Great Seal of the Confederacy at the Historic Buena Vista Mansion in Prattville AL

           Prattville Dragoons SCV Camp 1524 Historian Sam Reid and his wife Terrie attended the Dragoon Social on Friday evening 16 December, as they have done for many years.  Sam has a personal reason for attending each year:   He is the great-great-grandson of William Montgomery Sr.’s daughter, Ann, and thus a proud descendant of the William Montgomery family which occupied the home from the late 1840s till 1910.  There were three Montgomery men who grew up there and were members of the Prattville Dragoons at the beginning of the War Between the States.  They were William Montgomery Jr., a Lieutenant in the Dragoons, and his younger brothers John and Alvin, who were privates.  Alvin, the youngest of the three Montgomery brothers, never returned home.  Ann Montgomery Bowen is buried in the family cemetery in back of the home.

            A donation made to the Autauga County Historical Association in 1993 provides some history on the service of the Montgomery men who were raised in this historic home.  In the main hall of the home hangs a framed print of the Great Seal of the Confederacy.  The letter which accompanied this donation to ACHA states the following: 

Dear Friends,

Please accept this reproduction of the Seal Of The Confederacy, in memory of William, John, and Alvin Montgomery, sons of William and Ann Burrows Montgomery, and Dr. James Horatio Bowen, their son-in-law, who was married to their daughter, Ann.  Each served with honor in the War Between The States.  According to a Bible record, Alvin lost his life at the close of the war, dying from an accidental discharge of his gun.  He belonged to the 57th Alabama Cavalry.  He was loved by all who knew him.  He died near East Point, Georgia, on September 1, 1864. Perhaps you can find an appropriate place to display this in the Montgomery home, Buena Vista.

Sincerely, (signed) Melanie Kay Smith Gibbs

Gadsden, Alabama

            William Montgomery Sr. died in 1859, so that after the War Between the States William Jr. became owner of the property.  The Montgomery slaves, who had had a good relationship with their owner, stayed on after the War Between the States to help William Jr. rebuild the farm, a relationship such as described in the book, The First Principle of Government, by W T Pace.