A History of Lumsden's Battery, C.S.A.

In the spring of 1861, a wave of patriotism swept through Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as local leaders called men to volunteer for the Confederate cause. Among them, Captain Charles L. Lumsden, a VMI graduate and university cadet commander, organized a company of light artillery drawn from teachers, doctors, farmers and young professionals. The roster reads like a community snapshot—professors, a sheriff’s son, a superintendent of schools, and even several medical doctors who would soon trade their stethoscopes for rifles. Their shared resolve transformed courtroom petition into fledgling battery ready for service.

Early in its existence the unit was dispatched to Mobile, where it was equipped with six guns and housed in a cotton warehouse before moving to the front near Hall’s Mill. The narrative, compiled from contemporary diaries and the recollections of its founders, captures the enthusiasm, logistical challenges, and personal sacrifices of those who left their civilian lives behind. Listeners will hear vivid portraits of the men and women who helped raise the battery, as well as the practical steps that turned a group of volunteers into a functioning artillery force.