William H. Dubose

Birth Date: 

Died:           

Spouse:       

Reminiscences of the Boys in Gray by Mamie Yearly 1909

Born at Burndridge, Ala., and entered the Confederate servie at Montgomery, Ala., for one year as gunner of Cannon No. 3, in First Alabama Regiment of Infantry and Artillery, Anderson, commander.  At Pensacola, Fla., I was with the 300 picked men that ran Bill Wilson and his men into Fort Pickens and spiked his cannon and burned his camp.  Then we had a bombardment which lasted two days and one night.

I was in the Forty-third Alabama Regiment, Company H, Captian Jim McGuire and Col. M.G. Woods.  We started from Knoxville under Dick Robinson and the first fight we had was Blanes Cross Roads.  The next at Cumberland Gap and from there all the way up to Danville, Ky., and around Danville till we crossed the Cumberland River.

Then under Gen. Tracey we made for Vicksburg, Miss.  Gen Tracey was killed at Port Gibson and Gen. Pettus was in command till the close of the war.  The next big engagement was at Baker's Creek where most all the company were killed.  Soon after Capt. McCaskel was killed the Regiment was captured.  With a few others I made my escape by a ravine and went to Vicksburg where the command I was with formed a line of battle and threw up breastworks which the Yankees charged but failed to take.  After the surrender and exchange we went to Chickamauga but the fight was over before we got there, but we started in after the Yankees and followed then up to Bridgeport.  At Resaca, Ga., we captured four pieces of the prettiest brass cannon I ever saw.  Here is where three comrades and myself of the First Alabama came in handy.  We had been trained in heavy artillery service and we knew how to use the guns.  I was in the battle of New Hope Church.  I could have walked on dead men for a mile.  The worst and last fight for me was on the 20th of July when I was wounded in the leg below the knee.  One bone was torn all to pieces and I never walked for three years after the war.  One of my comrades was Burr Rammage who was in every fight the Company was in and never got a scratch.  Another was J.B. Whigham.  If he were living he could tell you of his scouts with me.  He lived many years at Leon Junction, Texas, and died there.

On the march from Danville, Ky., to Cumberland Gap which took five days, we had nothing to eat except parched corn and not enough of that.  We drew rations that night, the first we had had on our retreat.  The army waded the river next morning.  The preceding night a snow had fallen about two feet deep.  My shoes gave out and like many others would take the hides of the beeves and tie up our feet and when they would get dry would have to dampen them to get them off.  After the resignation of Capt. McGuire, Lieut. McCaskell became captain and was killed at Bakers Creek.