I had several relatives in Co. F 22nd Alabama at Chickamauga. In a letter to the family dated September 23, 1863, Jim B. Martin wrote the following about my great-great uncle William Blake: ". . . he pressed forward beyond the front of his Company and Regiment several paces, and noble and bravely stood within twenty steps of the enemy's line of destructive fire, firing his trusty rifle, unsheltered and unprotected, by trees or logs - until he was shot dead in the head and arm. . . . My whole Company acted very gallantly and bravely, but my loss is heavy. I lost 26 men in killed and wounded, I took 36 men into the fight and lost 26." William Blake's body was brought back home. He is buried here in Cleburne County at Blake's Family Cemetery.
Lynda Lowery