Civil War Confederate Cavalry Athens Alabama History Document Forrest Roddey
An incredibly important letter with ties to Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate Cavalry, Selma, Tuscaloosa, Athens Alabama and the final days of the Civil War. This is a very rare Confederate Cavalry soldier's pass for leave from Roddey's Escort in 1865. This item is rare for a couple of reasons, being that it is late war, when leave would have been uncommon. The Battle of Selma had been fought, Forrest and his allies had suffered a crushing defeat, and it was only a matter of days before Roddey would surrender at Wheeler's home in Pond Creek, Alabama. Second, this letter was carried in the young man's pocket or bag while he made his way back home through a war torn Alabama landscape.
It was there when he surrendered with the rest of his men. The paper itself likely survived the Battle of Selma, for it to even exist in any condition is remarkable. The Document is faded, but is signed by requester Robert Beatty Mason of Athens, Alabama, Thomas Slows and Roddey's adjunct J. Mason is a well known figure in North Alabama, and eventually was an influential early member of the first iteration of the Ku Klux Klan. Do not miss this rare opportunity to own an authentic piece of Alabama Civil War history!