Guerilla War from the Pulpit

Jabez Lafayette Monroe Curry was one of the major political figures of the Old South. In the Alabama Assembly and the United States Congress, he was a passionate and articulate advocate for state sovereignty limited government and a strict construction of the Constitution.

With the creation of the Confederacy, he helped draft its new constitution and design its “stars and bars” flag, and was a member of its Congress.

Then came the War for Southern Independence. Curry was a staff officer with General Joseph E. Johnston during the long, bloody retreat toward Atlanta. Later he took command of the 5th Alabama Cavalry Regiment, fighting to the end with such great men as Joe Wheeler and Nathan Bedford Forrest.

After the surrender, the Union government considered Jabez Curry one of the principal “traitors” of the “rebellion.”