The Battle of Marianna, Florida

Col. Alexander B. Montgomery, who
usually signed his name as "A.B.
Montgomery," was a veteran officer
when he took command of the small
Confederate post at Marianna.

A native of the Augusta, Georgia, area,
Montgomery was descended from a
prominent Georgia family. Educated
as a physician, he was in his mid-20s
when he began his military career as
a 2nd lieutenant in the 3rd U.S.
Artillery. It may seem unique today
that a man was appointed to the rank
of lieutenant in the regular army
directly from civilian life, but
Montgomery benefited from the
massive expansion then taking place
in the military.

He served with the 3rd two months
and then transferred to the 2nd U.S.
Artillery. He remained with that unit on
the Minnesota frontier until Georgia
seceded from the Union in 1861.

Like many Southern officers,
Montgomery resigned his
commission and offered his services
to the new Southern government. He
was commissioned a 1st lieutenant
in the Provisional Army, the
Confederate version of the regular
army, and assigned to the newly
formed 1st Georgia Regulars.

Company D of this regiment, with
Montgomery included, was detached
for battery service on the Georgia
coast. The men, and Lieutenant
Montgomery, saw action in early 1862
at Secessionville, South Carolina,
and appear to have performed
extremely well.

That Montgomery was an efficient
officer is evidenced by the fact that he
was quickly leaped in rank from
lieutenant to major and ordered to
join the 3rd Georgia Infantry in Robert
E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
The 3rd Georgia was an active
combat unit.

Montgomery took command of the regiment
shortly before the Second Battle of
Manassas. The 3rd Georgia was on the
field for both days of the battle and, by all
accounts, performed well. While under fire
with his men, Major Montgomery was shot
through the thigh, but refused to leave the
field. The official history of the 3rd Georgia
recorded that he displayed "great coolness
and fortitude."

The wound disabled him from command,
however, and a year later he was still
recuperating when General A.R. Wright, his
former brigade commander, learned that
he was without a command and requested
his services. Wright's request included the
endorsement that, "He is a brave officer
and good disciplinarian. The men are fond
of him and have great confidence in him."

At the same time, however, General Howell
Cobb petitioned that Montgomery be placed
under his command in the District of
Florida. The latter officer prevailed and, with
a promotion to colonel, A.B. Montgomery
set out for Florida.

He took command of the small post at
Marianna in late 1863, and initially appears
to have been popular with his men, the
townspeople and Governor Milton. In June
of 1864, Milton recommended that
Montgomery be promoted to brigadier
general. Not long after he was ordered to
report to Charleston for new duty, but had
not received his orders when Asboth struck.

After the Battle of Marianna,
Col. A.B. Montgomery was
held in a Northern prison
camp until June of 1865
because he would not take
the Oath of Allegiance to the
U.S. Government. He later
became a community leader
in Rome, Georgia, and in
1900 was honored for
heroism by the United
Daughters of the
Confederacy for his
performance while in
command of the 3rd Georgia
Infantry. He died in 1904 and
is buried in Myrtle Hill
Cemetery in Rome.