Excerpt from History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Vol. 2 of 4 About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Vol. 4 of 4 Laird, hervey woodford, business man. Was born June 26, 1869, at Beaver Ridge, Knox County, Tenn son of Orville Dyer and Mary Crawford (stephens) Laird. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, Vol. 1 of 4 Within these pages is to be found, under specific topics and biographical sketches, the history of a people mainly British by descent, conservatively progressive by tradi tion and habit, deeply rooted in love of country, and with a genius for politics and government. With as fine a record of achievement as characterizes any of our sister States, we have shown with them an equal indifference to preserving our annals for the enlightenment and inspiration of posterity. Dr. Owen hoped to repair this omis sion for Alabama. The work is especially rich in aboriginal, pioneer, local, political, and military history and in biographies of men who have been leaders in their several professions and walks of life in the State. Every important event and period of our history has been treated, from the advent of Desoto and his Spanish adventurers in 1540, to the welcome home accorded the returned soldiers of the World War, in 1919. A few persons worthy to appear in a book of this character are not included here owing to their failure to' furnish data which they were asked by the author to supply. We are, as a people, proud of our history. As individuals and families we boast of our good blood. But we have been careless about putting our claims into such form as will substantiate them to the satisfaction of future historians and critics. This work is an effort to overcome that failure, and to implant in the minds and hearts of Alabamians a consciousness of merit and of greatness, not that we may be boastful, but that we may realize our responsibility to those men and women who bore the brunt of pioneering, to those who staked all their hard earned gains upon the hazard of battle for honor's sake, who overthrew invasion, and who with dauntless courage preserved a civilization and brought a commonwealth to the forefront of a nation in science, material development, and civic aspirations. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Most Civil War histories focus on the performance of top-level generals. However, it was the individual officers below them who actually led the troops to enact the orders. Some of these were remarkably effective. One such officer was Edmund Winchester Rucker. He was a force to be reckoned with, both during the Civil War and in his post-war business ventures. He was courageous, tough and resourceful, and achieved significant results in every assignment. During the campaign by the United States Army to capture the upper Mississippi River, Rucker and his faithful Confederate artillerists, with only three operable cannons, held off the entire Federal fleet which possessed 105 heavy guns. Later, in East Tennessee, Rucker’s duties included punishing saboteurs and conscripting unwilling local citizens into the Confederate Army. He described these assignments as: “The meanest and damnest [sic] duty a soldier had to perform.” Following the battles for Chattanooga, he served with General Nathan Bedford Forrest as a cavalry brigade commander, earning high merits for his performance. Rucker’s leadership was a major factor in the Confederate victory in the Battle of Brices Cross Roads, which has been called “History’s Greatest Cavalry Battle.” Subsequent to the Battle of Nashville, Rucker was wounded and captured; although his left arm was amputated, this did not impede his future achievements. After the war, Colonel Rucker and General Forrest became business partners in a railroad-building project. Rucker did well from this venture and became one of the wealthiest early entrepreneurs in Birmingham. In recognition of his many accomplishments, Fort Rucker Alabama was named in his honor. This first biography on his life examines, at a fast-moving pace, the military and business accomplishments of this outstanding leader who left his mark on both the Civil War and Southern industry of the time.