The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-25
JUSTICE GAINES
WRITES HISTORY
Tells Story of Third Alabama
Cavalry
FIGHTS FOR HIS FATHER
Frank Williams Has Aroused Much
Sympathy In Behalf of His Father
BY the Efforts to Save
His Life.
FIGHTS FOR HIS FATHER

Montgomery, July Special From
away out In Texas has come to the state
department of archives and history a
narrative history OF the Third Alabama
cavalry, Confederate States of America.
The writer is Chief Justice Reuben A.
Gaines of the supreme court of the lone
| star state who spent his early life in
Alabama and entered the service from
Choctaw county. This is one of the 900
short histories of Alabama commands Of
the Confederacy being prepared under
| the direction of DR.. Thomas NJ Owen,
the director of the department of ar
chives and history and which will be pre-
sented to the legislature for publication
| in book form. Seventy-five of them are
| now in hand. and they will prove a
great monument to the. valor of the
soldier of the state in the war of the
states
Judge Gaines was adjutant of the Third
Alabama, going into the service with the
organization Of the regiment at Tupelo,
Miss. in June, 1862. He acted assistant
adjutant general of the brigade much of
the time and surrendered with his regi-
ment In North Carolina in May. 1855 The
! first colonel of the regiment was James
| Hagan of Mobile, later a brigadier gem
eral and father of Major James d. Hagan
of Mobile of the First regiment Ala
bama National Guard at this time. The
second colonel was Joseph Robins of Will
cox county. whose widow has lent much
aid In the compiling of the sketch The
| pora ayafa In,
roe, Wilcox, Dallas Mobile Perry, Cal
houn and Autauga.
The Survivors.
| Among the survivors of the command,
which made a name for itself in the bat
ties of the war, are j. ]. Hawthorn Of
Thorsby, Senator w. c. Jones of Camden,
! George W. Burns of Bay Minette. and
! William Minis of Prattyille
OF the more than 60.OOO native born Ala
bamians now in Texas Judge Gaines is
easily one of the most distinguished. He
was born October 80 1886, in Choctaw
county and graduated from the State uni
versity in 1855 He moved to Texas after
the war where he was judge OF district
court, an associate Judge of the supreme
court and now chief Justice His wife
was Louisa, daughter of the late Judge
George d. shortridge of Montevalo who
is a sister of Col Webb W. shortridge
of Ensley, a prominent candidate for the
legislature from Jefferson county.
One of the recent histories of Alabama
Confederate commands is that of the
Eighth infantry, written by Col. Hilary A.
Herbert ex-Secretary of the Navy and
a citizen for many years of Montgom-
cry 1t is running serially in the Mont
gomery Advertiser and will soon be COM
pleted, giving opportunity for all mem
bers to have fun copies
Sons Fight for Father.
State annals will show no more heroic
fight than that now being made by Frank
Williams of Culman county, to save the
| life of John Williams, his father, who
is under sentence to hang at Cullman next
Friday for the killing of State Senator
Robert L. Hipp a little more than year
ago Not a moment has he lost in his
! efforts to prevent the execution of his
| parent in whom he has never for a mo-
ment lost confidence. He will go on fight
| ing to the end II the sentence is not com
muted. and the grim purpose of the law
will find Its way to~eonsumatlon over the
desperate work OF the young man to pre-
vent 1t.
/ Away from home when the news of the
! tragedy reached him, the young man
4
| lily as rapidly as he could. When his
father captured and placed In the
| Huntsville jail he was there to comfort
him in every way possible and to en-
courage him with promises that nothing
would be left undone that would help him
| in any way. He followed on back to
Cullman and stood by the prisoner all
| through the long and exciting trial. He
advised with the lawyers about jurors and
helped in many ways with the details OF
the hearing evidencing all the time in
| telligence out OF the ordinary for a coun-
| try boy
| When the jury brought in a verdict OF
death after the hearing he threw himself
at the feet of the judge and pleaded with
voice of greatest grief that he be SEN
| fenced and hanged In place OF the man
on whom the vengeance Of the law had
| fallen. SO great was the sympathy he
aroused that people in the court room sob
bed with sorrow for him and there was
hardly dry eye in hearing. Refused
the privilege of dying for his father the
young man began work to help him. He
tramped over much of the county of Gull
man to get the petition of more than 1000
names asking communication of the SEN
tence to life Imprisonment. As an in
stance of the feeling for him, this case
Is recalled. Starting out one day TO walk
to a settlement several miles away with
his petition two men of Culman halted
him to get a horse to ride. There were
a number OF such cases He has worked
in every way known to human beings to
defeat the gallows, and his determination
has brought him sympathy and support
in wonderful volume
The young man was shot accidentally
few weeks ago by the discharge Of a
pistol. the ball of which is still lodged
in his neck. Since his father has been
in jail the brother OF the latter has died
ad another son was killed at a saw mill
In South Alabama. so that II seems that
bad luck has followed them at every
turn and trouble has been with them
from the light of morn to twilight and
darkness of the night.
Capitol News Notes.
A large group-picture of the last gen
eral assembly has been presented to the
state department of archives and history
by w. ]. Chambers, photographer OF this
city. 1t Is unlike many other groups
in that 1t contains the pictures of every
one In any way connected with either the
house or senate. with all the clerks, as
sistant clerks, doorkeepers and assistants
and the pages. In the center are pic
pictures of Governor Jelks, Lieutenant
Governor Cunningham. President Pro
Tenn. OF the Senate Joel w. Goldsby and
Speaker OF the House A. NJ. Tunstsl
Col Henry B. Gray. candidate for the
democratic nomination for lieutenant gov
ernor Is in the city today seeing his
many local friends He is sanguine about
his race and thinks he will have no real
trout,Ia IN landing for the place 10