Hi Scotty:
I am attempting to complete revisions to my history of the 12th Louisiana Infantry [and Scott's Brigade] at this very moment. Why it has taken me so long is too complex a story for a message board posting! I read your original post on the ACWMB and the several responses received. Alan Pitts and I have corresponded in the past about our mutual interest in the history of Scott's Brigade.
Scott's Brigade was created in the early spring of 1864 following the breakup of Buford's Brigade. Initially, this new brigade was composed of the 27th, 35th, and 54th Alabama Infantry regiments plus the 12th Louisiana Infantry and the 9th Arkansas Infantry. The three under strength Alabama regiments were sent home to recruit in early March. The 27th and 35th Alabama regiments rejoined the brigade on May 12, 1864 at Resaca. I do not have a date for the 54th Alabama's return. The 55th Alabama and the 57th Alabama were added to Scott's Brigade, and the 54th Alabama and the 9th Arkansas transferred out in June 1864. The 27th, 35th, and 49th Alabama regiments were consolidated into a single battlefield command. Promotion of Thomas M. Scott, Colonel of the 12th Louisiana Infantry, to Brigadier General plus promotions in the 12th Louisiana to fill the positions of Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and Major respectively were officially announced but dated retroactively to May 10, 1864. A brigade board of examining officers which included Colonel A. J. L. Cunningham of the 57th Alabama approved the promotion of the 12th Louisiana's three field grade officers.
The 57th Alabama maintained its separate identity on the battlefield throughout the balance of 1864 and into 1865. It was represented as a stand alone unit on the battlefield at Bentonville, North Carolina [March 19-21, 1865] but just how many were present for duty is open to question. Hopefully you and others interested in the 57th Alabama's history will do the extensive statistical research using the CMSR needed to answer that question. On April 9, 1865 at Smithfield, North Carolina, Scott's Brigade was disbanded and the remnants of the 27th, 35th, 49th, 55th, and 57th Alabama regiments [my guess is that there were not more than 200 men] were consolidated into a new 27th Alabama Infantry regiment. This new consolidated regiment was surrendered and released on parole at Greensboro, North Carolina under the terms of the Johnston/Sherman agreement dated April 26, 1865.
You wrote: >>> I wonder how the veteran men of the 12th viewed such latecomers [the 57th Alabama] to the war (and I would imagine reluctant participants as well).<<<
My impression is that by June 1864, anybody willing to fight was welcomed. Willing or not, the 57th Alabama Infantry suffered heavy casualties at Peachtree Creek on July 20, 1864, at Franklin, Tennessee on November 30, 1864, and at Nashville on December 15th and 16th, 1864. Survivors of the 57th Alabama were engaged at Kinston [March 8-10, 1865] and Bentonville [March 19-21, 1865] in the North Carolina.
For obvious reasons this brigade is occasionally referred to as Scott's Alabama Brigade. Now you would think the boys in the 12th Louisiana might have objected to that! Surprisingly, the families of many of these men had only recently migrated to the northern Louisiana farming frontier and many still had extended family living in Alabama. So they likely regarded all these Alabamians as friends and family, if not neighbors!
You wrote: >>>One thing I have been interested in lately would be Quartermaster reports or general conditions of the men and how they were reacting to what was going on.<<<
Hood's Middle Tennessee Campaign was launched from Florence in November 1864 and many of the Alabama soldiers received furloughs to visit their nearby homes while the army collected supplies. How many returned from furlough and participated in the Tennessee campaign is not clear. Many of the survivors went home and dropped out of the war after Nashville.
The bulk of the absentees from the 12th Louisiana who dropped out of the war did so in the aftermath of the Vicksburg surrender in 1863. By the time the regiment joined the fight at Resaca on May 10, 1864, those who remained were committed, if not to the cause, to each other.
My impression is that the 12th Louisiana soldiers were reasonably well clothed during 1864 and 1865 except for shoes. A shortage of good footwear was a real problem lasting to the end of the war. Surprisingly, throughout 1864, they received a steady stream of clothing from family back home in Louisiana [and from extended family in Alabama and Georgia]. And the government managed to supply them with a significant amounts of clothing [except shoes] before the loss of Atlanta. However, I found mixed messages on this subject relative to the march into Tennessee. I wonder if the men were not simply trying to reassure the folks back home that they were OK.
As to their morale, the most incredible thing I have found about the 12th Louisiana regiment is that, after the mauling they suffered in Tennessee in late 1864, some 235 of them willingly traveled over 1,000 miles from Tupelo, Mississippi to North Carolina in early 1865 to fight Uncle Billy Sherman one more time!
I would be interested in exchanging information with you specifically on the 57th Alabama Infantry and Scott's Brigade. Feel free to contact me directly by e-mail.