MG John T. Croxton
Camp #17
The Croxton Camp #17 covers the central part of Alabama. The Camp meets on a quarterly basis in or near Birmingham.
Who was General John T Croxton?
In March 1865, he and his brigade were one part of a 13,000-man Union cavalry force raiding through Alabama from Florence south to present-day Birmingham, Selma, Montgomery, and Columbus, Georgia. At the time, it was the largest cavalry force ever assembled in North America and was commanded by 27-year-old Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson.
On March 30, 1865, near present-day Birmingham, Wilson ordered Croxton to take his 1,500-man brigade and detach from the main force. Croxton was ordered west to Tuscaloosa and then head east across central Alabama, destroying any suitable targets with the hope of rejoining the main force somewhere near the Georgia–Alabama border.
Croxton’s men fought several engagements around Tuscaloosa and eventually invaded the city and burned the university. Then, as ordered, they traveled east in search of Wilson’s main column, which was in the process of defeating Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest at Selma and later entering Montgomery and then forcibly invading Columbus, Georgia. In the meantime, Croxton had a brief skirmish against a small Confederate force at Munford, near Talladega, Alabama on the 23rd of April. Then on the morning of the 24th, Croxton burned the iron works at Oxford and all the railroad box cars and the station at Blue Mountain and then started east toward Georgia.
On the 25th, Croxton arrived at Carrollton, Georgia, and by May 1, his force was in Macon and there rejoined Wilson’s column. During their separation from Wilson’s main force, the brigade traveled 653 miles, crossed four rivers, demolished five iron works, three factories, one university, and several mills. They also captured 300 prisoners and four cannons, while losing four officers and 168 men. Croxton Camp #17 was formed in April, 2019.