In Columbus, GA there is still Bickerstaff Clay Products (they make bricks) today. Is the wife of James H. Bickerstaff possibly Miss 'Garrard' instead of Harrard? Does anyone know? ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim and Terri Tait <jtait@HiWAAY.net> To: <ALBARBOU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, August 25, 2000 8:32 PM Subject: [ALBARBOU] CSA - Bickerstaff, James H. : Source: Confederate Veteran, Vol. XV, June 1907, No. 6, page 269, 270 : : James H. Bickerstaff : : Maj. James Henry Bickerstaff, one of the most prominent citizens and : veterans of Seale,.Ala., died at the residence of his son, in Columbus, Ga., : May 18, 1906. He had been in ill health for some time, and had gone to : Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, for treatment; but the operation there : performed did not bring the hoped-for improvement. : : James Bickerstaff was born in Russell County, Ala., in 1844. He was among : the first to respond to the call of the Southland, and enlisted in the : Russell Volunteers, under Capt. Ben Baker, in April, 1861, before he was : seventeen years old, and his company was sent to Virginia. He took part in : the first battle of Manassas. While in camp there his brother Robert, also a : member of the company, died from exposure and measles and was buried at : Manassas. After the term of his first enlistment had expired. he returned : to Alabama with several companions and joined the battalion of Maj. James : Waddell. However, his father, Capt. U. F. Bickerstaff,. having organized a : company of Russell County men, James Bickerstaff was transferred to that : command, Company I, 34th Alabama Regiment and was made second lieutenant. : The company was stationed at Corinth. Miss., for some time. : : In the battle of Murfreesboro Comrade Bickerstaff manifested great courage : and determination. In the midst of the battle his father was mortally : wounded, and Captain Burch, commanding the company, was also wounded. With : tears of grief blinding his eyes, lieutenant Bickerstaff seized the sword : that had fallen from his father's hand, assumed command, rallied the : company, and led them on in the battle until himself shot down, seriously : wounded in the thigh and slightly in the arm. His father lingered until : February 14, and was nursed and cared for by a Mrs. Thompson in her own home : and was buried in her garden. While attending the Reunion at Nashville in : 1904 Captain Bickerstaff visited Murphreesboro in the hope of locating his : father's grave, but was not successful. : : Among other battles in which he took part were Mumsfordville and Perryville, : Ky.. Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, Tenn., Chickamauga, and all the : battles from Dalton, Ga., to Atlanta. In the battle of East Point, near : Atlanta, July 28, 1864, he lost his left arm, a bullet shattering the elbow. : After Hood's campaign into Tennessee, Major Bickerstaff again joined his : command and accompanied them to South Carolina. Of this later attempt at : service he said: "Finding the loss of an arm too much for me, I sorrowfully : returned home, took charge of my mother's farm, and helped to care for her : and my younger brothers and sisters." : : A few years later he was married to Miss Emma Lindsay Harrard, of Columbus, : Ga., who, with four sons and three daughters, survives him. His aged mother : heart-broken over his death, joined him in the spirit land a few months : later. : : For several years Major Bickerstaff served Russell County as tax collector, : but at the time of his death was engaged in farming and brick-manufacturing, : being successful in both enterprises. He was pension examiner for Russell : County and a member of the staff of Gen. George P. Harrison, with the rank : of Major, also an officer of Camp Waddell, and was always interested in : anything pertaining to the Southland. For forty years he had been a humble : follower of Christ. He was tenderly laid to rest by his comrades dressed in : his suit of Confederate's gray. The casket was of the same gray and draped : with a Confederate flag. Over the grave a prayer was offered, a salute : fired, and taps sounded. : : Recognizing his true worth and many noble qualities, one of his home papers : said of Major Bickerstaff: "Few men have lived and died in Russell County : or elsewhere who have left a record of so great faith, hope, and service. : He was a gentleman of the old school, courtly, courteous, an upright, : honorable citizen of whom Russell County and the State may be well proud, : and a true friend whose death we all sincerely mourn and deplore." : : : : : : : ==== ALBARBOU Mailing List ==== : Check the Macon County Ga. web site for their newspaper listings. There are many listings for Alabama citizens including those in Barbour Co., :