The men of Company G of the 36 Alabama Volunteers of the CSA were from Monroe County, Alabama. Of those men, our ancestor, Isaac Byrd, is named among the muster rolls. He was a farmer when he enlisted on 17 March 1862, and only 17 years old. He wasn’t the only Byrd in the county to enlist. Stephen Byrd enlisted the same day, and Allen and John Byrd enlisted two days later. Jefferson Byrd also enlisted. They were all just farmers.

Company G of the Alabama was for a long time under the command of Major General H.D. Clayton. They saw action a Chickamauga (Ohn Byrd would be killed at
Chickamauga). They also fought at Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Crow Valley (where Clayton’s Brigade wintered) & Rocky Face. Clayton’s Brigade also saw action at Tunnel Hill, Resaca. New Hope Church, and Lovejoy’s Station. [Note: Isaac was shot in the right wrist in this engagement and had very limited use of his right hand for the rest of his life.]

The 36th Alabama were at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain where they held a defensive position there. They were kept in reserve for the Battle of Peachtree Creek, but Clayton’s Division lose many lives after General Johnston was relieved by President Jefferson Davis and the inexperienced General Hood took command of the army (just prior the Battle of Peachtree Creek).

With that desperate change in command, the battle in the east was all but over. Still, the 36th Alabama saw action in the Battle of Atlanta (nearby the widow Pope’s house, where Grant Park is today). Clayton’s Division saw action at Ezra Church. The 36th also participated in the Battle of Jonesboro. Once Hood had lost Atlanta he moved his army to Tennessee in an attempt to draw the Federals off their target. There the Alabama fought again at the siege of Nashville. Finally the was transferred to the Gulf at Spanish Fort, Alabama. On May 4, 1865, the 36th Alabama Infantry Regiment finally laid down their arms at Citronelle, Alabama. So many men had died, but the soldiers who survived often walked home to Monroe County barefoot. After the War, Isaac Byrd took the loyalty oath on 14 August 1867.