In 1861, Pettus, an enthusiastic champion of the Confederate cause and of slavery, was a Democratic Party delegate to the secession convention in Mississippi, where his brother John was serving as governor. Pettus helped organize the 20th Alabama Infantry, and was elected as one of its first officers.[4] On September 9 he was made the regiment's major, and on October 8 he became its lieutenant colonel.[6]
Pettus served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. During the Stones River Campaign, he was captured by Union soldiers on December 29, 1862 and then exchanged a short time later for Union soldiers. Pettus was captured again on May 1, 1863 while part of the surrendered garrison that had been defending Port Gibson in Mississippi. However he managed to escape and return to his own lines. Pettus was promoted to colonel on May 28, and given command of the 20th Alabama.[6]
Siege of Vicksburg; positions June 23–July 4, 1863
During the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign, Pettus and his regiment were part of the force defending Confederate control of the Mississippi River. When the garrison surrendered on July 4, Pettus was again a prisoner until his exchange on September 12.[6] Six days later he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general,[8] and on November 3 he was given brigade command in the Army of Tennessee.[6] Pettus and his brigade participated in the Chattanooga Campaign, posted on the extreme southern slope of Missionary Ridge on November 24, and fought during the action the following day.[9]
Pettus and his command took part in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, fighting in the battles of Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, Atlanta on July 22, and Jonesborough from August 31 to September 1.[5] Beginning on December 17, he temporarily led a division in the Army of Tennessee.[10] Afterward during the 1865 Carolinas Campaign, Pettus was sent to defend Columbia, South Carolina, and participated in the Battle of Bentonville from March 19–21.[5] Pettus was wounded in this fight, hit in his right leg—perhaps a self-inflicted wound, according to some sources—during the battle's first day. On May 2 he was paroled from Salisbury, North Carolina, and, after the Confederacy surrendered at Appomattox, Pettus was pardoned by the U.S. Government on October 20.[6]
[link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Pettus|
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