Creator	West, John W.
Title	John W. West Papers
Description	Records indicate that John W. West was from Limestone County, Alabama. However, he had family or close friends in Opelika, Alabama and writes about corresponding with them in his Civil War diary. West served in the Company G, 35th Alabama Infantry in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. The 35th Alabama formed in LaGrange, Alabama in 1862. During this first year of its existence, it participated in the Battle of Baton Rouge in Louisiana and the Second Battle of Corinth in Mississippi. In 1863 the regiment fought to defend Port Hudson in Louisiana. It next engaged Union forces in the Battle of Champion Hill in Mississippi before retreating prior to the Siege of Vicksburg. In 1864, the 35th suffered many losses as it tried to hold ground in North Georgia against General William T. Sherman's advance. Towards the end of the war, the regiment fought in the Battle of Decatur in northern Alabama and then at the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee where it suffered a huge loss of nearly half its men to wounds or death. The remaining men continued to fight and participated in the Battle of Nashville in Tennessee before surrendering to Union forces with the Army of Tennessee in May 1865. West was elected captain at the 35th Alabama Infantry Regiment's formation in March 1862 and served in this position for the duration of the war. He suffered a brief illness in the summer of 1864 in Georgia, but returned to service thereafter. Perhaps because of his illness, West did not follow the 35th into battle in Tennessee but rather was sent to Mississippi where he remained without further orders, most likely for the duration of the war. On May 11, 1865 West surrendered to the Union forces with Lieutenant General Taylor in Meridian, Mississippi. After the Civil War, West married Mattie Brindage also of Alabama, and the couple settled down in Pecan Gap, Texas, They appear to have had two children: one daughter, Mary, who died in infancy and a son named Samuel. This accession contains a Civil War diary with a transcription, a love letter from West to his future wife, a pension upgrade postcard, a description of Pecan Gap, Texas where West settled, a family death certificate, and photographs and negatives of West family headstones. Additional negatives that appear to show an educational presentation of some sort are also included.
Date	1864-1999
Time Period	1864-1999
LC Subject Headings	West, John W.--Diary West, John W.--Correspondence Confederate States of America. Army--Officers Confederate States of America. Army. Alabama Infantry Regiment, 35th United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
EOA Categories	History -- 1838-1874: Sectionalism, the Civil War, and Reconstruction Peoples -- Domestic Life
Type	Text
Format	PDF
Record Group	RG 1218
File Name	1218-16-0038mc.pdf
Link to catalog	http://aubiecat.auburn.edu/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=4708179
Repository	Auburn University. Special Collections and Archives
Digital Publisher	Auburn University Libraries
Language	eng
Rights	This finding aid is the property of the Auburn University Libraries and is intended for non-commercial use. Users are asked to acknowledge the Auburn University Libraries. For information and questions about the collection described in this finding aid, please contact the Auburn University Libraries Special Collections & Archives Department at archives@auburn.edu or (334) 844-1732.
Submitted by	Coates, Midge