The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-22
Few Aware of Honor Con- ferred on 4th Alabama
 Regiment
FOR HEROIC ACTION
 AT FIRST MANASSAS
Act Is Still in the Records and Several Members of the Famous Regi- ment Still Survive in
 the State
Ky RALPH R. SILVER

q thought I knew everything about the civil war, but I've got something new to talk about now" exclaimed Col. J. Lawler Darby, well known Confederate veteran, yesterday For I'll wager" he added" there are not a half dozen vet erans in the south who know that a rank of nobility was ever conferred on Confederate soldier by the legislature of Alabama"
 The nobility of many people has played important parts in the worlds history, but how many people know that a ''re- publican nobility" was ever established by the legislature of this state? A class of nobility is one of the things which it is expressly provided in the constitution of the United States shall not exist in this country. The supreme court of the United States has held that the one time Con- federate states legally never actually sep arated themselves from the union. 8il3ut in 1861, whether they were a part of the United States or whether they were not. the fact remains undisputed that an act was passed by the state legislature of Alabama conferring a patent of re- publican nobility" upon the survivors of the Fourth Alabama regiment one of the most famous regiments of the war.
 On Official Record
 The act itself, just as it was passed, appears in the official records of the state of Alabama. Its discovery. or rather it's reappearance, was brought about recently in political discussion when a well known attorney of Birmingham remarked that two candidates for the supreme court were members of the nobility of the state of Alabama. His remark was taken for an attempted joke, but it appeared he knew what he was talking about, and he produced the facts.
 The two candidates he had referred to are R. T. Simpson of Florence and Capt. Romaine Boyd of Birmingham, whose father were members of the Fourth Ala bama regiment who survived the first bat tie of Manassas, or Bull Run, and there- fore weer two of the soldiers honored by the patent of nobility
 There of course were many regiments in the first battle of Manassas as gallant and brave as the Fourth Alabama, and in the still more terrible battles that fol- lowed, but the Fourth Alabama through double trick of fate made some remark able history in that contest. The regiment was commanded by Col Egbert Jones and was experiencing it's first fight It ap- pears that the Union army attempted some sort of flank movement, and the Fourth Alabama found itself directly in the path of this movement. Three or four Yankee regiments were hurled against the lone Fourth Alabama but in spite of the awful onslaught the. plucky regiment stood the rain of lead for nearly an hour.
 When at Iast retreat had to be taken. the fragments of the regiment still alive fell back and realized for the first time that the regiment had been almost anni- Inflated. The survivors retired for the night, the most downcast, humiliated group of men imaginable; and they woke up the next morning to find themselves famous
 Held Flank Movement in Cheek !
 It appears that by withstanding thegaw- ful onslaught of the Yankees for over an hour the day previous, the Fourth Ala! bama had held in check the proposed Yankee flank movement, giving tbe chance the Confederate army needed and which it took and put the Union army to pell mel retreat.
 Several of the survivors of the Fourth Alabama are still living, it is said. one of whom is Mai Joseph IIardie of Bir- mingham, who regiinental adiutant of the Fourth Alabama Every field Of hcer of the regiment it is said, was killed in that first fight.
 It was shortly after the news was sr,rea q of the part the Fourth Alabama played in this fight that the state legislatnre passed the act granting to the survivors a