Hayes, the only part that's confusing involves the designation 4th Alabama Infantry Battalion. It had already been assigned to Lt.Col. John F. Conoley's Battalion, the parent unit for the 29th Alabama Infantry Regiment. It had organized with seven companies at Camp Breckinridge, Montgomery, Alabama, November 16, 1861. This battalion formed at Camp Johnston near the state penitentiary at Nashville, Tennessee, February 12, 1862. When Major Clifton's papers arrived at the War Department, Conoley's Battalion already had that number, so Clifton's Battalion went on the books as the 10th Alabama Infantry Battalion. Officers and men continued to refer to their organization as the 4th, which accounts for the confusion.

Clifton's Battalion consisted of four companies from Cherokee and Calhoun County which had been encamped at Nashville for several weeks. Armed with “Tennessee” rifles and bayonets, these men manned defenses at Fort Zollicofer. They left Nashville on February 19, 1862 when Sidney Johnston’s army evacuated the town. Stopping briefly at Murfreesboro, this force retreated through Shelbyville and Fayetteville on the way to Decatur, Alabama. Clifton’s command made camp near Burnsville, Mississippi, on the evening of March 21, 1862. Here it was assigned to General Breckinridge’s command as part of the “Reserve Corps” of the Army of the Mississippi.

On March 25, 1862, the battalion was strengthened by the addition of a scratch command of Alabamians who had served with the 42nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment. These men had either not been present when that regiment surrendered at Fort Donelson, Tennessee, February 16, 1862, or had escaped after the garrison lay down its arms. Isaac Henry, formerly Captain of Company “H”, 42nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment, was chosen to lead this unit, which was called Company "E".

The battalion fought as part of Col. Trabue's Kentucky Brigade at Shiloh on April 6, 1862. Trabue praised Major Clifton and his men for their part in the battle. "This small command," he wrote, “behaved extremely well." Thirty officers and men were listed as casualties.

On May 8, 1862, the battalion reorganized under provisions of the Conscript Act, officers and men reenlisting for two years or the war. Two Alabama companies, which had belonged to Martin’s 2nd Confederate Infantry Regiment, joined it. Also called the 25th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, this organization had entered service the previous summer at Memphis and had just disbanded. Alabama companies joining at this time were the "Jackson Hornets", Capt. John Snodgrass Jr., and the "Madison Guards", organized by Capt. D. R. Hundley on June 17, 1861. Battalion strength was now seven companies. Major Clifton was not reelected, being replaced by former adjutant George L. Alexander. Snodgrass was elected Lt.Col., and the battalion is often referenced by his name.

The Adjutant and Inspector General designated this new organization the 16th Alabama Infantry Battalion, but members always called their command the 4th Alabama. For that reason I suspect some service records may have been misfiled with 4th Battalion entries in the 29th Alabama microfilm.

One last note: Henry's scratch company, led by Capt. John H. Gibson after the elections of May 8, 1862, was disbanded after the 42nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment was exchanged at Vicksburg, Mississippi, during late September of 1862. Members were reassigned original companies, which then formed Norwood’s 6th Alabama Infantry Battalion. Gibson was elected Major of the 18th Alabama Cavalry Battalion on January 18, 1863, and transferred to that command.