33rd Alabama Infantry Civil War Train Wreck

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33rd Alabama Infantry Regiment

The 33rd Infantry Regiment was organized at Pensacola, Florida, in April 1862. Its members were raised in Coffee, Butler, Dale, Montgomery, and Covington counties.

Companies by County:

Company A "Coffee County Blues"

Company B "Dale County Grays"

Company C "Butler County Light Infantry"

Company D "Butler County Volunteers"

Company E

Company F "Covington and Coffee Greys"

Company G "Daleville Blues"

Company H "Greenville Guards/Davis Rangers"

Company I "Zollilcoffer Avengers"

Company K "Shorter Guards"

Engagements

American Civil War; Pensacola Campaign; Kentucky Campaign; Munfordville; Perryville; Stones River Campaign; Murfreesboro; Tullahoma Campaign; Chattanooga Campaign; Chattanooga II; Chickamauga; Siege of Chattanooga; Ringgold Gap; Atlanta Campaign; Rocky Face Ridge; Resaca; New Hope Church; Pickett's Mill; Kennesaw Mountain; Siege of Atlanta; Atlanta; Jonesboro; Franklin-Nashville Campaign; Spring Hill; Franklin; Nashville; Carolina Campaign; Bentonville.

Train Wreck

On November 4, 1862, the 33rd Alabama was ordered to board a train which was scheduled to take them to Chattanooga. In a freak accident a few miles south of Cleveland, Tennessee, a large stick of wood fell from the locomotive tender as the train moved rapidly on a downhill grade, breaking the axle of one of the railcars immediately behind it and causing part of the train to derail. Pvt. Matthews reports that when the axle snapped on the boxcar he was in, all the wheels came off and "clogged" under the wheels of the car behind it (occupied by Co. G), causing its separation from the train. Meanwhile, the engine continued to pull the wheel-less B Company car two or three hundred yards down the track before it finally stopped. Several soldiers had been riding on the boxcar roofs: Matthews reported that these were "shook off, like shaking peaches from a tree, and badly jolted when they hit the ground." Others were pinned beneath and within the wreckage; some only escaped by "alighting on their heads."

A total of 17 men were killed in the disaster, with 67 others maimed; many of these would later die from their injuries. Most of the deceased came from Co. G, the "Daleville Blues," including the company commander, Captain Reuben Jackson Cooper. All were buried the next day in a trench dug just southeast of the railroad that was surrounded by a split-rail fence; this remained unmarked and largely forgotten until descendants of the departed erected a monument on the site in November 1989. 33rd Alabama Volunteers

Soldiers Killed in the Train Wreck

Private O. M. Broxton (-1862), Co. H

Private Lovett M Bush (1842-1862), Co. G, enlisted 3/8/62 in Daleville, AL at age 20

Private Zachariah Chandler (1844-1862), Co. H, 3/17/62 enlisted in Greenville, AL at age 18. Decease Claim 4/3/63.

Private H. T. Clark (-1862), Co. H. Died 11/6/62 as result of injuries sustained in train wreck. Personal Effects Receipt.

Captain Reuben Jackson Cooper (abt.1818-1862), Co G. enlisted 3/8/62 in Daleville AL at age 44, Decease Claim: Sarah A. Cooper widow

Private Clinton Evans (-1862), Co. E

Private John Aaron Hughes Jr (1841-1862), Co. G, enlisted at age 21; correct spelling Hughes

Private J. G. Lewis (-1862), Co. H

Private Benjamin Lloyd (-1862), Co. H.

Private T. Z. Nicholes (-1862), Co. C.

4th Corporal Edward Nix (1817-1862), Co. C, Greenville, AL.

Private Mathias Noblin (1825-1862), Co. G., enlisted at age 36

Private T. A. Pritchard (-1862), Co. E, “Killed in train wreck near Cleveland ,TN 11/4/62.”

Lieut. Charles Bonham Scott (abt.1827-1862), Co. E, enlisted as 1 SGT 3/14/62, Ramer AL at age 34. Appointed 2 LT 7/22/62. Decease claim: 12/6/62 by Flora A. Scott widow

Private William M. Smyth (1828-1862), Co. C; enlisted 5/11/62 in Greenville, AL. Decease claim: Butler CO AL by Julia A. Smyth widow. Witnesses to claim: Samuel Adams, Alexander McKellar. (correct spelling Smyth).

Private William M Watson (1839-1862), enlisted at age 23

Monument for the Seventeen

A monument honoring 17 men who died in a local train accident during the Civil War, and were buried along that accident without any kind of special tribute, was officially unveiled Saturday, 4 Nov 1989, at Fort Hill Cemetery. The train wreck occurred on November 4, 1862, somewhere south of Cleveland. The dead men were all members of the 33rd Alabama Volunteers, a group who were involved not only in battles around Cleveland and Chattanooga, but also fought around Murfreesboro and Franklin, and into Georgia and around Atlanta. Many dignitaries and historians showed up at the dedication Saturday, which was sponsored by the Jefferson Davis Chapter No. 900 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Monument

Sources

• 33rd Alabama Infantry Regiment
• 33rd Alabama Infantry Companies
• 33rd Regiment Alabama Infantry
• Virtual Fort Hill Cemetery
• Fort Hill Cemetery
• National Park Service Civil War database

Resources

Private ... ... ... served in the United States Civil War.
Mustered out: November 4, 1862
Side: CSA
Regiment(s): 33rd Alabama Volunteers

Private ... ... ... Died in Military Service during United States Civil War.