Cpt Thomas Quincy Stanford, Co G, 39th Alabama Infantry, was the great-grandfather of 2nd Lt Stanford Lee Arnold, Co E, 345th Infantry, 87th Division. Quincy, as he was called, was one of three brothers who enlisted in Co G in May 1862. He was elected captain of the company while his younger brother Will was promoted to Assistant Regimental Surgeon since he was a recent (1859) graduate of the medical school at the University of Nashville (now Vanderbilt Univ). The older brother, Monroe, enlisted as a private and was shipped home ill a month later.

Will soon left the regiment to tend to his older brother, after some disagreement with the top brass in the medical field. It is possible the disagreement was the failure to promote him to Surgeon, perhaps because he lacked the full 4 years of practice required in spite of the fact that he was one of very few doctors at the time with a university medical degree. Most doctors were trained as apprentices to practicing physicians. Or it could have been a disagreement over medical practices. Letters between Will and Quincy indicate that several of the men held many of the surgeons in low esteem after Will left.

The company reached Shiloh, Mississippi, a month or so after the Battle of Shiloh. While nearly half of the company became ill in the first few months, Quincy was diligent in his training of the able bodied soldiers. Their first and Quincy's last action came at the Battle of Murfreesboro or Stones River at the end of December seven months after they enlisted. That action is described in the attached article. Also attached is a photo of Capt Stanford wearing a sash marking him as Officer of the Day.

Cpt_TQ_at_Murfreesboro_5_16_05_c.pdf

TQUniform.pdf