Confederate Units of Madison County, Alabama  Huntsville and
Madison County did not rush eagerly into secession in 1861. In
fact, the county elected two cooperationist delegates who voted
against secession at the January 1861 Alabama Secession
Convention. Nevertheless, when war came both the city and county
promptly rallied to the defense of their State. Madison County
provided 10 infantry companies, 8 cavalry companies, and one
artillery battery to the Confederate Army. At least two more
infantry companies had been formed in 1861, but were disbanded
because Alabama could not accept any more troops at that time.
In addition, six Confederate home guard units existed from mid
1861 to early 1862, when the Union Army seized the city. This
total of 27 Confederate units is impressive when one remembers
that Huntsville and Madison County were occupied by the Union
Army for nearly half of the four years of war. The Confederate
draft was rarely enforced in Madison County, which means that
almost all these men were vol