Drury H. Cox Whitehead (5 Sept 1831-2 Apr 1914) was the youngest son of Archibald (1 Apr 1783-5 Sept 1866) and Nancy Smith (22 Jul 1791-25 Mar 1881) Whitehead. He was born in Lauderdale County Alabama. Sometime between 1840 and 1850, Drury's family moved to Marion County, Alabama. Drew (as he was called by family and friends) grew up on his father's farm as did most of his peers. He helped his father on the farm and did not have the advantage of a formal education. Nevertheless, he learned to read but did not learn to write. Like his father, he made his living farming and eventually owned his own place.

In 1852 Drew married Mary Jane Anthony (27 Sept 1837-1 Jul 1916). Drew and Mary Jane made their home in the Fayette/Marion County area where they raised thirteen children, including one set of twins. One of Drew's sons, born 22 Dec 1875, was named Drury Grant Whitehead. The decision to name his son "Grant" was an obvious tribute to General Ulysses S. Grant following Drew's participation as a soldier in the United States Army during the Civil War.

Drury H. Cox Whitehead was a private in Company B of the First Alabama Cavalry, USA. It is not clear why Drew chose to side with the United States, since to do so meant putting his life and the lives of his family in great danger from Confederate "Homeguards" and Impressment Officers. Members of the First Alabama were considered traitors to the Confederate cause and were given the name "Tories" denoting their disloyalty by comparing them with the Tories of the Revolutionary period. Perhaps Drew's decision was based on his political views, or maybe it was one made of personal circumstances. He may have actually preferred to remain neutral but was not allowed to do so. It has also been suggested that he joined up with the U. S. for bounty money that was promised to those men who dared to go against their kinfolks and neighbors siding with the Confederacy. If this was his reason, he was surely disappointed, as there is no evidence to suggest that he ever received any bounty money.

Whatever his reason, Drew clearly opposed the Confederacy. He, along with many other Union sympathizers, hid out in the hills of Alabama to avoid being pressed into service in the Confederate Army. In the winter of 1862, Drew and others were assisted by Daniel Smith, whose sons Henry, Matthew, and John were hiding out with them. Smith brought provisions and provided the Union Army with information concerning the where abouts of the Rebel and Dog Cavalry. Smith furnished his sons and others with money, uniforms, arms and ammunition to go into the Union lines.

According to a general affidavit dated April 18, 1895 which was submitted in a pension claim, Drew was first arrested by Confederate Conscript Officers and taken to Tuscumbia, Alabama, where he was kept for about fourteen days. During this time, Drew did not bother to learn anything about the company or regiment he was placed into, nor did he learn the names of any of the officers or enlisted men. In a second affidavit dated August 1, 1896, Drew stated that he thought the name of the man that conscripted him was George Patterson.

As soon as Drew was able to escape, he deserted the Confederate Army and went immediately to Corinth, Mississippi where he volunteered in the United States Army on January 16, 1863. He remained in service until March 17, 1863 when he fell ill and was sent home to recuperate. Perhaps he was again assisted by Daniel Smith in avoiding the Confederates. Daniel stated in a claims petition that Drury and others brought him information concerning the deaths of his sons. They also brought other information that he was glad to hear when they were home from their command.

Drew was not able to rejoin his company until July of 1863. It has been suggested that Drew did not like army life and used illness to escape for a while. However, information included in his military records does not support this theory. In September, Drew was pulling extra duty as company cook. Then in October of 1863, Drew was captured in a skirmish at Vincent's Crossroads near Bay Springs, Mississippi and would remain in the hands of the enemy until sometime in November.

According to the report of Brigadier General Samuel W. Ferguson, CSA, dated October 31, 1863, the skirmish near Bay Springs, Mississippi began about 1:30 p.m. on October 26, 1863. The First Alabama Cavalry, USA was attacked by the Second Tennessee, CSA and forced to retreat. The retreating members of the First Alabama panicked and tried to escape by scattering over the countryside. The final outcome was the destruction of the First Alabama "Tory" Regiment. Brigadier General Ferguson reported the enemy's loss was 20 killed, 9 wounded, and 29 prisoners, as far as he could tell. Private Drury H. Cox Whitehead, USA was one of those prisoners of war.

It is not known how Drury was reunited with his regiment in November, but if he was able to escape from the Rebels when they tried to force him into their army before, perhaps he managed to do so again. Nevertheless, Drury was back in service in November, 1863 and remained there until he was mustered out at Memphis, Tennessee on January 22, 1864.

After the war was over, Drew returned to raising his family with his wife Mary Jane. One of their neighbors was Thomas Frank Tucker who had served as a private in both the Fourth and the Tenth Alabama Cavalries, CSA, from September, 1862 until the Tenth Alabama was disbanded in the spring of 1865. Three of Drew's sons married three of Frank's daughters. One might assume that the union of these two families was an indication that these two veterans of the Civil War had put the past behind them and were once again friends. But according to Mrs. Tennie Tucker Beasley (born 10 Dec 1899), granddaughter of Thomas Frank Tucker, this was not the case. Mrs. Beasley stated that Thomas Frank felt that Drew "went against his own men and for that reason Frank hated Drew.

Drury H. Cox Whitehead and Thomas Frank Tucker are the great-great- grandfathers of the writer. They were ordinary, hardworking men who did what they thought was right for the time in which they lived. They were caught up in something that perhaps neither of them truly understood but were compelled to participate in.

Drury H. Cox Whitehead died at two o'clock in the afternoon on April 2, 1914. He was 83 years old. He is buried next to his wife Mary Jane in Morris Family Cemetery near Glen Allen, Fayette County, Alabama.

Sources of the information included in the preceding article are listed below:

1. The compiled military records of Drury H. Cox Whitehead which were
     obtained from the National Archives, Washington, DC.

2. The War of the Rebellion, Series I-Volume XXXI, Part I, Reports,

     Chapter XLIII, pp.29, 30, 37, and 38.

3. Personal knowledge of living relatives of the writer.

4. Fayette and Marion County, Alabama Census Schedules, Fayette County,
     Alabama marriage records and cemetery records.

5. Petition of claims #171572, of Daniel Smith dated October22, 1872.

6. The diary of Nicodemus F. Morris, page 205.

7. Mrs. Tennie Tucker Beasley.

8. The Civil War discharge of Drury H. Cox Whitehead.