Sgt Robert Weakley Patton

Sgt Robert Weakley Patton. Born 1844 - Died 1865. , Patton, a member of Shockley's Escort Company of the University of Alabama, was killed in a clash with the 4th Iowa Cavalry at the corner of Washington Street and Alabama Avenue. In November 1865 his father, Robert Miller Patton, was elected the 20th Governor of Alabama. , , Shockley's Cadets: In 1864, there were 296 students at the University and they formed the "Corps of Cadets." While attempts were made to keep to the usual academic courses then taught, the University was also a military camp of instruction. Branscom T. Shockley and Henry McKenzie Burt were nineteen year-old students at the University of Alabama in March 1864. They secretly worked together to enroll enough Cadets from the University to form a Cavalry company for the Confederate Army with the understanding that the volunteers would remain students until the term ended in July 1864. It was important Shockley and Burt keep their plans from the faculty, as they would have viewed it as insubordination. , Over one hundred students joined Shockley and Burt forming Shockley's Independent Escort. According to records, the company lost 2 killed, 4 wounded and 5 captured in the Battle of Selma. These cadets served under Brig. Gen. Daniel W. Adams until they were surrendered with Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest on May 10, 1865, at Gainesville, Alabama.