at Chickamauga; one in the stomach at Gettysburg, and a shot through the throat at Richmond. He surrendered with his command at Appomottox C. H., in 1865, and, return- ing home, engaged in the pursuit of agriculture, which he has since car- ried on. At the close of the war, Mr. Long found his total wealth to con- sist of a silver 50 cent piece, but with an energy characterestic of the man he succeeded in overcoming the many discouragng obstacles in which his lot was cast, and has since accumulated a comfortable compe- tence, being, at this time, classed among the prosperous and well-to-do
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planters of Barbour county, his farm, consisting of 3,200 acres. Mr. Long was married in October, 1867, to Miss Nannie Bishop, who has borne him seven children, namely: Earnest, Pearl, William, Pauline, Lona, Jamie and Quinn. In politics, Mr. Long is a democrat. While he has decided views upon the leading questions of the day, he is conserv- ative in their discussion. He is identified with the Farmers' alliance, is a master Mason, and with his family belong to the Methodist church. Mr. Long is regarded as one of the substantial citizens of the community in which he resides, and his plantation has every indication of being the home of a thrifty and courteous southern gentleman.
B. F. LONG, brother of the foregoing. is a native of Barbour county, Ala., his birth dating from the 11th day of November, 1844. He at- tended school at intervals until the breaking out of the war, when he ran away from home and entered the army, as a member of the Third Alabama battalion, which afterward became the Sixtieth Alabama regi- ment volunteer infantry. The greater part of his period of service was spent in the trenches around Richomnd, but previously he was in the Western army until after the battles of Mission Ridge and Chickamauga. He took part in the battle of Drewry's Bluff, where so many fell dead and wounded around him that his clothing was completly saturated with blood, but he escaped without receiving the slightest injury. He was within 200 yards of the place where Grant exploded the mine at Peters- burg, and participated in all the horrors of the terrible scene of carnage that followed. He continued in active service until the surrender at Ap- pomattox, where he laid down his arms, and at the end of the war re- turned home without a penny of money which he could call his own, and found employment as a farm laborer. He soon engaged in the pursuit of agriculture for himself and has continued the same ever since, with the most gratifying success. He is also interested in the mercantile business, owning a store at Old Spirng Hill. and one at the raiload station several miles distant, both of which are conducted with financial profit. In No- vember, 1871, in Pike county, Ala., Mr. Long and Cristilla Cade were made man and wife, and their marriage has been blessed with the birth of the following children: Wallace P., manager of his father's store at Harris Station; Clarence, Marvin, Harvey, Ola, Sela, Gertrude, deceased, and Alma. Mr. Long is a straight-out democrat in his political belief and takes an active interest in public affairs, especially those pertaining to Barbour county. He is a Methodist and for fifteen years has held the position of steward in the local congregation to which he belongs. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Masonic order.
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