To answer a couple of questions: yes, Confederate soldiers were required to furnish their own mounts. They received compensation for the use of private animals and were paid an assessed value if the animal was lost in service. After the first year or so weapons from home would not have been seen in the armies except among militiamen. Average Southerners didn't have the spare cash to buy a firearm, and wealthier men who owned a shotgun or 'sporting' rifle wouldn't have found them useful in the army. By 1863-64 inventories signed by Confederate ordnance officers list weapons that had been imported through the blockade, captured from Federal sources or produced by home industries. Most Confederate weapons were either captured or imported. Company officers were elected. Congress later passed laws requiring that candidates pass a board examination composed of officers from their brigade to be promoted. Staff officers were appointed and confirmed by their respective departments. Medical officers had to be examined prior to promotion; quartermasters and commissaries had to be bonded. The law allowed the president to nominate officers, but this wasn't done too often. I've never read anything about Partisan Rangers being the object of anyone's animosity because of their branch of service. That being said, remember that we are talking about Walker County, right on the boundary of Winston. A number of citizens cared not for either side and wanted to be left alone. These men were recruited after the Conscript Act of April 1862 -- in other words, they weren't really volunteers. In the early days of the 13th P.R. Battalion, they were stationed near home and tended to "slip away" whenever the opportunity presented itself. There was a conflict between the way these men wanted to behave (come and go as they pleased) and military regulations, which required service until furloughed or discharge. A few years ago I had the opportunity to interview some people in the Chilton/Shelby County area about incidents that took place there during the war. A number of them bear hard feelings about what was done to their ancestors. Very little of it had anything to do with the war; in fact, the war seemed to be an excuse for some to pursue family grudges and feuds that started long before Fort Sumter, and continued long after Appomattox. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. My email address is pittsaj14@hotmail.com -- If I recall, there were a number of Philips men in this command. Alan Pitts -----Original Message----- From: Dena and Derek [mailto:dreaming_yet_awake@hotmail.com] Sent: Friday, March 15, 2002 3:35 PM To: AL-CIVIL-WAR-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [AL-Civil War] Partisan Rangers Leland, I have seen his grave so I am sure that he was there. Just can't find him lol. I was wondering if, because he was in a unit that consalidated with others, that he might be on the rolls somewhere else. I plan on writing for his info soon. I was amazed when I read that some people called them murderers and thieves. Maybe cause the history I was reading was written by the victors lol. Always a bit of a different story when you see where the history is coming from isn't it? Now that I know my ggreatgrand was a member of a group like that I want to learn everything. But, I would like to know the real story. I do have one question. I read that they had to supply their own weapons, mounts etc because they mostly volunteered for these groups... How did they elect officers? Or were they assigned? Thank you Leland for writing. I'm gonna hunt down some info on that tv show. That would have been cool to see. Dena ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237