Flags of Civil War Alabama, The (Flags of the Civil War)
Much more than a historical examination, The Flags of Civil War Alabama stands as a tribute to the men who bore these colors . . . men who were the heart of the regiment, the soul of the battle line, and the focus of the enemy's fire. On January 11, 1861, the Alabama legislature convened at Montgomery and voted to remove their state from the Union. This was the beginning of a battle for the hopes and dreams of the people of Alabama. Few artifacts from this period of Alabama's history so poignantly represent these hopes and dreams as do the beautiful tattered banners of the short-lived republic.    From the handsewn, hand-painted works of art of the early war to the utilitarian battle flags of later war, these symbols of the war were the physical representations of a living dream. This fascinating book features on each page a color illustration of an Alabama Civil War era flag, along with brief notations about the history of the unit and its flag. Presented chronologically, each flag is represented as it was when first created. Photographs are included to illustrate particular patterns of wear, damage, or artwork.   Featured here are: Lumsden's Alabama Battery flag, made privately by ladies in Tuscaloosa; the CSS Florida flag, a gift from the ailing Commander Maffitt to his host in Bermuda; and the Watts' Cadets flag, an unusual version of the 1st National Confederate flag presented by Miss Ella Montgomery to a home guard unit of school boys from Franklin Academy.   Glenn Dedmondt, a lifelong resident of the Carolinas and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, shares his passion for the past as a teacher of South Carolina history. Dedmondt, who has a bachelor of science degree in elementary education, has been published in Confederate Veteran magazine, and his groundbreaking research into the Civil War led him to write his first book, Southern Bronze, a history of South Carolina's Garden's Battery. He is also the author of The Flags of Civil War South Carolina, published by Pelican. Other books in this series are: Flags of Louisiana, Flags of Tennessee, Flags of Texas, The Flags of the Confederacy: An Illustrated History, and The Flags of the Union: An Illustrated History, all published by Pelican.