The circumstances which brought Curry to the 5th Alabama Cavalry have been discussed several times on this message board but never fully explained.

As I understand, General Roddey decided to reorganize Patterson's 'Brigade' shortly after Forrest's Athens-Pulaski raid. Patterson's command included the 5th and 10th Alabama Cavalry Regiment as well as Stuart's Battalion. Roddey relieved Col. Richard O. Pickett of the 10th Cavalry and promoted Lt.Col. James M. Warren of the 5th Cavalry to take his place. J. L. M. Curry was appointed Lt.Col. and assigned to the position held by Warren.

At the same time, companies from both regiments were exchanged. Records of men who had enlisted with the 5th Cavalry show that they transferred to the 10th, and vice versa. I have studied records of both commands with some care and still am not satisfied about what happened.

It's reasonable to believe that references to Patterson's command during the final months usually refer to both regiments. It's also possible that Stuart's Battalion was included, but that unit seems to have operated independently. For instance, Stuart's Battalion seems to have remained in the Decatur-Moulton area while the rest of Patterson's command participated in the Athens-Pulaski raid and other actions during the second half of 1864.

The defeat of Patterson's men by Palmer's raiders must rank among the most complete defeats of any Alabama Confederate command during the war. The closest competition would be Clanton's defeat at Bluff Springs FL on March 25, 1865. We can omit Clanton's defeat at Ten Islands AL on July 14, 1864, because Rousseau heavily outnumbered Clanton there.

In contrast, the Federal forces which defeated Clanton at Bluff Springs and Patterson near Russellville were relatively small. Patterson's men had been assigned to escort the wagon train of the Army of Tennessee. The train, reported to be five miles long, was well south of the Tennessee and should've been secure. It was a devastating end to the disasters suffered by Hood's army that winter, and may help to explain Forrest's disparaging comments about Roddey's men towards the end of the war.